Official Edgar Rice Burroughs Tribute and Weekly Webzine Site Since 1996 ~ Over 15,000 Webpages in Archive Volume 8030a  |
ERB 100-Word Drabbles & Events
FEBRUARY VII Edition :: Days 16-28
by Robert Allen Lupton
Back to Days 1-15 at ERBzine 8030
With Collations, Web Page Layout and ERBzine Illustrations and References by Bill Hillman
February 16: On this day in 1930, writer John Eric Holmes, who authored “Mahars of Pellucidar” and “Red Axe of Pellucidar,” was born. A wonderful article about John written by ERB archivist and expert, John Martin, is available at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag31/3149.htmlMr. Martin has an article about “Mahars of Pellucidar” - https://www.erbzine.com/mag57/5797.htmlMahars of Pellucidar was published by Ace Books during Holmes’ lifetime, but Red Axe remained unprinted until ERB Inc. published it in 2023. For several years, tattered, faded, and blurry photocopies of the unpublished Red Axe manuscript were occasional available.Both books are available from ERB, Inc. Here’s a link to get you started: https://edgarriceburroughs.com/.../mahars-of-pellucidar/Holmes was born in South Dakota, but lived in a Hawaii and California.The 100 word fictional drabble for today, “How Cold Was It,” was inspired by the life and work of writer and neurology professor at USC, Doctor John Eric Holmes.<>
HOW COLD WAS IT
“Mr. Holmes, why did you choose to write two novels in Pellucidar, a world created by Edgar Rice Burroughs?
“It’s warm there. I was always fascinated by a place where the sun always shines.”“Why did that matter?”“I’m from South Dakota. I loved it there, but it was so cold. I also served in Korea, a place even colder than South Dakota.”
“But Pellucidar was filled with all kinds of monsters.”“True. I learned in Korea you can run or hide from bad things and bad people, but you can’t run from freezing weather. I’d rather fight than freeze.”
SYMBOL OF A NEW DAY
<>February 17: On this day in 1934, the ERB article, “Symbol of a New Day”, was published in Rob Wagner’s Script magazine. The magazine published several articles by Edgar Rice Burroughs and also a handful of the Inspector Muldoon mysteries. The Muldoon mysteries and the article written by ERB for “Rob Wagner’s Script” magazine may be read in all their glory at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag64/6409.htmlThe drabble for today is 100 words excerpted from the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ article, “Symbol of a New Day.” Burroughs reviews several changes that have happened in his lifetime and points out that at one time a magazine like Script would have been banned.” (Nothing helps sales like having some narrowminded jerks ban a book or magazine. Folks want to know what all the fuss is about.)
SYMBOL OF A NEW DAY
“It seems that the progress of civilization was dependent upon light. One might believe that each advance let more light shine into the human brain that had, for countless ages, been groping in darkness.
“Not so many years ago SCRIPT would’ve been banned as sacrilegious and obscene. That it’s not banned today suggests we’re becoming more honest, less hypocritical, that bigotry is giving way to fair open-mindedness that permits tolerance of views, customs, and manners different from our own.
“Much of this new tolerance must be credited to magazines such as SCRIPT, beneath whose joyous presentation lies a convincing sincerity.”
<>TORONTO STAR
February 18: On this day in 1936, The “Toronto Star Weekly” began serialization of Pirates of Venus. The Toronto Star published several science fiction novels over the years including 28 “Golden Amazon” novels by John Russell Fearn. Fearn also wrote four “Mars” novels, Emperor of Mars, Warrior of Mars, Red Men of Mars, and Goddess of Mars. “Vargo Statten” was his best-known pseudonym. Most of his books are available in one form or another, a quick internet search will find them. There are so many!Publishing details for Pirates of Venus, pictures galore, and an electronic copy of the novel: https://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0748.htmlLeaving Mr. Fearn and his highly imaginative, if somewhat derivative and quickly written, body of work behind, the drabble for today is, “Toronto Star,” inspired by the newspaper, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and a song writer and recording artist from Oklahoma, Roger Miller.
TORONTO STAR
ERB answered the phone. His Canadian agent said, “Ed, the first installment of Pirates was published in the Toronto Star. Good news. Ottawa wants an exclusive to publish your work in Canada. Are you interested?”
“No. I got their letter just this morning, postmarked Ottawa.Typed and neatly written offering me a better dealMy picture on the cover, long term contract, higher payBut Toronto asked me first and that’s where I’m gonna stayI’m the number one attraction at every news stand in that townI’m a star there in Toronto, so no thanks Ottawa, I’ll stick around.
