I am a very old man, how old? I do not know. It is possible I am a hundred, maybe more.
我是个很老的人,有多老?我不知道，有可能100岁，也许100多岁，
I cannot tell because I have never aged as other men do. So far as I can remember, I have
我无法知道我的年龄是因为我从来不像其他正常人一样会变老. 截止目前我所能记得的就是
always been a man of about thirty. I appear today as I did forty years ago, yet I feel that I
，我一直处于30岁左右的状态，我如今在这里就象我40年前在这里一样，然而，我觉得
cannot going on forever. someday I will die the real death from which there is no escape. I
我不会永远的这样活下去，总有那么一天，我将会真正的死去—这是谁也逃不掉的实事
do not know why I should fear death. I who have died two times, but I am still alive. I have
，我不知道我为何那么害怕死亡，我已经死过两次了，可我依旧活着，我从来没有进过这
never told this story, I know the human mind will not believe that it cannot understand, I
件事，我知道以人类的思维无法相信更不能理解发生在我身上的事件，
cannot explain what happened to me. I can tell of the ten years my dead body lay undiscovered in an Arizona cave.
我无法解释那时发生在我身上的事情，我只能说我的尸体在亚利桑那州的洞穴里安放了10年之久都没被发现。
My name is John carter, I am from the state of Virginia. At the close of civil war, I found
我叫约翰卡特，来身弗吉尼亚州，在内战结束后，
myself without home, without money and without work. I decided the best plan was to
我发现自己没有了家，身无分文，也没有工作，我做出了最好的打算是去美国西南广阔
search for gold in the great deserts of the American southwest. I spent almost a year
的沙漠地带寻找金子。我同另一位也是来自弗吉尼亚州上尉——杰姆斯. 鲍威尔，花费了将
searching for gold with another former soldier captain James Power also of Virginia. We
近一年的时间来找金子，
were extremely lucky, in the winter of eighteen sixty-five. We found rocks that held gold.
我们的运气极好，在1865年的冬季，我们找到了含金的矿石。
Power was trained as mining engineer he said: we had uncovered over a million dollars’
曾经授过采矿教育的鲍威尔工程师说，我们在短短的三个月内就找到了价值百万美元的黄金
worth of gold in only three months. but the work was slowly with only two men and not
，但是由于没有太多的工具设备，仅靠两个人的力量工程进展是很慢的
much equipment. so, we decided Power should go to the nearest settlement to seek
，于是，我们决定由鲍威尔去最近的居民区找些工具设备，
equipment and men to help us with the work. On March third eighteen sixty-six.Power said
再领些人上来协助我们干活。1866年3月3日 鲍威尔向我告别之后，
goodbye. He rode his horse down the mountain toward the valley. I followed his progress
就骑上他的马顺着山坡朝山下的峡谷驶去，我目送着他的背影了有几个小时的行程
for several hours. the morning Power left was like all morning in the deserts of great
那天早上和往日所有亚利桑那州的早晨一样，晨曦初露，阳光明媚，朝霞满天。
southwest, clear, and beautiful. not much later. I looked across the valley. I was surprised to
，过了一会儿，我环视了一下山谷，
see three riders in the same place where I had last seen my friend.
惊讶地看到在我最后一次目送鲍威尔下山的地方出现了了三个骑行者。