NORTH PLATTE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE.
GIVEN HIGH PLAGE
A PRIN
OF M
JOHN CARTER IS TRANSLATED TO MARS
As the ornaments were adjusted upon her beautiful figure and
her collar of gold swung open in the hands of Than Kosui I rawed
my longsword above my head and, with the heavy hilt, I shattered the
glass of the great window and sprang into the midst of the astonished
assemblage. With a bound I was on the steps of tie platform beside
Than Kosis, and as he stood riveted with surprise, L brought , my
longsword down upon the golden ihain that would have bound Dcjah
Thoris to another.
Strange name these and stranne wart. But it's a strange lory
as well as fascinating. For the fighting lover of Dejah Thoris it
John Carter of Virginia, U. S. A., Earth, and she is a Princess of
Mars.
The author? None other than Edgar Rice Burroughs, who gave
us "Tanan of the Apes." That's enough.
FOREWORD.
To tho Header of this Work:
In submitting Captain Carter'?
Ktrnngc manuscript to you In book
form, I believe that a few words rela
tive to this remarkable personality
will be of interest. ,
My first recollection of Captain Car
ter Is of' the few months he spent at
my father's home In Virginia, Just
prior to the opening of the Civil war.
I was then a child of but live years,
yet I well remember the tall, dark,
smooth-faced, athletic man whom I
called Uncle Jack.
lie seemed always to be laughing;
and he entered Jnto the sports of the
children with tlie Hamo hearty good
fellowship he displayed toward those
pastimes In which the men nnd wom
en of his own ago Indulged; or he
would sit for an hour at a time enter
taining my old grandmother with
stories of his strnnge, wild llfo In nil
ports of tho world. We nil loved him,
nnd our slaves fairly worshiped the
ground he trod.
Flo was n splendid specimen of mnn
hood, standing a good two Inches over
six feet, broad of shoulder nnd nar
row of hip, with the eurrlngo of tho
trained fighting man. His features
were regular and clear cut, his. har
black nnd closely cropped, while his
eyes were of n steel groy, reflecting n
strong and loyal character, filled with
fire and Initiative.
When tho war broke; out he lcrt us,
nor did I rco him again for nomo fif
teen or sixteen years. When ho re
turned I have seen him sit for hours
gazing off Into space; his face set In a
look of wistful longing nnd hopeless
misery; and nt night ho would sit thus
looking up Into the henvens. nt whnt
I did not know until 1 rend his manu
script years ufterward.
Ho romnlned with us ,for nbout n
year nnd then went to Now York,
whero ho purchased n little plnco on
the Hudson, where I visited him.
Ho told me nt this tlmo thnt If nny
thing should, hoppen to him ho wished
mo to take chnrgo of his estate, and
ho gave mo n koy to a compartment
in tho snfe which stood In his study,
telling mo I would And his will thpro
nnd some personnl Instructions which
lie hnd mo pledgo myself to enrry out
with absolute fidelity.
After I had retired for the night T
have seen him from my window stand
ing In the moonlight on the' brink of
tho bluff overlooking tho Hudson with
his arms stretched out to tho henvens
ns though In nppcnl.
Several months after T-hnd returned
home from my Inst visit, tho first of
March, 1B80, I think, I received n tele
gram from him asking me to como to
litm nt once.
I arrived nt tio Uttlo station, nbout
n inllo from his grounds, and tho
livery mnn told me ho had some very
hnd news for, mo; tho Captain had
been found dead shortly nfter dny
light that very morning by tho wntch
mnn nttnehed to an adjoining prop
erty. For some reason this news did not
surprise me, but I hurried out to his
plnco ns quickly ns possible,
Tho wntchmnn who hnd discovered
him related tho few details connected
with tho finding of the body. lfclny,
ho said, stretched full length in the
snow with tho nrnm outstretched
nbovo tho head toward tho edge of tho
bluff, and when ho showed mo tho
ppot It flashed upon mo thnt It was
the Identical one where I had seon
him on those other nights, with his
arms raised in supplication to the
skies.
