← Back to Desert Blood
Exact textual stateNotes

Desert Blood

Part of Desert Blood

StateCharacter notesSurviving witnesses1TSS catalogue units1
Textual identity is not textual authority. “Catalogue primary/default” selects the default catalogue representation; it does not mean that this wording is automatically Howard’s most authoritative text.

Introduction

Howard did a list of characters for one of his spicy stories, called "Desert Blood" . The list looked like this:

Characters:

  • Wild Bill Clanton, American sailor, in Tunis seeking to dispose of a cargo of rifles.
  • Zouza, a prostitute, desired by Clanton.
  • Shaykh Ali ibn Zahir, chief of a Bedouin tribe.
  • Miss Augusta Evans, a New England schoolteacher on vacation; handsome in tight-lipped way; schooled to disapproval of everything that differed from the ways of Boston; spectacled, with classical features.
  • Ayisha, a Bedouin girl, mistress of Ahmed ibn Suleiman.
  • Ahmed ibn Suleiman, spy for Shaykh Ali.
  • Zuleykha, favorite wife of Shaykh Ali.
  • Yussef, guide of Miss Evans.

Characters in this exact text

Ahmed ibn SuleimanAhmed ibn Suleiman — Shaykh Ali's agent/spy used in the trap for Clanton in Desert BloodMentionedfirst: Listed in Howard's character notes.AyishaAyisha — Bedouin woman who aids and becomes involved with Clanton in Desert BloodMentionedfirst: Listed in Howard's character notes.Miss Augusta EvansMiss Augusta Evans — New England schoolteacher travelling in North Africa in Desert BloodMentionedfirst: Listed in Howard's character notes.Shaykh Ali ibn ZahirShaykh Ali ibn Zahir — Bedouin chief in Desert BloodMentionedfirst: Listed in Howard's character notes.Wild Bill ClantonWild Bill ClantonMentionedfirst: Listed first in Howard's character notes.YussefYussef — guide/boy associated with Miss Augusta Evans; son of Hassan in Desert BloodMentionedfirst: Listed in Howard's character notes.ZouzaZouza — Tebessa woman who lures Clanton into the lion-hunting trap in Desert BloodMentionedfirst: Listed in Howard's character notes.ZulaykhaZulaykha — wife of Shaykh Ali and sister of Muhammad Pasha in Desert BloodMentionedfirst: Listed in Howard's character notes.

Surviving manuscript evidence

The records below describe surviving physical typescripts, carbons, manuscript material and documentary catalogue evidence for this exact textual state. TSS numbers identify physical catalogue units; they are not story or draft IDs.

Character notes — surviving Howard typescript sheetHoward typescript
Extent1 pageCompletenessComplete

Physical extent: Single surviving page of character notes

TSS: 45050

Howard typescript sheet listing named Characters and brief descriptions for Desert Blood.

Source: First Cuts: The Veiled Manuscripts v1.4, Desert Blood, Editorial Notes pp. 129–130; character notes p. 131

Published in

Spicy AdventuresREH Foundation PressSeptember 2011↗Spicy Adventures Ultimate EditionREH Foundation PressAugust 30, 2024↗The Veiled Manuscripts - First Cuts: The Drafts and FragmentsREH Foundation PressJune 2026 (paperback) est. July 27, 2026 (hardcover)↗