Jann of the Jungle #9
Lost River!
Pat Mahoney is assigned by his employers to go and take pictures of the mysterious Lost River region of the jungle. Despite Jann's warnings Pat still insists on going. Along the way they are attacked by an elephant which Jann tricks into running into a tree, knocking the beast out. The pair continue along their way unaware that the recovering elephant continues to stalk after them for revenge.
While Jann is busy fighting off crocodiles, Pat gets ahead and finds the Lost River. He goes to take pictures of what he thinks are two statues of lions, but turn out to be real live, white furred lions when they attack. Before the lions can attack, the elephant appears and knocks Pat out, and fights off the lions.
Seeing this, Jann carries Pat deeper into the jungle and discovers that the Lost River is really a river of lion bones that comprise of a massive lion grave yard. The elephant stops his chase of them as the creature has a respect for the grave yard much in the same way elephants respect their own. With the danger over, Jann takes Pat back to her hut. When he comes to she convinces him that he suddenly passed out and everything he witnessed was the product of his imagination.
Recurring Characters
Jann of the Jungle
Pat Mahoney
With Fang and Talon!
When a local tribe begins to worship the long abandoned god known as the "Beast of Fang and Talon", Pat Mahoney goes to take a picture of the massive idol of the beast with Jann in tow. Jann warns Pat that the local tribe will not like him taking photos of their effigy, when suddenly they are surrounded by the tribe. When Jann asks them why they started to worship the idol again after abandoning it years ago, the tribal leader tells her that their tribe has entered a period of poverty and begin making food offerings to the idol which have been taken, a sign to them that their god is back and that good tidings will come. After this is explained to them, Pat and Jann are allowed to leave.
Finding it all suspicious, Jann decides to investigate further and returns to the idol later that night. Climbing into the idols mouth Jann is surprised to find two white men inside as well as a vulture and a leopard that live within the idol. The men toss Jann into the pit where the leopard lives and Jann easily knocks the creature out with a nerve pinch. However she is too slow to stop the men from pulling a gun on her. She soon learns that they are radium miners who find a rich vein under the tribal village and have been using the idol as cover, but to trick the natives into providing them food as well.
Jann fights the men off and then using the vulture, pulls herself and the men out of the idol and out into the jungle. Having soundly defeated the miners, she convinces them to share the wealth of the mine with the local tribe so that they can purchase the food that they desperately need.
Recurring Characters
Jann of the Jungle
Pat Mahoney
The Haunted Swamp
Cliff Mason accepts a challenge from a man named Bull to go exploring the haunted swamp and also so that he can determine the area safe for the local government to work in. However, Cliff has no illusions that Bull has rigged things and is aware of his association with Communist elements as well. After dropping Cliff on a dry portion of the swamp, Bull pulls away in his boat and radios his men to get into position.
Wading through the swamp, Cliff runs into what looks like the ghost of a giant gorilla. Not believing that it is a ghost, Cliff charges through the spectre and discovers that it is really a projection created by Bull's men. Cliff quickly knocks them out and discovers why Bull dose not want the government in the region: A secret radium mine. While examining the massive vats of mines radium, Mason is surprised by Bull who aims a shot gun at him. Quick thinking, Cliff then knocks over a vat onto Bull.
Bull rushes out of the cave and suddenly begins to see that ghosts of jungle animals and completely looses his mind. Cliff catches him, and seeing no ghosts believe that Bull has finally snapped and takes him out of the region.
Recurring Characters
Cliff Mason
Sudden Fury
Jann takes Pat Mahoney to photograph some zebras, an opportunity he does not find exciting. However she thinks she convinces him to stay and take photos, as she wanted to keep him occupied while she dealt with the feud between the Vappi and Robai tribes. However as she swings away, Pat has caught onto the fact that Jann is going off to somewhere or something dangerous and decides to secretly follow after here.
Elsewhere at the tribe of the Vappi people, their leader Kakouro convinces his people to go to war against the Robai due to the fact that it is the time when the animals are sleeping. As Jann swings after the sound of war drums, Pat follows secretly behind but notices that the animals are not stirring and are docile, stopping to take a close up photograph of an entire family of lions.
Jann soon arrives at the outside gates of the Robai tribe just as Kakouro orders his warriors to attack. Jann then quickly attacks Kakouro to try and get him to stop his people, but it is too late. Suddenly, Pat runs out of the jungles telling everyone to run for cover as a herd of zebras begin rampaging through. Jann then quickly gets hold of the leader of the pack and gets them to stop.
Kakouro then tells his people that he commanded the zebras and calls Jann their ally, making Jann wonder what Kakarou's game is. Realizing that he has convinced his people that he controls the animals and that he is sending them into conflict, Jann decides to show them what a coward he really is. When Kakarou orders the zebras to charge at the Robai people, Jann starts them running at the rival tribe but then turns the herd around and sends them charging directly at Kakarou, causing him to flee in fear. Seeing what a coward their leader is, the Vappi people end their hostilities and return to their village.
Recurring Characters
Jann of the Jungle
Pat Mahoney
