CHAPTER XV
CONQUEST AND PEACE
The fleet sailed directly for Hooja's island, coming to anchor at itsnorth-eastern extremity before the flat-topped hill that had beenHooja's stronghold. I sent one of the prisoners ashore to demand animmediate surrender; but as he told me afterward they wouldn't believeall that he told them, so they congregated on the cliff-top and shotfutile arrows at us.
In reply I had five of the feluccas cannonade them. When theyscampered away at the sound of the terrific explosions, and at sight ofthe smoke and the iron balls I landed a couple of hundred red warriorsand led them to the opposite end of the hill into the tunnel that ranto its summit. Here we met a little resistance; but a volley from themuzzle-loaders turned back those who disputed our right of way, andpresently we gained the mesa. Here again we met resistance, but atlast the remnant of Hooja's horde surrendered.
Juag was with me, and I lost no time in returning to him and his tribethe hilltop that had been their ancestral home for ages until they wererobbed of it by Hooja. I created a kingdom of the island, making Juagking there. Before we sailed I went to Gr-gr-gr, chief of thebeast-men, taking Juag with me. There the three of us arranged a codeof laws that would permit the brute-folk and the human beings of theisland to live in peace and harmony. Gr-gr-gr sent his son with meback to Sari, capital of my empire, that he might learn the ways of thehuman beings. I have hopes of turning this race into the greatestagriculturists of Pellucidar. When I returned to the fleet I foundthat one of the islanders of Juag's tribe, who had been absent when wearrived, had just returned from the mainland with the news that a greatarmy was encamped in the Land of Awful Shadow, and that they werethreatening Thuria. I lost no time in weighing anchors and setting outfor the continent, which we reached after a short and easy voyage.
From the deck of the Amoz I scanned the shore through the glasses thatPerry had brought with him. When we were close enough for the glassesto be of value I saw that there was indeed a vast concourse of warriorsentirely encircling the walled-village of Goork, chief of the Thurians.As we approached smaller objects became distinguishable. It was thenthat I discovered numerous flags and pennants floating above the armyof the besiegers.
I called Perry and passed the glasses to him.
"Ghak of Sari," I said.
Perry looked through the lenses of a moment, and then turned to me witha smile.
"The red, white, and blue of the empire," he said. "It is indeed yourmajesty's army."
It soon became apparent that we had been sighted by those on shore, fora great multitude of warriors had congregated along the beach watchingus. We came to anchor as close in as we dared, which with our lightfeluccas was within easy speaking-distance of the shore. Ghak wasthere and his eyes were mighty wide, too; for, as he told us later,though he knew this must be Perry's fleet it was so wonderful to himthat he could not believe the testimony of his own eyes even while hewas watching it approach.
To give the proper effect to our meeting I commanded that each feluccafire twenty-one guns as a salute to His Majesty Ghak, King of Sari.Some of the gunners, in the exuberance of their enthusiasm, fired solidshot; but fortunately they had sufficient good judg-ment to train theirpieces on the open sea, so no harm was done. After this we landed--anarduous task since each felucca carried but a single light dugout.
I learned from Ghak that the Thurian chieftain, Goork, had beeninclined to haughtiness, and had told Ghak, the Hairy One, that he knewnothing of me and cared less; but I imagine that the sight of the fleetand the sound of the guns brought him to his senses, for it was notlong before he sent a deputation to me, inviting me to visit him in hisvillage. Here he apologized for the treatment he had accorded me, verygladly swore allegiance to the empire, and received in return the titleof king.
We remained in Thuria only long enough to arrange the treaty withGoork, among the other details of which was his promise to furnish theimperial army with a thousand lidi, or Thurian beasts of burden, anddrivers for them. These were to accompany Ghak's army back to Sari byland, while the fleet sailed to the mouth of the great river from whichDian, Juag, and I had been blown.
The voyage was uneventful. We found the river easily, and sailed up itfor many miles through as rich and wonderful a plain as I have everseen. At the head of navigation we disembarked, leaving a sufficientguard for the feluccas, and marched the remaining distance to Sari.
Ghak's army, which was composed of warriors of all the original tribesof the federation, showing how successful had been his efforts torehabilitate the empire, marched into Sari some time after we arrived.With them were the thousand lidi from Thuria.