MY DEAR MISS SIMONS
February 19: On this day in 1931, Edgar Rice Burroughs’s nephew, Studley Oldham Burroughs offered to illustrate Ed’s upcoming books. Ed accepted and Studley illustrated four Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels, “Apache Devil,” “Tarzan the Invincible,” “Jungle Girl,” and “Tarzan Triumphant.” On a personal note, the Apache Devil cover is my favorite.Studley worked as a feature artist at the Chicago Herald from where he moved to New York to work for Mothers Magazine. From there he moved to Los Angeles where his uncle Ed helped him gain employment at the Foster and Keiser Company. In 1914 Ed Burroughs wrote his main contact at All-Story Magazine to enquire about job possibilities for his nephew: "By the way, if my nephew cared to submit a cover design with one of my future stories would it receive consideration? He's a mighty clever young chap, and I don't know of anyone I'd rather see him get a start with than you. He's doing rather well now, but nothing very steady, and his work is improving wonderfully." It was around this time that his work appeared as an illustration in his grandmother, Mary Evaline's “Memoirs Of A War Bride”, in which she related her experiences during the American Civil War.”Alas, Studley, who also designed Ed’s personal bookplate, was unable to meet publishing deadlines and ERB returned to J. Allen St. John for artwork before his son, John Coleman Burroughs took over those duties.Details about Ed’s nephew are located at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0053.htmlThe drabble for today, My Dear Miss Simons, is excerpted from an undated letter Ed wrote to Marion Simons about the bookplate.
MY DEAR MISS SIMONS
It was drawn twenty years ago by my nephew, Studley Oldham Burroughs, and represents Tarzan supporting Mars, with the two Martian moons above. In the background are characters from some of my other stories: at Tarzan’s feet sits Kala, the she-ape which fostered him. The crossed quill and saber are emblematic of my writing and my service in the 7th Cavalry.
In the quarters of the field appear a Cavalry boot, also emblematic of my Army service; the skull of a cow, for my days as a cowpuncher; an automobile wheel, signifying my love of motoring; and an open book.
SECOND WIFE
February 20: On this day in 1904, Edgar Rice Burroughs’s second wife, Florence Gilbert Gleistein, was born in Chicago: It was in Los Angeles that she was spotted by Italian actor, director and producer Monty Banks. In Hollywood she worked for Al Christie and Fox Studios under the stage name of Florence Gilbert, making over 50 film appearances from the 1920s onward, including the first time Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy appeared together on film, in The Lucky Dog (1921).<> She married actor, director, producer, and entrepreneur Ashton Dearholt and bore him two children, Lee and Caryl Lee.She divorced Dearholt after he returned from filming The New Adventures of Tarzan in Guatemala with co-star Ula Holt in tow and insisted that Holt be able to live in the Dearholt home.She subsequently married Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs.Details and photos of Florence are located at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag8/0891.htmlThe drabble for today is Second Wife, and it is an excerpt from an article by Linda Davis at: https://www.findagrave.com/memo.../41456809/florence-gilbert
SECOND WIFE
Florence Gilbert Smith Dearholt Burroughs Chase was the second wife of actor Ashton Dearholt, and the couple had two children, and she was the second wife of "Tarzan" author Edgar Rice Burroughs. As the co-owners of Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises, a film production company, Dearholt and Burroughs had business dealings as Dearholt had an acting role as well as one of the producers of the 1935 film "New Adventures of Tarzan". After her remains were cremated, her ashes were interred in a non-cemetery site, the Exposition Park Rose Garden in Los Angeles, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
TRIPLE THREAT
February 21: On this day in 1910, Actor Darby Jones, who appeared in three Tarzan films, Tarzan Escapes, Tarzan’s New York Adventure, Tarzan’s Savage Fury, was born in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his role as the zombie-like Carrefour in the 1943 horror film “I Walked with a Zombie.” He appeared in a similar role in the 1945 film “Zombies on Broadway.” Details about the three Tarzan films;Jones, who was 6’ 11’ tall, had thirty-eight film credits. The drabble for today is, “Triple Threat,” and it was inspired by Jones’s career, especially his “Zombie” films.”
TRIPLE THREAT
Darby Jones and Johnny Lex Barker talked on the set of “Tarzan’s Savage Fury.” Lex said, “Darby, you’re almost seven feet tall. Why didn’t you play basketball?”
“Lex, did you pay sports?”“I did. I played football, but I wasn’t fast enough to go pro. Man, you could have been a Harlem Globetrotter.”
“Have you seen my Zombie films? They cast me for a reason. It’s not all acting? I’m really that slow and awkward”
I don’t understand.”“I’d could have never been a Globetrotter. I was a triple threat on the court. Can’t jump, can’t shoot, and can’t run.”
