Tarzan

  The Teen Years

  Suggested by the writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

  Woodrow W. Walker

  Copyright 2017 by Woodrow W. Walker

  This original story is a work of fiction. The characters and events in it are inventions of the author and does not describe any real persons or events. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the copyright holder.

  Prologue

  For those who came in late: In the year 1888 John, Lord Graystoke, and Lady Alice sailed from Dover on their way to Africa the Dark Continent.

  The full tale can be found elsewhere, but let it be clear, dear reader that they faced mutiny and abandonment on the East Coast of Africa.

  Lord Graystoke built a small cabin for his wife and soon a male baby was born to them.

  They were watched by evil eyes from the surrounding jungle. A tribe of humanoid Apes called Mangani lived nearby and did not like strange Tarmangani in their territory. The leader Kerchak suffered a form of madness and for no reason would attack members of his tribe.

  Several weeks after the birth of their baby. John was working a little away from the cabin when a savage gorilla attacked him. He knew there was no way to reach the cabin and he had only his ax to defend against the four-hundred-pound brute.

  Alice seeing her husband’s danger rushed into the cabin and returned with a rifle. She shot the gorilla, but it turned on her. The gorilla died before he could hurt Lady Alice, but she never recovered from the attack and died several weeks later.

  Lord Clayton left alone with his infant son, he could not feed without his wife’s milk. One day, desponded Clayton forgot to latch the door and while his son howled for milk he could not provide Clayton was unaware of his danger.

  Not far from the cabin a young female named Kala had given birth to an infant male. She had been forging or food when Kerchak attacked and killed another female.

  Not knowing of the attack, she did not know the danger until other Apes tried to warn her. She ran for the trees, but Kerchak was on her and she dropped the baby.

  As the madness passed, Kerchak allowed Kala to pick up her dead baby and she would carry the infant as if it were still alive. As the troop of Apes forged, they came to the small cabin.

  Kerchak sniffed the air as he approached the cabin and smelled the hated Tarmangani. Kala with her dead baby followed close behind drawn by the cries coming from the cabin. Kerchak pushed on the door and it opened. He saw Clayton and in a rage attacked and killed him. Kala saw the human baby and scooped him up and left her baby in its place.

  Kala ran from the cabin before Kerchak could stop her. In the years that followed, Kala loved and protected the one she named Tarzan.

  A human baby develops much slower that Apes, but Kala did not mind that other female’s offspring were active while her little Tarzan was not. It would take the young boy years to achieve what the young Apes could do in months, but from six to thirteen he made up for lost time.

  Chapter 1

  Kala watched as Tarzan raced through the upper terraces of the close packed trees, he was naked. Her savage breast filled with pride for her young Tarmangani.

  The other Apes had not liked her son and criticized her for not killing him, but he was now a full member of the tribe. Kala knew, he was smarter than the other Apes.

  The young Tarzan was strong as a grown man though, he had never seen anyone who looked like him. He thought of himself as an Ape. Was not his mother an Ape? So, in his mind could he be anything else?

  The young Apes Tarzan chased through the trees fifty or sixty feet above the jungle floor accepted him as an equal although, some of the older Apes still resented him, but the ever watch-full Kala, made sure they did not bother her son.

  Often the boy Tarzan, would visit the small cabin built by his long dead father. He thought nothing of the three skeletons. Two were his human parents, the third and smallest Kala’s firstborn. Tarzan’s interest was in the picture books Lord Clayton had brought for his yet unborn child.

  The picture books covered many subjects, animals, buildings and vehicles. Tarzan favored the animals for many jungle animals were pictured and many like the Platypus and Kangaroo, he had never seen before.

  Under each picture were small groups of strange characters, he came to believe were the names of the animals. Tantor was an elephant and Numa was a lion. He began to copy them and in so doing, would learn to write in English. His mind was superior to the Apes owning to his heritage.

