This post by Jason Morningstar 

What follows are actual page headers from: J.W. Buel’s ”The World’s Unknown: An All-Embracing History of a Century of Exploration and Discovery,” published by Arkell Publishing Company in 1898. Each of this venerable tome’s 455 pages is graced by a summary; these alternate between descriptive, lurid and hilarious – often all at once. String a few of these together as “chapter titles” and you’ve got the outline for a great pulpy adventure serial. Enjoy!

PART ONE: TO THE FROZEN HELL!

• A Story Of Starvation
• First Trace Of The Lost Party
• Evidences Of Cannibalism
• Thirty Bodies Of Starved Explorers
• Doctor Kane’s Discoveries
• Relics Of The Expedition
• Discovery Of The Polar Sea
• Dead Men’s Bones In Plenty
• Funeral Of Captain Hall
• Oh, My!  What An Odor!
• An Immodest Custom Causes Blushes
• Love And Hospitality In The Far North
• Dangerously Nipped By The Ice
• The Ship Grasped By The Ice Pack
• Perilous Adventure With A Bear
• Besieged By Foxes
• Bears In Great Plenty
• Johansen’s Narrow Escape From A Bear
• The Beautiful And Rare Ross Gull
• A Fierce Fight With A Walrus
• A Kayak Attacked By A Walrus
• Difficulties In Harnessing Eskimo Dogs
• Crossing The Northern Extremity
• Dr. Mccormick’s Meeting With Jackson
• Hunting Musk Cattle
• Ingenuity Of The Eskimo
• Shooting Bears From The Steamer
• Animals Of The Arctic Land
• Arctic Beauties
• Kindness And Superstition Of The Eskimo
• Eskimo Hunters
• Happiness – A Characteristic Of The Eskimo
• Sailing Through Open Seas
• Achievement Of Lockwood And Brainerd
• An Observatory In The Arctic Land
• An Amazing Spectacle Of Arctic Expanse
• Remarkable Discoveries
• Annals Of The Highest Latitudes
• Discipline In Camp
• Abandonment Of The Lady Wallace
• The March To Cape Sabine
• A Terrible March In Search Of Food
• Indescribable Suffering
• Poor Ellison’s Agony
• Comradeship Of Rare Fidelity
• Heroism Of Ellison
• Heroism In The Face Of Death
• Stealing From Starving Companions
• Story Of A Sad Execution
• The Shooting Of Henry
• An Appeal To Manhood
• Death By Starvation
• Died In His Comrade’s Arms
• Death Of Sergeant Rice
• Midnight In The Polar World
• Resort To Cannibalism
• Breaking Hunger On Bodies Of Their Comrades
• Crushing And Sinking Of The Proteus
• The Rescue
• Horrible Sight Of The Camp
• A Feeble Cry, Faint With Hunger
• Discovery Of The Camp
• Appearance Of Men In Their Tents
• Forcing A Way Through Obstructions
• First Sight Of Starving Party
• Removal Of The Survivors
• Consoling The Dying
• An Hour Of Prayer
• Hands And Feet Frozen Off
• Terrible Condition Of The Men
• Amputation And Death
• A Sad, Sad Picture
• The Proofs Of Cannibalism
• Uncovering The Dead
• Ramming A Way Through Heavy Ice
• How The Bodies Were Prepared
• A Struggle With Ice Floes
• How To Handle Eskimo Dogs
• Some Curious Customs
• Captain Hall Captures A Seal
• A Savage Contest
• Dr. Kane’s Battle With A Polar Bear
• Another Battle With A Bear
• A She Bear’s Love For Her Cubs
• An Ugly Visitor In Camp
• Catching The Young Bear
• Affection Of A Pet Walrus
• Adventures With The Walrus
• An Exciting Walrus Hunt
• Fight With A Walrus
• Dexterity And Cunning Of The Eskimo Hunters
• A Hot Struggle
• Hall’s Battle With A Walrus
• Over A Vast Field Of Grinding Ice
• Savagely Attacked By A Herd Of Walruses
• Another Desperate Battle
• A Picture Of Extraordinary Ferocity
• The Reindeer
• Habits Of The Wolverine
• Excitement In The Camp
• Apocryphal Creatures Of The Polar Zone
• Rapacious Birds Of The Northland
• Mighty Creatures Of The Arctic Deep
• Wonders Of The Whale
• Adventure With A Whale
• Sharp Adventure With A Whale
• Hunting The Narwhal
• The Fierce Water-Tiger Of The Arctic Seas
• The Grampus
• The Arctic Shark
• Magnificence Of Arctic Skies
• The Beauties Of The Arctic Aurora
• Gyrating Ice Mountains
• An Original Theory Respecting Ice Bergs
• Wonderful Adventures On Ice Floes
• Drifting Helplessly With The Ice
• Tyson Under A Breaking Iceberg
• Beginning Of A Perilous Journey
• A Pitiful Story Of Suffering
• Pitiable Spectacles
• Killing Dogs To Stay Starvation
• A Respite From Starvation
• Fortunate Killing Of A Seal
• Almost Reduced To Cannibalism
• New Dangers Follow
• A Battle With The Storm
• A Night Of Indescribable Horror
• Saved At The Last Hour
• Effects Of Protracted Night
• Terrors Of A Polar Night
• Terrible Effects Of Eating Snow
• A Voyage To Death-Land
• Sinking Of The Tracy
• Bombarded By Chunks Of Ice
• Helpless On The Wide, Wide Sea
• Dead On Siberia’s Waste Of Snow
• A Separation Of The Boats
• Starvation And Mutilation
• Searching For Lost Comrades
• Discovery Of The Frozen Bodies
• So Sleep The Brave
• Loss Of The Chipp Party
• Traveling Over Ice Hummocks