At a council of the kings it was decided that we should at oncecommence the great war against the Mahars, for these haughty reptilespresented the greatest obstacle to human progress within Pellucidar. Ilaid out a plan of campaign which met with the enthusiasticindorsement of the kings. Pursuant to it, I at once despatched fiftylidi to the fleet with orders to fetch fifty cannon to Sari. I alsoordered the fleet to proceed at once to Anoroc, where they were to takeaboard all the rifles and ammunition that had been completed sincetheir departure, and with a full complement of men to sail along thecoast in an attempt to find a passage to the inland sea near which laythe Mahars' buried city of Phutra.
Ja was sure that a large and navigable river connected the sea ofPhutra with the Lural Az, and that, barring accident, the fleet wouldbe before Phutra as soon as the land forces were.
At last the great army started upon its march. There were warriorsfrom every one of the federated kingdoms. All were armed either withbow and arrows or muzzle-loaders, for nearly the entire Mezopcontingent had been enlisted for this march, only sufficient havingbeen left aboard the feluccas to man them properly. I divided theforces into divisions, regiments, battalions, companies, and even toplatoons and sections, appointing the full complement of officers andnoncommissioned officers. On the long march I schooled them in theirduties, and as fast as one learned I sent him among the others as ateacher.
Each regiment was made up of about a thousand bowmen, and to each wastemporarily attached a company of Mezop musketeers and a battery ofartillery--the latter, our naval guns, mounted upon the broad backs ofthe mighty lidi. There was also one full regiment of Mezop musketeersand a regiment of primitive spearmen. The rest of the lidi that webrought with us were used for baggage animals and to transport ourwomen and children, for we had brought them with us, as it was ourintention to march from one Mahar city to another until we had subduedevery Mahar nation that menaced the safety of any kingdom of the empire.
Before we reached the plain of Phutra we were discovered by a companyof Sagoths, who at first stood to give battle; but upon seeing the vastnumbers of our army they turned and fled toward Phutra. The result ofthis was that when we came in sight of the hundred towers which markthe entrances to the buried city we found a great army of Sagoths andMahars lined up to give us battle.
At a thousand yards we halted, and, placing our artillery upon a slighteminence at either flank, we commenced to drop solid shot among them.Ja, who was chief artillery officer, was in command of this branch ofthe service, and he did some excellent work, for his Mezop gunners hadbecome rather proficient by this time. The Sagoths couldn't stand muchof this sort of warfare, so they charged us, yelling like fiends. Welet them come quite close, and then the musketeers who formed the firstline opened up on them.
The slaughter was something frightful, but still the remnants of themkept on coming until it was a matter of hand-to-hand fighting. Hereour spearmen were of value, as were also the crude iron swords withwhich most of the imperial warriors were armed.
We lost heavily in the encounter after the Sagoths reached us; but theywere absolutely exterminated--not one remained even as a prisoner. TheMahars, seeing how the battle was going, had hastened to the safety oftheir buried city. When we had overcome their gorilla-men we followedafter them.
But here we were doomed t
o defeat, at least temporarily; for no soonerhad the first of our troops descended into the subterranean avenuesthan many of them came stumbling and fighting their way back to thesurface, half-choked by the fumes of some deadly gas that the reptileshad liberated upon them. We lost a number of men here. Then I sentfor Perry, who had remained discreetly in the rear, and had himconstruct a little affair that I had had in my mind against thepossibility of our meeting with a check at the entrances to theunderground city.
Under my direction he stuffed one of his cannon full of powder, smallbullets, and pieces of stone, almost to the muzzle. Then he pluggedthe muzzle tight with a cone-shaped block of wood, hammered and jammedin as tight as it could be. Next he inserted a long fuse. A dozen menrolled the cannon to the top of the stairs leading down into the city,first removing it from its carriage. One of them then lit the fuse andthe whole thing was given a shove down the stairway, while thedetachment turned and scampered to a safe distance.
For what seemed a very long time nothing happened. We had commenced tothink that the fuse had been put out while the piece was rolling downthe stairway, or that the Mahars had guessed its purpose andextinguished it themselves, when the ground about the entrance rosesuddenly into the air, to be followed by a terrific explosion and aburst of smoke and flame that shot high in company with dirt, stone,and fragments of cannon.
