Tarzan of the apes edgar rice burroughs

TARZAN of the Apes

Edgar Rice Burroughs

CONTENTS

I Out to Sea
II The Savage Home
III Life and Death
IV The Apes
V The White Ape
VI Jungle Battles
VII The Light of Knowledge
VIII The Tree-top Hunter
IX Man and Man
X The Fear-Phantom
XI “King of the Apes”
XII Man’s Reason
XIII His Own Kind
XIV At the Mercy of the Jungle
XV The Forest God
XVI “Most Remarkable”
XVII Burials
XVIII The Jungle Toll
XIX The Call of the Primitive
XX Heredity
XXI The Village of Torture
XXII The Search Party
XXIII Brother Men
XXIV Lost Treasure
XXV The Outpost of the World
XXVI The Height of Civilization
XXVII The Giant Again
XXVIII Conclusion

Chapter 1

Out to Sea

I had this story from one who had no business to tell it to
Me, or to any other. I may credit the seductive influence
Of an old vintage upon the narrator for the beginning of it,
And my own skeptical incredulity during the days that followed
For the balance of the strange tale.

When my convivial host discovered that he had told me so
Much, and that I was prone to doubtfulness, his foolish pride
Assumed the task the old vintage had commenced, and so he
Unearthed written evidence in the form of musty manuscript,
And dry official records of the British Colonial Office to support
Many of the salient features of his remarkable narrative.

I do not say the story is true, for I did not witness the
Happenings which it portrays, but the fact that in the telling
Of it to you I have taken fictitious names for the principal
Characters quite sufficiently evidences the sincerity of my own
Belief that it MAY be true.

The yellow, mildewed pages of the diary of a man long dead, and
The records of the Colonial Office

dovetail perfectly with the
Narrative of my convivial host, and so I give you the story as
I painstakingly pieced it out from these several various agencies.

If you do not find it credible you will at least be as one
With me in acknowledging that it is unique, remarkable, and
Interesting.

From the records of the Colonial Office and from the dead
Man’s diary we learn that a certain young English nobleman,
Whom we shall call John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, was
Commissioned to make a peculiarly delicate investigation of
Conditions in a British West Coast African Colony from whose
Simple native inhabitants another European power was
Known to be recruiting soldiers for its native army, which it
Used solely for the forcible collection of rubber and ivory
From the savage tribes along the Congo and the Aruwimi.
The natives of the British Colony complained that many of
Their young men were enticed away through the medium of
Fair and glowing promises, but that few if any ever returned
To their families.

The Englishmen in Africa went even further, saying that
These poor blacks were held in virtual slavery, since after
Their terms of enlistment expired their ignorance was imposed
Upon by their white officers, and they were told that they had
Yet several years to serve.

And so the Colonial Office appointed John Clayton to a new
Post in British West Africa, but his confidential instructions
Centered on a thorough investigation of the unfair treatment
Of black British subjects by the officers of a friendly
European power. Why he was sent, is, however, of little moment
To this story, for he never made an investigation, nor,
In fact, did he ever reach his destination.

Clayton was the type of Englishman that one likes best to