PART TWO: JOURNEY INTO MADNESS!

• Block Clawed By A Lion
• A Perilous Encounter With A Lion
• Sensations Produced By The Bite Of A Lion
• Natives Of Mabotsa
• Entrapping Large Game
• Crossing An African Desert
• A Dreary March
• A Remarkable Salt Basin
• Discovery Of Lake Ngami
• Sickness Compels Block’s Return
• On The Shores Of Lake Ngami
• Lions That Eat Women And Children
• Adventures With Lions
• Fights Between Lions And Buffaloes
• Snakes Of The Zouga District
• Shooting A Boa Constrictor
• Incidents Of Travel
• Singular Birds, Reptiles, And Animals
• Sluggishness Of Hippopotami
• Ravages Of Crocodiles In The Leeambye
• The Tattooed People Of Balonda
• An Amusing Magic Lantern Show
• How Shinte Proved His Love
• Ravages Of The Red Ant
• A Curious Insect
• Human Hearts As Sacrifices
• A Hippo Haunt Along The Leeba River
• Surprising Habits Of An Effeminate People
• Dread Of White Men
• African Dandies
• Narrow Escape From A Buffalo
• Capsized By A Hippopotamus
• Curious Friendship Among Birds And Animals
• Killing An Elephant With Spears
• Elephants At The Bath
• Adventures With Wild Animals
• Sacrifice Of Twins And Albinos
• Superstition Respecting Albinos
• Settling Disputes
• Peculiarities Of The Batoka Tribe
• Man Tossed By A Buffalo
• Shooting Giraffes Near The Zambezi
• Sad Death Of Sekwebu
• Extraordinary Voracity Of Africans
• A Slave Working Under A Task Master
• Degrading Effects Of Rum Among Natives
• Crocodiles Attack A Hippopotamus
• Woman Seized By A Crocodile
• Wild Dogs
• Death Of Dr. Kirk
• Return To Lake Nyasa
• Exploration Of The Rovuma River
• A River Gorged With Dead Bodies
• A Native Mangled By A Leopard
• Burning A Leopard
• Terrible Combat With A Leopard
• Murder Of Slaves That Could Not Be Sold
• Strange Customs
• Horrible Scenes
• A Leopard’s Invasion Of A South African’s Home
• Habits Of The Natives
• Carried Off By A Lion And A Crocodile
• African Iron Furnaces
• Inhumanity And Superstition
• The Honey-Bird
• Distressed By The Loss Of Medical Supplies
• Danger From Serpents
• Famine, And A Serious Loss
• Meeting With Chief Chitipangwa
• The Lake People
• A Wedding In Africa
• Cropping The Ears Of His Subjects
• African Pomp And Splendor
• A Chief’s Wife In Her Royal Palanquin
• Inundation Of Casembe Village
• On The Shores Of Bangweolo
• Joy Among Slaves
• A Grave By The Wayside
• Discovery Of Lake Bangweolo
• In Trouble
• A Furious Battle Between Natives
• Killing Prisoners
• Hunting Their Persecutors
• A Journey Into Manyuema Country
• Soldier-Ants
• Fetish Worshippers Of Bamberre
• Near Ujiji
• Among The Ant-Eating People
• Land Of The Tree Dwellers
• Kindness Of A Woman Leper
• Making A Fetish Of A Woman’s Heart
• The Manyuema Cannibals
• Wicker’s Adventure With Gorillas
• A Gorilla Hunt
• A Fight With Gorillas
• Fights Between Gorilla And Leopard
• A Gorilla Kidnapping A Girl
• Some Remarkable Customs Of The Manyuema
• A Marvelously Ignorant People
• Beautiful Women Of A Degraded People
• Description Of The Cannibals
• On The Banks Of The Lualaba
• An Indiscriminate Slaughter By Slave Dealers
• The Massacre At Nyangwe
• Horrible Feast Off Human Bodies
• Forced To Return To Ujiji
• Attacked By Manyuema Cannibals
• Cannibals Caught In The Act