  Another picture book was filled with pictures of people, white men, Negros and slant eyed Orientals. For the first-time, Tarzan saw himself as a man instead of an Ape. Was, he the only white man as he had seen no others. The blacks and Orientals also puzzled him. How could there be men in different colors? All apes looked alike, true there were different fur markings, but not in the eyes or lips as in man. It was strange to the boy and suggested many more questions than answers. Tarzan’s head was filled with questions on leaving the cabin.

  Also in the cabin, he had found his father’s hunting knife, one fashioned after the one made famous by American Jim Bowie. With which Tarzan cut his finger and regarded the knife as something, he might could use to defend himself. He tied the sheath around his naked waist with a rawhide thong.

  As Tarzan returned to the tribe of Apes with his new find, he heard a commotion and knew something had put fear in the Apes. As Tarzan broke through the thick jungle growth his eyes saw the cause, a leopard was about to leap on a small Ape whose mother had left him to forge for food. Without hesitation, Tarzan rushed forward to intercept the savage cat. Tarzan drew his father’s knife and as the leopard leaped, he plunged the knife to its hilt into the spotted hide. As, the angry leopard’s struggles weakened. Tarzan dropped the carcass and with one foot on the dead leopard beat his chest and give the victory cry of the bull Ape.

  As the Apes returned to the clearing, the mother ran forward and scooped up her young one. The others regarded Tarzan in a different light many came and patted him on the back and some had long questioned his right to belong to the tribe.

  He skinned and preserved the leopard skin according to a book in the cabin and presented the hide to his mother Kala, it would make a soft bed in her sleep nest. Kala was getting old and there were few comforts in the jungle. He always brought her the sweetest fruit and the fattest grubs.

  Tarzan loved his Ape mother as any son would love the only mother he had ever known.

  A mother’s love can transcend, species, gender and looks. How else can you explain a female of one species mothering a baby of another species despite being natural enemies?

  Chapter 2

  At fourteen, Tarzan had the figure of a man. None of the picture books showed a man naked, they covered their bodies with cloth and he could not understand why. The Apes did not cover their bodies in such a fashion and he had never felt shame in following their example.

  When, he put questions to his mother Kala or other Apes they would shake their heads and snort.

  Tarzan had never felt more alone as, he studied the books in the cabin. They were putting ideas in his head far above anything he could learn from his fellow Apes.

  Still, Tarzan loved Kala and he had friends among the younger Apes, but as the young Apes matured they lost their sense of fun and the ones he had played with would snarl at him when he suggested a game to them.

  Even Kala was cross with him when, he interrupted her forging for food which gave him much time to think and thinking made him question his world and his place in it.

  The books had imparted knowledge. But while, he could read and write in English the boy could only speak the Language of the Great Apes.

  His abilities did not all come from the books. The Great Apes, had poor eyesight and good hearing, but it was their sense of smell they excelled at. Kala had taught Tarzan to sniff the wind and he had learned that lesson well. He could tell if Numa the lion or Sabor the lioness was near, simply by using his nose.

  Life was good, but a big change in Tarzan’s life was about to occur and it would impact the Ape-boy for the rest of his life.

  Tarzan’s jungle home had abundant wildlife, but had been free of human beings. He had seen other human beings only in books.

  One day, a tribe of cannibals moved into Tarzan’s jungle and built a village surrounded by a stockade.

  Word came to Tarzan, by the jungle grapevine. Monkeys loved to chatter and if one thought, he knew something no one else did. Why he just had to tell everyone about it.

  Tarzan knew what came out of a monkey’s mouth was likely false as anything worthwhile.

  Tarzan was not lazy, but in the jungle, there was little to do besides forge, for food and he had eaten. With his belly full, he decided to nap while Kala forged below.

  In the cannibal village, the chief’s son set out on his rite to become a warrior. Armed with, spear, bow and arrows, he left the village under the proud eye of his father the chief.

