Possibly
I 2
am a hundred , possibly more ; but I 2
can not tell because I 2
have never aged as other men 3
, nor do I 2
remember any childhood .
So far as I 2
can recollect I 2
have always been a man 65
, a man of about thirty 61
.
I 2
appear today as I 2
did forty years and more ago , and yet I 2
feel that I 2
can not go on living forever ; that some day I 2
shall die the real death from which there is no resurrection .
I 2
do not know why I 2
should fear death , I 2
who have died twice and am still alive ; but yet I 2
have the same horror of it as you who have never died 4
, and it is because of this terror of death , I 2
believe , that I 2
am so convinced of my 2
mortality .
And because of this conviction I 2
have determined to write down the story of the interesting periods of my 2
life and of my 2
death .
I 2
can not explain the phenomena ; I 2
can only set down here in the words of an ordinary soldier of fortune 2
a chronicle of the strange events that befell me 2
during the ten years that lay undiscovered in .
I 2
have never told this story , nor shall mortal man 6
see this manuscript until after I 2
have passed over for eternity .
I 2
know that the average human mind will not believe what it can not grasp , and so I 2
do not purpose being pilloried by the public 7
, the pulpit 8
, and the press 9
, and held up as a colossal liar 58
when I 2
am but telling the simple truths which some day science will substantiate .
Possibly the suggestions which I 2
gained upon Mars 10
, and the knowledge which I 2
can set down in this chronicle , will aid in an earlier understanding of the mysteries of ; mysteries to you 12
, but no longer mysteries to me 2
.
My 2
name is John Carter 2
; I 2
am better known as Captain Jack Carter of
Virginia 13
62 .
At the close of the Civil War I 2
found myself 2
possessed of several hundred thousand dollars ( Confederate ) and a captain 14
's commission in the cavalry arm of
an army which no longer existed 16
15 ; the servant of
a state which had vanished with the hopes of
the South 18
17 2 .
Masterless , penniless , and with my 2
only means of livelihood , fighting , gone , I 2
determined to work my 2
way to the southwest and attempt to retrieve my 2
fallen fortunes in a search for gold .
I 2
spent nearly a year prospecting in company with another Confederate officer 19
, Captain James K. Powell of
Richmond 20
63 .
We 21
were extremely fortunate , for late in the winter of 1865 , after many hardships and privations , we 21
located the most remarkable gold-bearing quartz vein that our 21
wildest dreams had ever pictured .
Powell 19
, who was a mining engineer by education 19
, stated that we 21
had uncovered over a million dollars worth of ore in a trifle over three months .
As our 21
equipment was crude in the extreme we 21
decided that one of us 21
must return to civilization 22
, purchase the necessary machinery and return with a sufficient force of
men 24
23 properly to work the mine 25
.
As Powell 19
was familiar with the country 26
, as well as with the mechanical requirements of mining we 21
determined that it would be best for him 19
to make the trip .
It was agreed that I 2
was to hold down our 21
claim against the remote possibility of its being jumped by some wandering prospector 27
.
On March 3 , 1866 , Powell 19
and I 2
packed his 19
provisions on two of our 21
burros , and bidding me 2
good-bye he 19
mounted his 19
horse , and started down the mountainside 28
toward the valley 29
, across which led the first stage of his 19
journey .
The morning of Powell 19
's departure was , like nearly all Arizona 1
mornings , clear and beautiful ; I 2
could see him 19
and his 19
little pack animals picking their way down the mountainside 28
toward the valley 29
, and all during the morning I 2
would catch occasional glimpses of them as they topped a hog back or came out upon a level plateau 30
.
My 2
last sight of Powell 19
was about three in the afternoon as he 19
entered the shadows of the range on the opposite side of
the valley 29
31 .
Some half hour later I 2
happened to glance casually across the valley 29
and was much surprised to note three little dots in about the same place I 2
had last seen and his 19
two pack animals .
I 2
am not given to needless worrying , but the more I 2
tried to convince myself 2
that all was well with Powell 19
, and that the dots I 2
had seen on his 19
trail were antelope or wild horses , the less I 2
was able to assure myself 2
.
Since we 21
had entered the territory 32
we 21
had not seen a hostile Indian 33
, and we 21
had , therefore , become careless in the extreme , and were wont to ridicule the stories we 21
had heard of the great numbers of these vicious marauders that were supposed to haunt the trails , taking
their 34
toll in lives and torture of
every white party which fell into
their 34
merciless clutches
35 34 .
Powell 19
, I 2
knew , was well armed and , further , an experienced
Indian 36
fighter
64 ; but I 2
too had lived and fought for years among the Sioux in
the North 38
37 , and I 2
knew that his 19
chances were small against a party of
cunning trailing Apaches 40
39 .
Finally I 2
could endure the suspense no longer , and , arming myself 2
with my 2
two Colt revolvers and a carbine , I 2
strapped two belts of cartridges about me 2
and catching my 2
saddle horse , started down the trail taken by
Powell 19
in the morning
41 .