PART THREE: DWARF-LORDS OF THE RUBUNGA!

• Meeting With A Strange People
• The End Comes
• A Dreadful Plot Discovered
• A Terrible Physical Condition
• Horrible Beatings Of Poor Women
• A Monkey And An Old Reprobate
• Baker Seized With Madness
• The Shir Tribe
• A Royal Old Beggar
• Elephant Pits And Native Hunters
• Baker’s Greatest Mistake
• Exciting Elephant Adventures
• Wicker Dying On The March
• Sali Achmet Killed By A Buffalo
• The People Of Tarrangolle
• Chief Legge’s Stinginess And Voracity
• A Visit To Katchiba
• Baker Knocks Out A Mutinous Leader
• Horrifying Atrocities Of The Victors
• Characteristics Of The Obbo People
• Determined To Leave Gondokoro
• Baker Vanquished In Argument
• Beating A Criminal To Death
• An Hour Of Sorest Trial
• Novel Contest With A Hippopotamus
• Starting Under Grave Difficulties
• Capsized By A Storm
• A Singular Race Of People
• A Plentiful Crop Of Dead Men’s Bones
• Killing Prisoners Before Kamrasi’s Palace
• Poisoned Arrows Of The Bari
• Chief Moy And His Wife
• Blowing The War Horn
• Crime And Cruelty At Gondokora
• Gloomy Reflections
• A Fight Between Two Vicious Women
• Bagging A Lot Of Antelopes
• A People With Tails
• Plenty Of Cattle, But No Meat
• A Little Slave Child’s Sorrow
• Defeat Of Rionga
• Fastidiousness Of A Chief’s Wife
• The Makkarika Cannibals
• Fight Rionga Or Starve
• Curious Costumes Of A Fierce People
• Acquiring The Language
• Baker’s Hut In Latooka
• Sali Achmet Killed By A Buffalo
• A Royal Sorcerer
• Baker’s Expedition Departs
• Chitambo’s Village, Where Wicker Died
• A Terrible Affliction
• On The March To Obbo
• Killing An Elephant As Large As Jumbo
• Horrible Beatings Of Poor Women
• Killed In Sight Of His Comrades
• An Overdose Of Tartar Emetic
• Baker Violently Thrown From An Ox
• Besieged By Curious Natives
• The Aliab Tribe
• Hunting Big Game By Night
• The Robbers Are Themselves Victims
• Shooting A Big Baboon
• How Children Are Killed And Cooked
• Fighting Black Amazons
• Poison Yams
• The Power Of Sorcery
• Baker Pursued By An Enraged Elephant
• Attacked By Bari Savages
• Hunting In A Game Paradise
• Meeting With Speke And Grant
• Return To Latooka
• Back To Obbo
• Argument Over A Hippopotamus
• Picking Holes In Live Animals
• A Fatal Buffalo Hunt
• Hunting The Elephant With Spears
• The Polite Fatikoans
• Confronted By A Humpback
• A Barbarous Execution
• A Country Flowing With Milk And Honey
• Richards Kills A Chief
• Throwing Victims Over A Cliff
• Shores Covered With Crocodiles

PART FOUR: THE SEARCH FOR CAPTAIN BAKER!

