CHAPTER I ON
THE
ARIZONA 1
HILLS 0
I 2
am
a very old man 60
; how old
I 2
do not know .
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
my 2
dead body 2
lay undiscovered in
an
Arizona 1
cave 5
.
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
our 11
sister planet 10
; 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
my 2
friend 19
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
his 19
body 19
from mutilation at the hands of
the Apaches 53
as quickly as
I 2
would have saved
the man
himself 19
19
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
.