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH
<>February 22: On this day in 1932, ERB began writing “Pirate Blood,” which has been adapted into a webcomic for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc: ERB submitted the novel to several magazines using his largely unsuccessful pseudonym, John Tyler McColloch. The 34,000-word story received numerous rejections and was never published during ERB’s lifetime. Ace Books published it as a companion piece to “The Wizard of Venus” in August 1970. Ace reprinted the “The Wizard of Venus” twice, always using a cover by Roy G. Krenkel. Ballantine/Del Rey published it under the title, “The Wizard of Venus and Pirate Blood” with Richard Hescox cover art in July 1991. This is a fun read. Check it out.Publishing details and illustrations may be found at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0778.htmlThe drabble for today is 100 words, “You Can’t Handle the Truth,” excerpted from the Mike Brooks review on the Manapop website. https://manapop.com/.../pirate-blood-edgar-rice.../
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH
Pirate Blood was discovered in the safe of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Pirate Blood was penned in 1932 and when one reads it, one can’t be too surprised Burroughs never got around to finishing it as tales of rape and savage lust may not have sat too well with readers of the time.
The hero has quite the dark soul and does things that your typical Burroughs protagonist would never do, but this is what makes Pirate Blood such a good read as it takes a fairly realistic view of modern pirating if also a strange view of nature vs nurture.
WHAT BIG EARS YOU HAVE
February 23: Oon this day in 1924, “Argosy All-Story Weekly” published the fourth of seven installments of “Tarzan and the Ant Men.” Only the first installment featured the novel on the cover, with an illustration by Stockton Mulford. The first edition was published in September 1924 by A. C; McClurg with a magnificent J. Allen St. John wrap-around dust jacket.The February 23, 1924 issue of Argosy All-Story weekly featured the first part of the pirate novel, Shifting Sands, by Garrard Harris. The artist was DeAlton Valentine. Harris, largely forgotten, wrote about a dozen stories for the pulps. Valentine, also illustrated a dozen pulp covers, but this was his only one for the Argosy family.The Chares B. Stinson (Polaris of the Snows) novel, “The Centaur of Navarre,” concluded in this issue.Extensive publishing details, illustrations, and reviews for “Tarzan and the Ant Men” abound at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag4/0497.htmlThe drabble for today was inspired, “What Big Ears You Have,” by the novel, “Tarzan and the Ant Men."
WHAT BIG EARS YOU HAVE
Tarzan spoke to the little king with a big name, Adendrohahkis. ‘Your people are so small, like ants. I’m going to call you ant men.”
“We aren’t ants, we’re Minunians.”Tarzan laughed. “An ant by any other name, still runs under foot.”King Adendrohahkis grunted. “You’re so big, clumsy, and slow, I’ll call you an elephant man.”
“I wish I were,” said Tarzan. “King, I’ve fought alongside Tantor the elephant. I know Tantor. Tantor is a friend of mine. King, I assure you that I am no elephant man.”
“Are you sure?”“I am. Like an elephant, I never forget.”
BREAD ON THE WATERS
February 24: On this day in 1920, the Tacoma Tribune began serializing The Girl From Farris’s.” Newspaper serializations were a regular outlet for authors during the 1910s and 1920s. Several of ERB’s novels appeared in many newspapers across the United States. Finding them all has proven to be a never-ending task. For example “Tarzan of the Apes," "A Princess of Mars", and "The Gods of Mars" were published in a small New Mexico newspaper, the Penasco Valley Press, but only scattered issues containing "A Princess of Mars" exist in archival form on microfilm. Circulation was less than three hundred copies at the time. On some of the issues that I’ve seen, the "A Princess of Mars” segment made up a third of the entire paper.Details about “The Girl From Farris’s” are available at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0761.htmlThe fictional drabble for today, “Bread on the Waters,” was inspired by the newspaper serializations of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novels.
BREAD ON THE WATERS
Emma Burroughs said, “Ed, two dollars and twenty-three cent check came today for the serialization of “A Girl From Farris’s” in the Tacoma Tribune.”
“Great. Lord knows there were times that even twenty-three cents would have been welcome. Newspaper serializations are an investment.”
“Investment?”“If they read it in the newspaper, they might buy my books. It’s paid advertising. I’m paid to advertise.”“Some people might hate it.”“That’s okay. Maybe they’ll behave like you do.”“What?”‘You say, ‘This is terrible, try it.” They’ll say, ‘This is terrible, read it.’ Love it or hate it, I get another reader.”
ENJOY THE NEW, HONOR THE OLD
February 25: On this day in 2025, Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. announced presales for “Gauntlets of Mars,” by writer and artist, Chris Adams, who is also a board member for the Burroughs Bibliophiles. The novel is the sequel to his “Dark Tides of Mars.”“Gauntlets” is available in paperback, hardcover, and in a signed limited edition. The cover and interior art are by Douglas Kaluta. Awesome stuff.Chris has spent hundreds of hours coloring old black and white photographs of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his family. You can view his work at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag74/7470.htmlThe drabble for today, “Enjoy the New, Honor the Old,” is a one-hundred-word excerpt from an interview I conducted with Chris a while back. The words are Chris’s.
