Chronologically Speaking, Part Thirteen: "Beyond the Black River"

Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on placing the Conan of Cimmeria stories in timeline order. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories.

After the April 1935 issue of Weird Tales went to print with no Howard stories included (though it did have an Otis Kline and a Clark Ashton Smith), Robert E. Howard's most popular character came back in the May and June issues with one of his best stories ever. "Beyond the Black River" was serialized over those two early-summer editions.

Willard Oliver says in his biography Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author that Howard told Novalyne Price around this time that he tries to bang out an adventure story or a western every now and then, but "mostly" goes along with Conan. "Beyond the Black River" is firmly Howard's most western Conan story; much has already been written about that.

The chronological clues in this story firmly place it toward the end of Conan's wanderings and even foreshadow his king stories pretty hard, which would pick up very soon after this one:

• ​Conan tells Balthus of the siege of Venarium in the very beginning of the story. The way they talk about it makes it sound like it happened at least ten or fifteen years ago: "'My uncle was at Venarium when the Cimmerians swarmed over the walls. He was one of the few who escaped that slaughter. I've heard him tell the tale, many a time. The barbarians swept out of the hills in a ravening horde, without warning, and stormed Venarium with such fury none could stand before them. Men, women and children were butchered. Venarium was reduced to a mass of charred ruins, as it is to this day. The Aquilonians were driven back across the marches, and have never since tried to colonize the Cimmerian country. But you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?' 'I was,' grunted the other. 'I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires.'"
• Conan states that he has been to the mountains beyond the Vilayet Sea and implies that he has been south to Kush, indicating wide travels in his past and also putting this firmly after his Turanian mercenary days and Black Coast pirate days: "'I saw it carved in the rock of a cave no human had visited for a million years,' muttered Conan, 'in the uninhabited mountains beyond the Sea of Vilayet, half a world away from this spot. Later I saw a black witch-finder of Kush scratch it in the sand of a nameless river."

But really, all you need are the two following quotes which Conan says toward the end of the narrative:

• Conan has already been a Barachan pirate, which we already know takes place later on in the timeline: "And the coast is dangerous to ships. I've sailed along it when I was with the pirates of the Barachan Isles, which lie southwest of Zingara."
• Conan describes in detail his extensive travels and experiences: "'I've roamed far; farther than any other man of my race ever wandered. I've seen all the great cities of the Hyborians, the Shemites, the Stygians and the Hyrkanians. I've roamed in the unknown countries south of the black kingdoms of Kush, and east of the Sea of Vilayet. I've been a mercenary captain, a corsair, a kozak, a penniless vagabond, a general—hell, I've been everything except a king, and I may be that, before I die.'"
  • So "Beyond the Black River" is clearly after his pirate periods in "Queen of the Black Coast" and "The Pool of the Black One." I'm noticing we haven't seen much of the Red Brotherhood yet.
  • It's after his mercenary captain periods in "Xuthal of the Dusk" and "A Witch Shall Be Born."
  • It's after his kozak experiences in "Iron Shadows in the Moon," "The Devil in Iron," and "The People of the Black Circle."
  • It's after his penniless vagabond days as a thief in "The Tower of the Elephant" and "Rogues in the House."
  • It's after his general experiences in "Black Colossus" and "The Servants of Bit-Yakin."
  • And of course, his kingship is coming soon.

Even without those incredibly explicit chronological markers, the character of Conan in this story is cool, controlled, and mature, much more like King Conan than thief Conan.

Here's our updated chronology as we reach the final stories that would be published within Robert E. Howard's lifetime:

​1. The Tower of the Elephant
2. Rogues in the House
3. Queen of the Black Coast
4. Xuthal of the Dusk
5. Iron Shadows in the Moon
6. The Devil in Iron
7. The People of the Black Circle
8. A Witch Shall Be Born
9. Black Colossus
10. The Pool of the Black One
11. The Servants of Bit-Yakin
12. Beyond the Black River
13. The Phoenix on the Sword
14. The Scarlet Citadel