Loft nlono in tho study, I opened
the safo nnd withdrew the contonts of
the drawer in which ho hnd told me I
would find my Instructions. Ho direct
ed that I remove his body to Virginia
without embalming, and that ho be
laid In an open coffln within n tomb
which ho previously had had con
structed and which, ns I Inter learned,
was well vcntllnted. Ills further In
structions related to this manuscript
which I was to retain sealed and un
read, Just ns I found It, for eleven
years; nor wtis I to divulge Its 'con
tents nnth twenty-one years nfter his
death.
A strungo feature nbout tho tomb,
tvhero his body still lies, Is that tho
missive door Is equipped with n
jingle, huge gold-plated spring lock
which can be opened only from the In
nlde. Yours very sincerely.
EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS.
CHAPTER I.
On the Arizona Hills The Escape of
the, Dead;
I do not know why I should fear
death. I who have died twice' nnd am
still alive; but yet I have the same
horror of It ns you who have never
died, and It Is because of this terror
of death, I believe, tint I am , so con
vinced of my mortality. '
And because or this conviction I
have determined to write down the
story of tho Interesting periods of my
life and of my death. I crtnijot ex-
plnln tlit phenomena; I can only set
down here In the words of nn or
dinary soldier of fortune u chronicle
of the strnnge events thnt befell me
during the ten years that my dend
body lay undiscovered In nn Arizona
cave. ' '
My name Is John Carter; I am bet
tor known as Captain Jack Qarter of
Virginia. At the close of the Civil
war I found myself possessed of sev
eral hundred thousand dollars (Con
federate) and a captain's commission
In tho cavalry arm 'of ah army which
no longer existed. Masterless, penni
less, and with my only means of live
lihood, fighting, gone, I determined to
work my way to the Southwest and
ntlompt .to rctrjove my fallen fortunes
In a senrch for gold.
I spent nearly a year prospecting
In compnny with another Confederate
officer, Captain James 1C. Powell of
Richmond. We were extremely for
tunnte, for Into In the winter of 1805,
uftcr many hardships and privations,
wo located tho most remarkable gold-
benrlng quartz vein that our wildest
dreams had ever pictured.
As our equipment was crude In the
extreme wo decided that one of us
must return to civilization, purchnse
the necessary machinery and return
with n sufficient force of men properly
to work tho tulno.
As Powell was familiar with the
country, as well ns with flic mcchnnl'
cal requirements of mining wo deter
mined that It would be best for htm
to make tho trip,
On Mnrch 8, 1800, Powell and I
packed his provisions on two of our
burros, and bidding me good-by ho
mounted his horse, nnd started down
the mountainside toward the vnlley,
across which led tho first stage of his
Journey.
I could see him and his little pnek
animals picking their wny down tho
mountnlnsldo toward- tho valley, nnd
nil during tho morning I would cntcli
occasional glimpses of them ns they
topped n hog hack or enmo out upon n
level plateau. My last sight of Powell
was nbout three In tho afternoon ns
he entered tho Bhndows of tho range
on tho opposite sldo of tho vnlley,
Somo hours nftcrwnrd I hnpponed
to gtnnco cnsunlly across tho valley
and was much surprised to note three
little dots in about tho sumo plnco I
hnd Inst seen my friend nnd his two
pnek animals. I ntn not given to
needless worrying, but tho more I
tried to convtneo mysolf that all was
well with Powell, nnd that tho (16ts I
had seen on his trail were nntclopc or
wild horses, tho less I wns able to as
sure myself.
Powoll, I know, was well armed
nnd, further, an experienced Indian
fighter; but I too hnd lived nnd fought
for years among tho Sioux In tho
North, nnd I know that his chances
wero smnll against a pnrty of cun
ning trailing Apaches. Finally I
could endnro the suspense no longor,
nnd, arming myself with two Colt re
volvers nnd n cnrblno, 1 strapped two
belts of cnrtrldges nbout mo and
catching my srddle horse, started
down the trail taken by Powell In the
morning.
Close upon dusk, I discovered the
point whoro other trucks Joined those
of Powell. They wero the trucks of
unshod ponies, three of thum, and the
potdes hnd been gnlloplng.