Perry had been working on two more of these giant bombs as soon as thefirst was completed. Presently we launched these into two of the otherentrances. They were all that were required, for almost immediatelyafter the third explosion a stream of Mahars broke from the exitsfurthest from us, rose upon their wings, and soared northward. Ahundred men on lidi were despatched in pursuit, each lidi carrying tworiflemen in addition to its driver. Guessing that the inland sea,which lay not far north of Phutra, was their destination, I took acouple of regiments and followed.
A low ridge intervenes between the Phutra plain where the city lies,and the inland sea where the Mahars were wont to disport themselves inthe cool waters. Not until we had topped this ridge did we get a viewof the sea.
Then we beheld a scene that I shall never forget so long as I may live.
Along the beach were lined up the troop of lidi, while a hundred yardsfrom shore the surface of the water was black with the long snouts andcold, reptilian eyes of the Mahars. Our savage Mezop riflemen, and theshorter, squatter, white-skinned Thurian drivers, shading their eyeswith their hands, were gazing seaward beyond the Mahars, whose eyeswere fastened upon the same spot. My heart leaped when I discoveredthat which was chaining the attention of them all. Twenty gracefulfeluccas were moving smoothly across the waters of the sea toward thereptilian horde!
The sight must have filled the Mahars with awe and consternation, fornever had they seen the like of these craft before. For a time theyseemed unable to do aught but gaze at the approaching fleet; but whenthe Mezops opened on them with their muskets the reptiles swam rapidlyin the direction of the feluccas, evidently thinking that these wouldprove the easier to overcome. The commander of the fleet permittedthem to approach within a hundred yards. Then he opened on them withall the cannon that could be brought to bear, as well as with the smallarms of the sailors.
A great many of the reptiles were killed at the first volley. Theywavered for a moment, then dived; nor did we see them again for a longtime.
But finally they rose far out beyond the fleet, and when the feluccascame about and pursued them they left the water and flew away towardthe north.
Following the fall of Phutra I visited Anoroc, where I found the peoplebusy in the shipyards and the factories that Perry had established. Idiscovered something, too, that he had not told me of--something thatseemed infinitely more promising than the powder-factory or thearsenal. It was a young man poring over one of the books I had broughtback from the outer world! He was sitting in the log cabin that Perryhad had built to serve as his sleeping quarters and office. Soabsorbed was he that he did not notice our entrance. Perry saw thelook of astonishment in my eyes and smiled.
"I started teaching him the alphabet when we first reached theprospector, and were taking out its contents," he explained. "He wasmuch mystified by the books and anxious to know of what use they were.When I explained he asked me to teach him to read, and so I worked withhim whenever I could. He is very intelligent and learns quickly.Before I left he had made great progress, and as soon as he isqualified he is going to teach others to read. It was mighty hard workgetting started, though, for everything had to be translated intoPellucidarian.
"It will take a long time to solve this problem, but I think that byteaching a number of them to read and write English we shall then beable more quickly to give them a written language of their own."
And this was the nucleus about which we were to build our great systemof schools and colleges--this almost naked red warrior, sitting inPerry's little cabin upon the island of Anoroc, picking out wordsletter by letter from a work on intensive farming. Now we have--
But I'll get to all that before I finish.
While we were at Anoroc I accompanied Ja in an expedition to SouthIsland, the southernmost of the three largest which form the Anorocgroup--Perry had given it its name--where we made peace with the tribethere that had for long been hostile toward Ja. They were now gladenough to make friends with him and come into the federation. Fromthere we sailed with sixty-five feluccas for distant Luana, the mainisland of the group where dwell the hereditary enemies of Anoroc.
Twenty-five of the feluccas were of a new and larger type than thosewith which Ja and Perry had sailed on the occasion when they chanced tofind and rescue Dian and me. They were longer, carried much largersails, and were considerably swifter. Each carried four guns insteadof two, and these were so arranged that one or more of them could bebrought into action no matter where the enemy lay.
