A Princess of Mars

e were, as I was later to learn, nearing the edge of one of Mars' long-dead

y of which was a low table land upon which I beheld an enormous city. Toward this we galloped, entering it by what appeared to be a

nted for years, possibly for ages. Toward the center of the city was a large plaza, and upon this and in the buildings immediately surrounding it were cam

r in proportion to their height, in some instances curving nearly to their high-set ears. Their bodies were smaller and lighter in color, and their f

he women, and all looked precisely alike to me, excep

t about the age of one thousand years, they go voluntarily upon their last strange pilgrimage down the river Iss, which leads no living Martian knows

er nine hundred and seventy-nine die violent deaths in duels, in hunting, in aviation and in war; but perhaps by far the greatest

violent death. Owing to the waning resources of the planet it evidently became necessary to counteract the increasing longevity which their remarkable skill in therapeutics and surge

ion, but nothing contributes so greatly to this end as the fact that no m

seemed anxious to pluck me from my seat behind my guard. A word from the leader of the party stilled their clamor, a

nd scintillated in the sunlight. The main entrance was some hundred feet in width and projected from the building proper to form a huge canopy above t

e steps of a rostrum. On the platform proper squatted an enormous warrior heavily loaded with metal ornaments, gay-colored feathers and beautifully wr

to human beings such as I, whereas the great bulks of the Martians could scarcely have squeezed into the chairs, nor was there room beneath the desks for their long legs. Evidently, then, there were other denizens on Mars than the wild a

into the audience chamber. There were few formalities observed in approaching the Martian chieftain. My captor merely strode up to the rostrum, the others making way

n green Martians. Had the men been strangers, and therefore unable to exchange names, they would have silently exchanged ornaments, had their m

great ability as a statesman and warrior. He evidently explained briefly the incidents connected with h

ikewise. This fact, and the similar occurrence during my first talk with Tars Tarkas, convinced me that we had at least something in common; the ability to smile, therefore to

The death agonies of a fellow being are, to these strange creatures, provocative of the wildest hilarity, while their

texture of my skin. The principal chieftain then evidently signified a desire to see m

ng about among the desks and chairs like some monstrous grasshopper. After bruising myself severely, much to the amusement of the Martians, I again had

onsideration for a stranger's rights; I swung my fist squarely to his jaw and he went down like a felled ox. As he sunk to the floor I wheeled around with my back toward the ne

nto wild peals of laughter and applause. I did not recognize the applause as such, but later, when I had become

the open, but I was not long in being enlightened. They first repeated the word "sak" a number of times, and then Tars Tarkas made several jumps, repeating the same word before each leap; then, turning to me, he said, "sak!" I saw what they were after, and gathering myself to

make; but I was both hungry and thirsty, and determined on the spot that my only method of salvation was to demand the consideration from these creatures which they

among the throng, gave her some instructions and motioned me to accompany her. I grasped

oth, glossy hide. Her name, as I afterward learned, was Sola, and she belonged to the retinue of Tars Tarkas. She conducted me to a spacious chamber in one of

but upon all there seemed to rest that indefinable touch of the finger of antiquity which convinced me that the archi

m. In response to her call I obtained my first sight of a new Martian wonder. It waddled in on its ten short legs, and squatted down before the girl like an obedient puppy. Th