I followed rapidly until, about mid
night, I reached the water hole whero
Powell hnd expected to camp.
I waB Interested to note thnt the
tracks of the pursuing horsemen, for
such I was now convinced they must
ho, continued nfter Powell with only n
brief stop nt the hole for water; and
always at the same rate of speed as
his.
CESS
A R S
I was positive now Mint the trailers
wore Apaches and thut they wished to
capture Powell nllvo for the fiendish
pleasure of the torture, bo I urged my
horsd onward ac a most dangerous
puce, hoping against hope that I would
catch up with the red rnscnls before
they attacked him.
1 had forged ahead for perhaps n
mile or more, and hudpassed through
n hnrrow, overllnnglng gorge Just' be-
fore entering suddenly upon the table-
laud, and the sight which met my eyes
filled me with constcrnntlon nnd dis
may,
Tho little stretch of level land was
white with Indian tepees, and there
were probably holf n thousand red
warriors clustered around some ob
ject near the center of the camp, I
was. of course, positive that Powc.ll
was the attraction, hut whether I
thought or acted first I do not know,
but within an Instant from the mo
ment the scene .broke upon my view I
littd whipped out' my revolvers and
wan charging down upon 'the entlro
army of warriors, shooting rapidly,
nnd whooping at the top of my lungs.
Single handed, I could not have pur
sued bettor tnctlcs.sfor tho red men.
convinced by sudden surprise that not
less than a regiment of regulars was.
upon them, turned nnd fled In every
direction for their bows, nrrows nnd
rifles.
The view which their hurried rout-,
Ing disclosed filled mo with apprehen
sion nnd with ruge. Under the clenr
rnys of the Arizona" moon -lnj' Powell,
his body fairly bristling with the ar
rows of tho brnves. Thnt he was al
ready dead I could not but be con
vinced, and yet I would have saved
his body from mutllntlon nt the hands
of tho Apaches as quickly us I would'
have saved the, man himself from
death.
Riding closq to him I renched down
from (he saddle, nnd grasping his
cartridge belt drew hhn up ncross the
withers of my mount. To return by
tho wny I hnd come would be more
hnznrdous thnn to continue ncross the
plntehu, so, putting spurs to my poor,
beast, I mnde a dash for the opening
to the pass which I could distinguish'
on the far side of tho tnblelnnd.
The Indians hnd by this tlmo dls-
n,..,r.nA i.t t nn,i t i..nD
imvivu iiiul 1 1 .3 uiuna uiiu a 1
pursued with Indentions, nrrows,
nnu ruie onus, ano rnct tnnt 1 wns a
rather rapidly moving tnrget saved
me from the various deadly projectiles
reach tll0 shadows of the surrounding
. . . . ..I
pcaKs ncrore an orderly pursuit couiu
be organized.
My horse was traveling practically
ungulded, ns I knew thnt I hnd prob-
nbly less knowledge of tho exnet loca
tion of the trail to the pass than he.
and thus It happened that he entered
a detllo which led to the summit of
the range and not to the pass which I
had hoped would carry mo to tho val-
ley and to safety,
My first knowledge thnt I wns on
the- wrong troll cumo when I heard
"I Started Toward the Opening or trie
Cave, Only to Reel Drunkenly
Against a Sfde Wall"
tho yolls of the pursuing savages sud
denly grow fainter and fainter far off
to my left.
I drew roln ou a little level promon
tory overlooking the trail below and
to my loft, and saw the pnrty of pur
suing savages disappearing around the
point of a neighboring peak.
I knew the Indians would soon dis
cover that they wero on the wrong
trail nnd thnt tho search for me would
be runewed In tho right direction ns
soon ns thoy located mv tracks.
I hod followed tho trull for perhaps n
hundred yards when n shnrp turn to
the right brought me to the mouth of
a Inrge enve. The opening wns nbout
four feet In height nnd three to four
feet, wide, and ut this opening the troll
ended.