ENJOY THE NEW, HONOR THE OLD
The reader of Dark Tides of Mars, and Gauntlets of Mars, may expect these stories to follow in Burroughs’ footsteps, whisking readers to strange adventures, seeing new things, visiting new places, while also revisiting our favorite characters, places and things from the series we love. Is John Carter in the story? Absolutely. Helium, Tars Tarkas, Dejah Thoris? Yes. Carthoris, flyers, thoats; open stretches of ochre moss covered, dead sea bottoms? It wouldn’t be Barsoom without them.Burroughs introduced new characters in each new novel. So will these new tales of Barsoom. Hopefully in ways that are fun, exciting and interesting.
AS BEFITS MY STATION
February 26: On this day in 1913, All-Story Magazine published a letter to the editor from Edgar Rice Burroughs under the heading “FROM THE MAN WHO KNOWS MARS.” The entire letter may be read at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0259.htmlThe drabble for today, “As Befits My Station,” is an excerpt from that tongue-in-cheek letter.
AS BEFITS MY STATION
It has been with feelings of considerable amusement that I have read your various references to me and other writers in your highly interesting "Table-Talk."
I’m constrained to believe, however, that a continuation of this policy cannot but fail to produce in the minds of magazine readers an entirely erroneous impression, since the natural inference is that writers associate, in terms of equality, with editors.
Pray do not assume from this that I consider myself at all superior. I am really quite democratic -- I would even go to lunch with a publisher, under certain, more or less obvious conditions.
DON'T BOTHER ME WITH FACTS
February 27: On this day in 1937, Actress Meri Welles, who had a small part in “Tarzan and the Valley of Gold," was born in Dallas, Texas. Her brief film career also included, the Roger Corman version of “Little Shop of Horrors,” :The Pink Panther,” and “Cleopatra.” Her birth name was Mary Jane Carsey. IMBD credits were with saying that Richard Burton grabbed her and kissed her on the set of “Cleopatra,’ a film where she played one of his mistresses. Her comment was ‘it didn’t do a thing for me.”For details about the film and the Fritz Leiber novel visit, “Tarzan and the Valley of Gold,” you’ll find a wealth of information at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0210.htmlThe drabble for today, “Don’t Bother Me With Facts,” was inspired by bullying behavior around the world, even in politics. Shocking how common it is. There's an old lawyer's maxim. "When the law is on your side, present the law.
DON'T BOTHER ME WITH FACTS
When facts are on your side, present the facts. When neither the law nor the facts are on you side, call everyone names.
Tarzan met with the Colonial Governor, Major Bouncingbutt. “Please stop attacking the Jimwalla tribe.”
Bouncingbutt screamed, “You don’t like me. You never liked me. You don’t wear shoes. You lied about me to the Queen. You can’t tie an ascot.”“You never addressed attacking the Jimwalla.”“I never trouble myself with facts or even right or wrong, only what I want. I simply accuse everyone who disagrees with me with foul and despicable behavior. I can do what I want while they defend themselves.”
“That’s terrible,” said Tarzan. “Does it work?”“Well, I’m the governor. You sleep in a tree.”
FICKLE FINGER OF FATE
February 28: On this day in 1891, actor Philip Sleeman was born. He portrayed a slave trader in “Tarzan the Fearless.” Details about the film serial and movie are located at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag5/0595.html<>Sleeman appeared in over ninety films, including “Perils of Pauline,” The Prisoner of Zenda,” :The Scarlet Empress,” “The Iron Mask,” and “King of Kings.” He was usually in cast in roles where he was an unscrupulous character, misbehaving, making trouble, and in the words of Kris Kristofferson’s “The Silver-Tongued Devil and I”Hidin' intentions of evil under the smile of a saint.All he's good for is gettin' in trouble and shifting his share of the blame.Slleeman, by all accounts, a fine man, whose face and skill, relegated him to roles as a slaver, a convict, a corrupt official, and a cad, had a long career of portraying men unlike himself. Unfortunately, every role is based on real life, even the stereotypes.So today’s 100 word drabble, “Fickle Finger of Fate,” is inspired by all the Major Bouncingbutts, who are real life examples of a Philip Sleeman role. The fickle finger writes and having written, moves on.
FICKLE FINGER OF FATE
Jane said, “Tarzan, it looks like you’ve had a hard day.”“It was difficult, but also educational. I met with Major Bouncingbutt in the Colonial office. I learned his secret. If you accuse him of anything, he points his finger at you and accuses you of everything vile thing he can think of.”
“That’s despicable.”“He says that if everyone looks where you point your finger, no one looks back at you.”
“Have you tried it?”“No, seems dangerous. If you point your finger at enough things in the jungle, sooner or later one of them will bite it off.”
