# I: On the Arizona Hills explained — A Princess of Mars

> Chapter companion for A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

John Carter, an old man who does not age, begins his narrative by describing his life as a Confederate soldier turned prospector in Arizona. After the Civil War, he and Captain James K. Powell discover a rich gold vein. Powell leaves to procure mining equipment, but Carter later sees him attacked by Apaches. Carter rescues Powell's body and flees, eventually taking refuge in a cave where he feels a strange drowsiness and loses consciousness.

## Themes in this chapter

### Survival and Adaptation

Carter's struggle to survive in the harsh Arizona wilderness and his resourcefulness in the face of Apache attacks.

### Fate and Destiny

Carter's mysterious longevity and the sense that his life is guided by forces beyond his control, leading him to the cave that will transport him to Mars.

## Character check-ins

### John Carter

Narrator and protagonist; a Confederate veteran prospecting in Arizona.

### Captain James K. Powell

Carter's mining partner; killed by Apaches while returning to civilization.

## Key lines

> I am a very old man; how old I do not know. Possibly I am a hundred, possibly more; but I cannot tell because I have never aged as other men, nor do I remember any childhood.

John Carter states that he is extremely old, perhaps over a hundred, but he has not aged like normal people and has no memory of being a child.

_Establishes Carter's mysterious agelessness and sets up the supernatural elements of the story._

> My name is John Carter; I am better known as Captain Jack Carter of Virginia.

The narrator introduces himself as John Carter, also called Captain Jack Carter from Virginia.

_Introduces the protagonist and his background as a Confederate officer._

> Powell, who was a mining engineer by education, stated that we had uncovered over a million dollars worth of ore in a trifle over three months.

Powell, a trained mining engineer, estimated that they had found more than a million dollars in gold ore in just over three months.

_Highlights the immense value of their gold discovery._

> I cannot explain the phenomena; I can only set down here in the words of an ordinary soldier of fortune a chronicle of the strange events that befell me during the ten years that my dead body lay undiscovered in an Arizona cave.

Carter admits he cannot explain what happened, but he will write down the strange events that occurred while his body lay hidden in an Arizona cave for ten years.

_Foreshadows Carter's death and subsequent journey to Mars._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/chapters/i-on-the-arizona-hills
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/a_princess_of_mars_se/chapters