By
Edgar Rice Burroughs
1 Author of
Tarzan of the Apes
Copyright, A. O. McClurR and Company
'
Dismounting, I laid Powell upon tho
ground, hut the most pulnstaUfnK ex
amination failed to reveal the faintest
spark of life.
Leaving the body where It lay on
the ledge I crept Into the cave to re-
cunnolter. 1 found n targe chamber,
posblhly n hundred feet In diameter
and thirty or forty feet In height; n
hfiinooth nnd well-worn iloor, and many
other evidences thnt tho cave had. at
'some remote period, been Inhabited.
As I was continuing my examtnn-
tlon I commenced to feel n plensnnt
drowsiness creeping over me which I
attributed to the futlgue of niy loug
nnd -strpnuous ride, nnd thereactjlon
from the excitement of the fight rind
the pursuit.
I soon became so drowsy thnt I
could scarcely resist tho strong desire
to throw myself , on tho floor of the
cave for a few moments'' rest, but I
knew that this would never do, as It
would inean certain death at the
hands of my red friends, -who might
be upon me at nny moment. With an
effort I started toward the opening of
the cave only to r,eol drunkenly
against u side wall, and from there
slip prone upon the floor.
A sense of delicious dreaminess
overcame me, my muscles relnxed, and
I was on the point of giving away to
my desire to sleep when tho sound of
approaching horses reached my ears
,1 attempted to spring to my feet but
was horrified to discover that my
muscles refused to respond to my
will. I was row thoroughly awake.
but as unnble to move n muscle ns
b though turned to stone. ILwud theni
for the first time, that J noticed n
slight vnpor filling tho envo. There
nlso come to my nostrils a faintly
pungent odor, nnd I could only nssulne
thnt I hnd been overcome by Some
poisonous gns, but why I should re
tain my mental faculties and yet be
unable to move I count not rntiiom.
The noise of the approaching horses
had ceased, and I Judged the Indians
were creeping stealthily upon me
nlong the little ledge which led to my
living tomb,
I had not long to wait before a
stealthy sound apprised me of their
nearness; and then n wnr-bonneted,
pnlnt-strenked fnco wns thrust cuu-
tlntiHlv nrnunil the shoulder 0L me
v - o
cliff, nnd savage eyes looked into j.
miou. v
' The reuow, tnsteau 01 jipproncmns,
merely stood nnd stared; his eyes
.nir 11 nil his Inw dronti&l. Anil
then another savage face nppenrcd,
1 , a attu
""u " 'ir " u """1
crnning their necKs over tne snow
ders"' of their fellows whom they could
not pass upon the nnrrow ledge. Ench
fnco wns the picture of nwe nnd fear,
but for what reason I did not know,
nor did I learn until ten yenrs Inter.
Sitdiinntv n inw but distant moan-
Ing sound Issued from the recesses of
the cave behind me, nnd, ns It reached
the enrs of tho Indlnns. they turned
and fled In terror, panic stricken
Their wild cries echoed In the can
yon for a short time, and then nil wns
still once more.
Tho sound which had frightened
them wns not repented, but It hud
been sufficient ns It wns to start me
speculating on the possible horror
which lurked In the shadows at my
back.
Several times I thought I heard
faint sounds behind me ns of somo
body moving cnutlpusly, but eventual
ly oven these censed, nnd I wns left
to the contemplation of my position
without interruption.
Until possibly 'midnight nil wns si
lonce, the silence of the dend; then,
suddenly, the nwful monn of the morn
ing broke upon my startled enrs, nnd
there enmc ngnln frqm the blncl
shndows the sound of n moving thing,
nnd a faint rustling as of dead leaves,
The shock to my already overstrained
nervous system was terrible In the
extreme, nnd with n superhumnn ef
fort T strove to brenk my nwful bonds
Then something guve, there wns a mo
mentary feeling of .nausea, a sharp
click, as of the snnpplng of a steel
wire, nnd I stood with my. back
against tho wall of the cave, facing
my unknown foe.
