''Jerry of the Islands: A True Dog Story'' is a novel by American writer
Jack London
John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
. ''Jerry of the Islands'' was initially published in 1917 and is one of the last works by Jack London. The novel is set on the island of
Malaita
Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...
, a part of the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
archipelago, which in 1893 became a
British protectorate. The hero of the novel is
Irish terrier
The Irish Terrier ( gle, Brocaire Rua) is a dog breed from Ireland, one of many breeds of terrier. The Irish Terrier is considered one of the oldest terrier breeds. The Dublin dog show in 1873 was the first to provide a separate class for I ...
Jerry, who was a brother of dog named Michael, about whom London wrote another novel—''
Michael, Brother of Jerry
''Michael, Brother of Jerry'' is a novel by Jack London released in 1917. This novel is loosely connected to his previous novel ''Jerry of the Islands'', also released in 1917. Each book tells the story of one of two dog siblings, Jerry and Micha ...
''.
Origin of the novel
In the preface, Jack London tells about the ship ''Minota'' on which he traveled and which wrecked in the Solomon Islands. Captain Kellar of ''Eugenie'' ship rescued Jack London after the shipwreck but later died by the hands of the cannibals. London mentions a letter that he received from C. M. Woodford, the Resident Commissioner of the British Solomons. In this letter, Woodford wrote about a punitive expedition on the neighboring island. The second aim of the operation was searching for the remains of Jack London's friends. During the voyage on ''Minota'', Jack London and his wife found a dog aboard the ship, an Irish terrier named Peggy. The couple attached to Peggy so much that London's wife stole the dog after the wreck of the ship.
Plot
Jerry was born in
Santa Isabel Island
Santa Isabel Island (also known as Isabel, Ysabel and Mahaga) is the longest in Solomon Islands, the third largest in terms of surface area, and the largest in the group of islands in Isabel Province.
Location and geographic data
Choiseul lies t ...
, a part of the
Solomon Islands archipelago
The Solomon Islands (archipelago) is an island group in the western South Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. The archipelago is in the Melanesian subregion and bioregion of Oceania and forms the eastern boundary of the Solomon Sea. The ...
. Jerry's owner was Mr. Haggin, who worked as a plantation guard and used Jerry to chase black slaves. Higgin gave Jerry to Mr. Van Horn, Captain of ship ''Arangi'', under condition to return the dog if something bad happens. The ship was engaged in delivering so-called "reverse" slaves who worked for three years on a plantation. During a stop on
Malaita
Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...
island, ''Arangi'' was attacked by the natives, who killed the captain and skipper. Jerry was kicked from the ship, which was looted and burned. A native boy found Jerry in the sea and delivered the dog on the shore. Later, Jerry was brought to a village, where tribe chief Bashto decided to use Jerry for improving the breed of local dogs. Jerry received a taboo status and began to live among the tribesmen.
Jerry led a fairly quiet life until local sorcerer Agno decided to use the dog for a sacrifice. To overcome its taboo status, Agno arranged Jerry to attack a holy bird
megapoda, which also had a taboo status. Jerry stole the bird eggs, which were kept for chief Bashta. Jerry was spotted while killing the fourth bird. The bird's taboo status was higher than that of Jerry; therefore, the dog could be sacrificed. However, old blindman Nalasu bought Jerry for a pig to protect himself against an expected vendetta.
Later, the village was destroyed by British as a part of punitive operation to retaliate for the loss of ''Arangi''. Nalasu got killed; Jerry escaped and hid in the jungle. Having stayed there for a long time, Jerry began to look for people. Out in the beach, the dog saw a distant ship and plunged into the sea, thinking it is ''Arangi'' and hoping to see his beloved Captain Van Horn. The ship was the yacht ''Ariel'' traveling around the world. People on board noticed the dog and saved it.
One of the crewmen recognized the dog and announced that it is a dog of Mr. Haggin form Santa Isabel Island. Later, the yacht arrived at
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...
harbor, where a commissioner who knew Mr. Haggin sent him a message. Mr. Haggin sailed to the island with dog Michael, who was the brother of Jerry. The brothers—Jerry and Michael—met each other just to be separated ten days later. Jerry stayed on the yacht ''Ariel'' with its owner, Villa, while Michael stayed on the island. They met each other once again several years later in California.
References
External links
Profile on Google Books
{{Authority control
1917 American novels
Novels published posthumously
Novels by Jack London