  His trek took him far from the village to find a lion and kill it with his spear. He would present the skin to his father as a token, but if he returned to the village without the fresh killed lion skin, he would not be considered a warrior by the villagers despite his father’s standing as chief.

  The young black man had never been away from the village alone before. As, he moved through the jungle every sound increased his fear. He knew lions were rarely in the jungle preferring the open veldt where the grass eaters were, but he had gone in the wrong direction and entered the realm of the Great Apes.

  Kala had found a rotting tree filled with fat grubs. As the slight breeze was away from her, she did not sense the danger.

  As the chief’s son entered the clearing, Kala swing into the trees, but an arrow pierced her hide. She cried out before falling from the tree.

  Tarzan heard his mother’s cry and he rushed to find her. Kala was lying under the tree when Tarzan reached her. “Kalu (mother), who did this?”

  Weakly, she managed to say. “A Gomangani.”

  She died in Tarzan’s arms. Tarzan rose from his mother’s body and with a fury he had never known beat his chest and gave the war cry of the Apes.

  The chief’s son ran in fear never had he seen such a creature. He heard the cry as it trembled the very earth. Surely the creatures were after him for killing one of their Demons.

  Tarzan followed the heavy scent of the Gomangani, on the wind. He had seen black men only in his picture books, but if one had killed Kala, he was a dead man.

  Despite the chief’s son’s mad flight, Tarzan soon overtook him and using a rope, he had woven from tough grasses. Tarzan dropped the loop over the head of the Gomangani and lifted him to kick in the air. Tarzan dropped to the ground in front of the terrified native.

  Speaking in the language of the Apes. “Gomangani, you killed my mother Kala, now you die.”

  The chief’s son could not understand the strange white man and did not understand why he had been trapped after killing a Demon. Could this be a Demon appearing as a man?

  Tarzan plunged his knife into the terrified Gomangani, as he released the body, he placed a foot on the dead man and gave the victory cry of the Bull Ape.

  He stripped the hated Gomangani of his loin cloth and weapons. He had seen pictures of spears and bow and arrows in books. He knew they could kill, for one of the arrows had killed Kala.

  Tarzan picked up the naked body and leaped into the trees. He knew the approximate location of the Gomangani village from the wild chatter of the monkeys.

  He threw the naked body into the village and gave the cry of the Bull Ape. The superstitious natives were terrified, the naked body of the chief’s son had fallen from the sky and must be the work of Demons.

  Chapter 3

  A year had passed since Tarzan had found the body of his Ape mother, killed by the son of the chief of the cannibal village. At fifteen, he had the stature of a man with the strength of ten.

  Tarzan had made it his duty to harass the cannibal village whenever he was near it. It was where the murderer of Kala, had come from. The Ape-boy had read about cannibals and was disgusted by them and did not like having them in his jungle, but no matter what tricks he played on them they refused to move.

  The Gomangani who saw a glimpse of Tarzan thought him to be a Demon of forest spirit. Their primitive minds could not accept any other explanation. If Tarzan could have understood their language, he might have found it amusing.

  The Apes never stayed long in one place, but roamed over a large territory spending only several days in each place and Tarzan traveled with them so, he was not around to harass the cannibal village on a daily schedule, but that did not prevent the cannibals from offering tribute to the forest God.

  As the Apes moved about their territory, there was too much to occupy Tarzan that he scarcely thought about the cannibals. He loved to play with the young Apes, they would wrestle or chase through the upper terraces with Tarzan often the winner. Antics that would give civilized mothers a heart attack would scarcely draw a frown from the Apes.

  Young Tarzan an Ape by heart, if not by fact was still young enough to play with the young Apes, but beginning to becoming a dominant leader of the Ape tribe.

  The young Apes were curious as most young are and Tarzan was no acceptation. Older Apes knew better through experience that as danger lurked behind every tree, it was best to leave it alone.