• A Terrible Sand Storm
• Visited By The Plague
• Net Results Of Baker’s Expedition
• An Imposing Flotilla
• Battle With A Crocodile
• Capturing A Crocodile By Means Of A Noose
• A Hippopotamus Kills An Old Blind Man
• Matrimony By Wholesale
• The Expedition Moves Forward
• A Night Of Excitement
• A Raving Mad Hippopotamus
• A Creature With A Hundred Lives
• Serious Trouble With The Natives
• Implacable Hostility Of The Natives
• An Attack By The Bari Natives
• Soldiers Mutilated By Crocodiles
• Adventures With Crocodiles
• A Girl Eaten By A Crocodile
• Attack On A Herd Of Elephants
• Wonderful Strength Of The Elephant
• How An Elephant Gathered Nuts
• In A Nest Of Slave Hunters
• A Ludicrous Exhibition
• Music-Charmed Savages
• Establishing A Government
• En Route For Unyoro
• A Visit From Kabba Rega
• Walking Like A Giraffe
• Suspicious
• Argument Of A Savage King
• An Exhibition Of Buffoons
• Tortures Inflicted By Slave Hunters
• The Value Of Girls
• A Wonderful Entertainment
• Kabba Rega’s Satanic Escort
• Treachery And A Great Battle
• Poisoned By Drinking Cider
• Cutting Their Way Through
• Desperate Fighting
• Impaled By Spears
• Mowed Down By Snyder
• Battle With Abou Saood
• Irreligious Though Honest
• How The Natives Care For Their Babies
• Adventure With A Lioness
• Down Rushes The Charging Elephant
• Battles Between The Elephant And Rhinoceros
• A Thrillingly Exciting Rhinoceros Hunt
• Hot Race After A Brace Of Rhinoceros
• In Mad Pursuit Of A Rhinoceros
• A Most Dangerous Animal
• Furious Disposition Of The Rhinoceros
• The Nerve Required To Slay A Rhinoceros
• A Shot At Long Range
• A Moment Of Extreme Peril
• Crack Went A Bullet Against His Side
• Rhinoceros Attacks A Horse
• The Rhinoceros Charging Davidson’s Horse
• Wounded, But Escapes
• Man Bitten To Death
• A Terrible Commotion In The Water
• Breakfast Of Hippopotamus Flesh
• A Bloody Struggle
• Interesting Facts About Hippopotami
• Fierceness Of The Male Hippopotamus
• A Fatal Adventure With A Savage Hippopotamus
• An Object Of Intense Ferocity

PART FIVE: SORCERER-KING OF THE WASUNGU!

• Wonderful Curiosity Of The Wasungu
• Punishment For Stealing
• Marching Through Swamps
• Internal Dissent And A Fight
• In A Sea Of Difficulties
• Attempt To Assassinate Walters
• Entering Ugogo
• Materialist Beliefs
• The Wonderful Wagogo Tribe
• Having Fun With The Sultan
• Rum, Quinine And Ammonia
• Monkeys And Wild Boars
• A Frightened Leopard
• Look Out For The Elephant
• The Death Of Edwards
• Conflict With The Islanders
• Attacked By Savages Of The Lake
• Human Sacrifices
• In The Hands Of The Enemy
• Sinking Boats By Rifle Shots
• Lukonegh, The Royal Sorcerer
• Legends Of The Ukara Islanders
• Into Lands Of The Unknown
• A Village Filled With Dead People
• Meeting With Mirambo, The Bandit King
• In The Country Of Cannibals Again
• A Paralyzing Costume
• Cannibals And Dwarfs
• A Wonderful Tale Of Dwarfs
• Woman Shot By A Dwarf’s Arrow
• A Raid On The Tree-Dwelling Dwarfs
• Capture Of The Dwarf King
• Enormous Snakes
• A People Who Live Like Monkeys
• Among The Cannibals Of Uregga
• Hewing A Road On The Way To Uregga
• A Village Decorated With Human Skulls
• Human Flesh A Common Dish
• Into A Region Of Fable And Darkness
• Capture Of A Dwarf
• Into The Unknown
• Cannibals Again
• Running A Gauntlet Of Cannibals
• Attempting To Charm The Strangers
• Natives Of Rubunga
• Huge Spears
• A Fight On The River
• King Chumbiri
• A Boy In The Coils Of A Python
• Death Of Kalulu
• Terrible Death Of Frank Pocock
• Destroying The Magic Book
• Relief In The Hour Of Peril