As soon as I 2
reached comparatively level ground I 2
urged my 2
mount into a canter and continued this , where the going permitted , until , close upon dusk , I 2
discovered the point where other tracks joined those of Powell 19
.
They were the tracks of unshod ponies , three of them , and the ponies had been galloping .
I 2
followed rapidly until , darkness shutting down , I 2
was forced to await the rising of the moon , and given an opportunity to speculate on the question of the wisdom of my 2
chase .
Possibly I 2
had conjured up impossible dangers , like some nervous old housewife 42
, and when I 2
should catch up with Powell 19
would get a good laugh for my 2
pains .
However , I 2
am not prone to sensitiveness , and the following of a sense of duty , wherever it may lead , has always been a kind of fetich with me 2
throughout my 2
life ; which may account for the honors bestowed upon me 2
by three republics and the decorations and friendships of an old and powerful emperor 43
and several lesser kings , in whose service
my 2
sword has been red many a time
44 .
About nine o'clock the moon was sufficiently bright for me 2
to proceed on my 2
way and I 2
had no difficulty in following the trail 41
at a fast walk , and in some places at a brisk trot until , about midnight , I 2
reached the water hole where
Powell 19
had expected to camp
45 .
I 2
came upon the spot 45
unexpectedly , finding it 45
entirely deserted , with no signs of having been recently occupied as a camp 59
.
I 2
was interested to note that the tracks of the pursuing horsemen , for such
I 2
was now convinced they must be
46 , continued after Powell 19
with only a brief stop at the hole for water 45
; and always at the same rate of speed as his 19
.
I 2
was positive now that the trailers 46
were Apaches 66
and that they 46
wished to capture Powell 19
alive for the fiendish pleasure of the torture , so I 2
urged my 2
horse onward at a most dangerous pace , hoping against hope that I 2
would catch up with the red rascals 46
before they 46
attacked him 19
.
Further speculation was suddenly cut short by the faint report of two shots far ahead of me 2
.
I 2
knew that Powell 19
would need me 2
now if ever , and I 2
instantly urged my 2
horse to his topmost speed up the narrow and difficult
mountain 47
trail
41 .
I 2
had forged ahead for perhaps a mile or more without hearing further sounds , when the trail 41
suddenly debouched onto a small , open plateau near
the summit of
the pass 50
49 48 .
I 2
had passed through a narrow , overhanging gorge 51
just before entering suddenly upon this table land 48
, and the sight which met my 2
eyes filled me 2
with consternation and dismay .
The little stretch of level land 48
was white with Indian tepees 52
, and there were probably half a thousand red warriors 53
clustered around some object near the center of the camp 54
.
Their 53
attention was so wholly riveted to this point of interest that they 53
did not notice me 2
, and I 2
easily could have turned back into the dark recesses of
the gorge 51
55 and made my 2
escape with perfect safety .
The fact , however , that this thought did not occur to me 2
until the following day removes any possible right to a claim to heroism to which the narration of this episode might possibly otherwise entitle me 2
.
I 2
do not believe that I 2
am made of the stuff which constitutes heroes 56
, because , in all of the hundreds of instances that my 2
voluntary acts have placed me 2
face to face with death , I 2
can not recall a single one where any alternative step to that I 2
took occurred to me 2
until many hours later .
My 2
mind is evidently so constituted that I 2
am subconsciously forced into the path of duty without recourse to tiresome mental processes .
However that may be , I 2
have never regretted that cowardice is not optional with me 2
.
In this instance I 2
was , of course , positive that Powell 19
was the center of attraction 67
, but whether I 2
thought or acted first I 2
do not know , but within an instant from the moment the scene broke upon my 2
view I 2
had whipped out my 2
revolvers and was charging down upon the entire army of warriors 53
, shooting rapidly , and whooping at the top of my 2
lungs .
Singlehanded , I 2
could not have pursued better tactics , for the red men , convinced by sudden surprise that not less than
a regiment of regulars 57
was upon
them 53
53 , turned and fled in every direction for their 53
bows , arrows , and rifles .
The view which their 53
hurried routing disclosed filled me 2
with apprehension and with rage .
Under the clear rays of the Arizona 1
moon lay Powell 19
, his 19
body fairly bristling with the hostile arrows of
the braves 53
19 .
That he 19
was already dead I 2
could not but be convinced , and yet I 2
would have saved from mutilation at the hands of the Apaches 53
as quickly as I 2
would have saved from death .
Riding close to him 19
I 2
reached down from the saddle , and grasping his 19
cartridge belt drew him 19
up across the withers of my 2
mount .
A backward glance convinced me 2
that to return by the way I 2
had come would be more hazardous than to continue across the plateau 48
, so , putting spurs to my 2
poor beast , I 2
made a dash for the opening to the pass which I 2
could distinguish on the far side of the table land 48
.