REH’s Writings

Exact textual stateDraft

The Dragon of Kao Tsu

StateDraft 2Surviving witnesses1TSS catalogue units6

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.

Characters in this exact text

Hurricane DaviesBull Davies — large seaman/agent pursuing the ivory figureOn Pagefirst: Present in the surviving warehouse sequence.Jum ChinJum Chin — Chinese servant/henchman of the shareef; secretly takes the contract figureOn Pagefirst: Named in the surviving page-12-to-17 sequence.MarianneMarianne Allison — wealthy American woman who hires Clanton to obtain the elephant/dragonOn Pagefirst: Named in surviving page 12 onward.DiegoRam Lal — thief hired through Clanton to steal the ivory figureMentionedfirst: The surviving pages discuss Diego's murder and missing body.Richard J. AllisonRichard J. Allison — Marianne Allison's wealthy father; principal in the concession agreementMentionedfirst: His signature is explicitly visible in the surviving final page.AliShareef Ahmed — holder/broker of the disputed ivory figure and antagonist in The Dragon of Kao TsuOn Pagefirst: Present at the opening of surviving page 12.ClantonWild Bill ClantonOn Pagefirst: Named repeatedly in surviving page 12 onward.

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.

Draft 2 — surviving fragmentary Howard typescriptHoward typescript

Extent6 pagesCompletenessIncomplete

Physical extent: Incomplete yellow-paper typescript; only manuscript pages 12–17 survive

TSS: 53083–53087, 45026

Six surviving pages of an untitled Howard typescript on yellow paper.

Additional documentary notes

Untitled Witness: First Cuts describes Draft 2 as untitled. (witness level)
Partial Survival: Only manuscript pages 12–17 survive; pages 1–11 are missing. (manuscript pages 12–17)
Paper Stock: The surviving typescript pages are on yellow paper. (whole witness)

Source: First Cuts: The Veiled Manuscripts v1.4, The Dragon of Kao Tsu, Editorial Notes p. 345; surviving Draft 2 pp. 363–368

Published in

The Veiled Manuscripts - First Cuts: The Drafts and FragmentsREH Foundation PressJune 2026 (paperback) est. July 27, 2026 (hardcover)↗