The Luana group lies just beyond the range of vision from the mainland.The largest island of it alone is visible from Anoroc; but when weneared it we found that it comprised many beautiful islands, and thatthey were thickly populated. The Luanians had not, of course, beenignorant of all that had been going on in the domains of their nearestand dearest enemies. They knew of our feluccas and our guns, forseveral of their riding-parties had had a taste of both. But theirprincipal chief, an old man, had never seen either. So, when hesighted us, he put out to overwhelm us, bringing with him a fleet ofabout a hundred large war-canoes, loaded to capacity with javelin-armedwarriors. It was pitiful, and I told Ja as much. It seemed a shame tomassacre these poor fellows if there was any way out of it.
To my surprise Ja felt much as I did. He said he had always hated towar with other Mezops when there were so many alien races to fightagainst. I suggested that we hail the chief and request a parley; butwhen Ja did so the old fool thought that we were afraid, and with loudcries of exultation urged his warriors upon us.
So we opened up on them, but at my suggestion centered our fire uponthe chief's canoe. The result was that in about thirty seconds therewas nothing left of that war dugout but a handful of splinters, whileits crew--those who were not killed--were struggling in the water,battling with the myriad terrible creatures that had risen to devourthem.
We saved some of them, but the majority died just as had Hooja and thecrew of his canoe that time our second shot capsized them.
Again we called to the remaining warriors to enter into a parley withus; but the chief's son was there and he would not, now that he hadseen his father killed. He was all for revenge. So we had to open upon the brave fellows with all our guns; but it didn't last long atthat, for there chanced to be wiser heads among the Luanians than theirchief or his son had possessed. Presently, an old warrior whocommanded one of the dugouts surrendered. After that they came in oneby one until all had laid their weapons upon our decks.
Then we called together upon the flag-ship all our captains, to givethe affair greater weight and dignity, and all the principal men ofLuana. We had
conquered them, and they expected either death orslavery; but they deserved neither, and I told them so. It is alwaysmy habit here in Pellucidar to impress upon these savage people thatmercy is as noble a quality as physical bravery, and that next to themen who fight shoulder to shoulder with one, we should honor the bravemen who fight against us, and if we are victorious, award them both themercy and honor that are their due.
By adhering to this policy I have won to the federation many great andnoble peoples, who under the ancient traditions of the inner worldwould have been massacred or enslaved after we had conquered them; andthus I won the Luanians. I gave them their freedom, and returned theirweapons to them after they had sworn loyalty to me and friendship andpeace with Ja, and I made the old fellow, who had had the good sense tosurrender, king of Luana, for both the old chief and his only son haddied in the battle.
When I sailed away from Luana she was included among the kingdoms ofthe empire, whose boundaries were thus pushed eastward several hundredmiles.
We now returned to Anoroc and thence to the mainland, where I againtook up the campaign against the Mahars, marching from one great buriedcity to another until we had passed far north of Amoz into a countrywhere I had never been. At each city we were victorious, killing orcapturing the Sagoths and driving the Mahars further away.
I noticed that they always fled toward the north. The Sagoth prisonerswe usually found quite ready to trans-fer their allegiance to us, forthey are little more than brutes, and when they found that we couldfill their stomachs and give them plenty of fighting, they were nothingloath to march with us against the next Mahar city and battle with menof their own race.
Thus we proceeded, swinging in a great half-circle north and west andsouth again until we had come back to the edge of the Lidi Plains northof Thuria. Here we overcame the Mahar city that had ravaged the Landof Awful Shadow for so many ages. When we marched on to Thuria, Goorkand his people went mad with joy at the tidings we brought them.
During this long march of conquest we had passed through sevencountries, peopled by primitive human tribes who had not yet heard ofthe federation, and succeeded in joining them all to the empire. Itwas noticeable that each of these peoples had a Mahar city situatednear by, which had drawn upon them for slaves and human food for somany ages that not even in legend had the population any folk-talewhich did not in some degree reflect an inherent terror of thereptilians.
In each of these countries I left an officer and warriors to train themin military discipline, and prepare them to receive the arms that Iintended furnishing them as rapidly as Perry's arsenal could turn themout, for we felt that it would be a long, long time before we shouldsee the last of the Mahars. That they had flown north but temporarilyuntil we should be gone with our great army and terrifying guns I waspositive, and equally sure was I that they would presently return.
The task of ridding Pellucidar of these hideous creatures is one whichin all probability will never be entirely completed, for their greatcities must abound by the hundreds and thousands in the far-distantlands that no subject of the empire has ever laid eyes upon.