And then the moonlight flooded the
cave, and there before me lay my own
body as It had been lying nil these
hours, with, tho eyes storing townrd
tho open ledge nnd the hands resting
limply upon the ground. I looked first
at my lifeless clay there upon tho
floor of the envo and then down at
myself In
utter bewilderment; for
olAtliAil n ) A liavHn. T
there 1 my ciotneu, and yet here 1
stood, but naked ns nt tho minute of
mj ojrui.
My first thought, wns, Is this then
lenth 1 Hnvo I Indeed passed over for
ever Into thnt other life 1 But 1 could
not well bellove this, ns I could feel
my heart pounding ngnlnst my ribs
from tho exertion of my efforts to re
lease myself from tho niiesthesls
which had held me?
Again was I suddenly recalled to
my Immediate surroundings by a repe
tition of tho weird monn from the
depths of tho envo. Naked and un
armed as I was, I had no desire to
faco tho unseen thing which menaced
me.
I leaped- quickly through the open
ing Into tho starlight of a qlear Ari
zona night. The crisp, fresh moun-
tain air outside the chve acted as an
Immediate tonic nnd I felt now life
and new courage coursing through me.
Pausing upon the. brink of the ledge I
upbrnfdod myself for what now
seemed to mo wholly unwarranted ap
prehension. My better Judgment, when
permitted the direction of clear nnd
logical .reasoning, convinced me that
the noises I had heard must have re-
suited from purely ttutural nnd harm
less causes; probably the conforma
tlon of the cave was such that n slight
breeze had caused the sounds I heard.
As I stood meditating. I turned my
gaze to the heavens, where the myriad
s(rs ,formed a gorgeous and fitting
canopy for the wonders of the earthly
scene. My attention wns quickly
riveted by a large red star close to
the horizon. As I gazed upon It I felt
a spell of overpowering fascination
It was Mars, the god of war, nnd for
"For There I Ly Clothed, and Yet
Here I Stood, but Naked as at the
Minute of My Birth."
e. the righting mnn.
me the lighting mnn, It . hnd nlvns
lielif tho nnwer of Irresistible enchant-
held tho power of Irresistible enchnnt
went. As I gazed at It on that far-
gone night It seemed to call across
tho unthinkable void, to lure me to It,
to draw me as the lodestone nttracts
a particle of iron
My longing was beyond the power
of opposition; I closed my eyes,
stretched out my arms toward tho god
f my vocation nnd felt myself drawn
with the suddenness of thought
through th'e trackless Immensity of
space, There was an instant of ex
treme cold and utter darkness.
CHAPTER II.
My Advent on Mars.
I opened my eyes upon a strange
and weird landscape. I knew that 1
, was, on Mnrs; not once did I question
either my sanity or my wakefulness
It was midday, the sun wus shlnjnp,
full unon me nnd the hbht of It wns
rather Intense upon my naked body
yet no greater than would have been
true, under similar conditions on an
Arizona desert.
A little to my left, perhaps a hun
dred yards, appeared n low, walled
enclosure about four feet In height-
No water, and no other vegetation
thnn moss wns n evidence, nnd ns 1
was somewhat thirsty I determined to
do a llltlo exploring.
Springing to my feet I received my
first Martian surprise, for tho effort,
which on Earth would have brought
me standing upright, carried me Into
the Martian air to the height of about
three yards. I alighted softly upon
the ground, however, without appre
ciable shock or Jar. Now commenced
a series of volutions which even then
seemed ludicrous In the extreme. My
muscles, perfectly attuned nnd nccus
tomed to the force of gravity on
Earth, plnyed the mischief with me In
attempting for the first time to cope
with tho lesser gravitation and lower
air pressure on Mars.
i vt'ns iintormlnod however, to eX'
oro tne ,ow structure which was the
I .... ....
nnlv vil1pnrft nt habitation In sight,
nml so j h,t upon (.,0 uniq0 rinn 6t
revortlncr to first principles In locomo
tlon. crooning. I did fnlrly well nt
tlon. creeping. I did fnlrly well a
this and In a few moments hnd
renched tho low, encircling wnll of the
enclosure I cautiously gained my feet
nnd peered over tho top upon the
strangest sight It hnd ever been given
me to see,
John wins laughter and ap
plause. (TO DE3 CONTINUED.)