  Growing up in the jungle Tarzan learned to accept danger. His Ape mother Kala had installed in him the courage to face any obstacle head on while his human parents by breeding had given him a superior mind. This set him apart from the Apes because he could not accept anything without investigating to seek the truth. While the Apes and the Gomangani through fear and ignorance attributed everything to unseen Gods, Tarzan would not rest until he learned the true cause behind every mystery.

  From his father’s books, he had learned the cause of Thunder and Lightning and the truth behind many other natural phenomenon. He tried to explain his discoveries to the Apes, but their minds could not grasp his meaning, but they came to trust his leadership.

  One day, Tarzan and his friend Kee had wondered far from the territory of the Apes. The young Ape worshiped Tarzan and was a true friend to the Ape-boy. Tarzan saw in his friend a smarter Ape than the others. He trusted Tarzan and did not fear to follow him anywhere.

  When hunger they ate, when tired they rested, when sleepy they made nest high in the forest canopy and slept. The jungle was a great provider. Though many miles from the Ape tribe they did not worry about becoming lost any more than a modern man could become lost in the city of his birth.

  Morning found them sleeping late. When the Ape-boy awoke, he did not disturb his friend, but went in search of food. He located a waterhole and lay in wait. Soon a young deer came to drink. Tarzan waited for the deer to overcome his fear and as he passed beneath him the Ape-boy leaped on the deer and with one swipe of his knife slit its throat.

  As Tarzan was returning to Kee his friend, he heard a terrible scream. Kee had awakened to find himself in the coils of a large python. His scream had alerted Tarzan to his friend’s plight. Tarzan placed the deer carcass in a tree and raced to his friend’s aid.

  Seeing the python, he knew only seconds were between Kee and death as the mighty snake tightened its coils. Losing no time, the Ape-boy threw himself at the python and plunged his knife to the hilt in its head. A dead snake is as deadly as a live one and Kee screamed as the coils tightened.

  Tarzan used his knife to cut off the python’s head and rescued his friend. “Kee, yo. Histah bund,” translated “Kee, Friend. Snake dead.”

  From here on out, Tarzan and the Apes will be translated.

  Kee shook himself. “Tarzan, friend. Kill snake to save Kee.”

  Tarzan saw his friend was in shock, but not hurt, he retrieved the deer carcass and they had a fine meal ate raw.

  Tarzan sucked the blood off his fingers and then wiped his hands on his loin cloth. Kee threw a bone at a chattering monkey. “Kee ready to go back to tribe.”

  Tarzan smiled. “Tarzan, wants to see what is on other side of that hill. We go back tomorrow.”

  Kee knew, argument was useless once the Ape-boy had decided something. Kee sighed, Tarzan would have his way and the Ape knew he would go with Tarzan despite his unease. They set off with, Tarzan in the lead and Kee close behind, he would never leave his friend.

  While hunting that morning, Tarzan had seen a bright shining object in the distance and being more Ape than man wanted to know what it was.

  That it was some distance away did not discourage him, it did not matter to the Ape-boy if it were a mile or a thousand miles, he would still investigate.

  As Tarzan and Kee moved through the trees, he could see through gaps in the foliage the object of his interest. It was a golden dome rising above the trees.

  The dome was part of several very old buildings because the jungle had reclaimed it, for it was without inhabitants and had been so for a very longtime.

  Tarzan and Kee dropped onto what had been a street and were attacked by monkeys who regarded the place as theirs. Tarzan spoke to them and assured them they meant no harm. The dome was solid gold, but to the young Ape-boy it was bright and shining. He knew nothing of the value of the metal.

  A thousand years before there was a great city beyond the far mountains, the city was Opar. The king desired to expand his empire so he sent a hundred men to build a new city, but no word was never heard from them and soon after Opar fell and became a ghost city.

  Tarzan and Kee did not of course know this or that Opar would one day become important to the Ape-boy. No, that was for another time and place.

 

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