But within the present boundaries of my domain there are now none leftthat I know of, for I am sure we should have heard indirectly of anygreat Mahar city that had escaped us, although of course the imperialarmy has by no means covered the vast area which I now rule.
After leaving Thuria we returned to Sari, where the seat of governmentis located. Here, upon a vast, fertile plateau, overlooking the greatgulf that runs into the continent from the Lural Az, we are buildingthe great city of Sari. Here we are erecting mills and factories.Here we are teaching men and women the rudiments of agriculture. HerePerry has built the first printing-press, and a dozen young Sarians areteaching their fellows to read and write the language of Pellucidar.
We have just laws and only a few of them. Our people are happy becausethey are always working at something which they enjoy. There is nomoney, nor is any money value placed upon any commodity. Perry and Iwere as one in resolving that the root of all evil should not beintroduced into Pellucidar while we lived.
A man may exchange that which he produces for something which hedesires that another has produced; but he cannot dispose of the thinghe thus acquires. In other words, a commodity ceases to have pecuniaryvalue the instant that it passes out of the hands of its producer. Allexcess reverts to government; and, as this represents the production ofthe people as a government, government may dispose of it to otherpeoples in exchange for that which they produce. Thus we areestablishing a trade between kingdoms, the profits from which go to thebetterment of the people--to building factories for the manufacture ofagricultural implements, and machinery for the various trades we aregradually teaching the people.
Already Anoroc and Luana are vying with one another in the excellenceof the ships they build. Each has several large ship-yards. Anorocmakes gunpowder and mines iron ore, and by means of their ships theycarry on a very lucrative trade with Thuria, Sari, and Amoz. TheThurians breed lidi, which, having the strength and intelligence of anelephant, make excellent draft animals.
Around Sari and Amoz the men are domesticating the great stripedantelope, the meat of which is most delicious. I am sure that it willnot be long before they will have them broken to harness and saddle.The horses of Pellucidar are far too diminutive for such uses, somespecies of them being little larger than fox-terriers.
Dian and I live in a great palace overlooking the gulf. There is noglass in our windows, for we have no windows, the walls rising but afew feet above the floor-line, the rest of the space being open to theceilings; but we have a roof to shade us from the perpetual noon-daysun. Perry and I decided to set a style in architecture that would notcurse future generations with the white plague, so we have plenty ofventilation. Those of the people who prefer, still inhabit theircaves, but many are building houses similar to ours.
At Greenwich we have located a town and an observatory--though there isnothing to observe but the stationary sun directly overhead. Upon theedge of the Land of Awful Shadow is another observatory, from which thetime is flashed by wireless to every corner of the empire twenty-fourtimes a day. In addition to the wireless, we have a small telephonesystem in Sari. Everything is yet in the early stages of development;but with the science of the outer-world twentieth century to draw uponwe are making rapid progress, and with all the faults and errors of theouter world to guide us clear of dangers, I think that it will not belong before Pellucidar will become as nearly a Utopia as one may expectto find this side of heaven.
Perry is away just now, laying out a railway-line from Sari to Amoz.There are immense anthracite coal-fields at the head of the gulf notfar from Sari, and the railway will tap these. Some of his studentsare working on a locomotive now. It will be a strange sight to see aniron horse puffing through the primeval jungles of the stone age, whilecave bears, saber-toothed tigers, mastodons and the countless otherterrible creatures of the past look on from their tangled lairs inwide-eyed astonishment.
We are very happy, Dian and I, and I would not return to the outerworld for all the riches of all its princes. I am content here. Evenwithout my imperial powers and honors I should be content, for have Inot that greatest of all treasures, the love of a good woman--mywondrous empress, Dian the Beautiful?
[Transcriber's note: I have made the following changes to the text:
PAGE LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO 27 33 sate state 32 11 least last 38 3 litte little 39 20 dispress- distress- 50 20 slides sides 54 16 enmy enemy 77 2 it if 80 24 Sidi Lidi 96 10 be bet 101 33 the the and the 107 15 Hoojas' Hooja's 117 4 come came 119 18 remarkably remarkable 149 25 take takes 151 6 Juang Juag 173 29 contined continued]
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