Some politicians live anywhere but
in the hearts of their countrymen.
nternatlonal Honors Awarded
Western Canada Products.
Proof of What Can Be Done, With)
Intelligence and Industry, on
Good, Low-Prlced Larld.
Tho 1020 International Live Stockr
show at Chicago was probably the best
that has ever been held, nnd ns la
pointed out by a Canadian newspaper
writer, the number nnd quullty of the
exhibits "lndlcnted n new milestone
on the rond of progress." This yenr
it wus truly "lnternntlonnl." The purt f
that Canada took showed a spirit of
friendliness on both sides of the line
that was highly pleasing.
Six nrovlnces of Canada were rep
resented In vnrylng degrees, and when
the hnndsome share of the prizes that
were- carried off by our northern
elghbors, achieving phenomenal suc
cess In view of tremendous competi
tion, Is considered, there Is rcasou to
hope that In the minds of these people
thero will grow no esteem for the
International that will be helpful to
both countries.
Canada won n number of champion
ships, not the least of which was tho
sweepstakes carrlea off by Mr. J. C
Mitchell, of Dahlnda, Saskatchewan.
In this nward may be, seen an object
lesson, going to show that It Is not
always the man born with n silver
spoon In his mouth to whom tho
greutest degree of success will attach.
It will be Interesting to relate that
Mr. Mitchell, the roclplent of. these
grent honors, enme from the manufac
turing city of Manchester, England,
unacquainted with farming, but with
the luro of the land upon him. Be
cause he had been told of the success
that followed the tiller of the soli of
Western Cnnnda, fifteen years ago he
decided to make his home In Cnnadn,
and selected ns n homestead the Innd
upon which he grew the wheat that
has brought him a world's champion
ship. It Is true he had his ups and
downs, but he continued and Is now
enjoying the fruits of his labor and
the experience gained In a manner
of life thnt was enjoyable. But he
Is still a simple fanner and' will con
tinue growing grains that, with the
knowledge he possesses, Industry that
fs essential, and above all, a soil and
climate that are favorable, will se
cure many morq world's champion
ships.
Well, then, too, there was born at
Stratford, 'Ontario, a boy named Lu
cas, now of rami's estate. Although a
town boy he nlways had a desire for
farming. He moved to Alberta to the ,
neighborhood of Coyley, and those
who hnve hnd no Idea whero Cayley
Is will know now, for Mr. Lucas has
placed It "on the map." He had some
of his 40.2-lbs.-to-the-bushel oats at
the lnternntlonnl, nnd with 240 com
petitors ngnlnst him he took the
championship nnd sweepstakes. This
was a notable achievement. As has
been said, when he was a boy he took
a liking to farming, but the grentest
obstacle In the way of reallzntlon of
his dreams was tho practlcnl Impos
sibility of a mnii without a large
amount of capital purchasing the
high-priced farm lands' of the settled
parts In the neighborhood he lived In.
However, nfter leaving school he
heard of the law-priced lands of West
ern Cnnadrt. This was his opportu
nity, nnd he embraced It. Beginning
nt 15 yenrs of nge with ICO ncres of
virgin prairie, and with no practical
farming experience, he has now, by
perseverance nnd Industry, Increased
his holdings to nearly 1,000 acres.
Such Is,. the brief history of the man
who carried off the championship for
the best grown ;oats, and it is nlso an
example that might well be followed
by many who are struggling today
against the prices received for the
produce grown on high-priced land, or
to those who, ns was the case with
Mr. Lucas, had little means but an
abundance of energy and a flood of
ambition, Nowhere are there offered
Inducements such as are offered In
Western Canada.
There were 25 prizes offered In the
class for hard spring wheats and 20
of them went to Western Canada.
Advertisement.
, The perfect man Is a terrible pest.
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Name "Bayer" on Genuine
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sell larger pnekages. Aspirin Is the
trade mark of Bayer Manufacture of,
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Adv.
Joy Is a sunbeam 'twlxt two clouds.
G&rfield Tea, taken recularly, will cor.
rect both liver and kidney disorders. Adv.
