Life, 1886-10-14 · page 6 of 20
Life — October 14, 1886 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of LIFE Magazine Page 226 This page satirizes the Bennet-Mackay cable dispute through a nautical metaphor. The cartoons depict cowboys engaged in deep-sea fishing, with the text referencing "a section of the Bennet-Mackay cable" that was caught and brought to the surface. The satire appears to mock the practical consequences of this dispute: the first cartoon shows coordinated effort ("A full all together"), while subsequent images depict chaos and injury when the cable snaps. The final caption—"The Cowboys' Deep-Sea Angling Club"—treats this technical/legal dispute as absurdist comedy. The quote attributed to Wallace Peck suggests the cartoonist views foreign affairs management as inherently bungling, particularly when handled by inexperienced American administrators. The joke conflates Western roughness with diplomatic incompetence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘(A PULL ALL TOGETHER.” Alll those lines bronght to the surface but one object —all those hooks grasped but one thing —a section of the Bennett-Mackay cable. You have seen the great Salvini when he starts back at sight of Banguo's ghost: That expression for a moment was reproduced on the faces of the C. D.-S. A.C. A moment only! Then came the next facial phase— deep, lasting, all-powerful mortification. The bonds of good-fellowship were burst, and they glared at each other. The cowboy had been hoaxed, and his blood was up—way up. ‘THE SEA SERPENT IS A CABAL. Around his eyebrows and his scalp. Up and surging tumultuously around his bump of pride. Each man considered himself the victim of a practical joke— played on him by his companions. The honor of the cowboy demanded a prompt settlement to the affront. A moment only! Then bright revolvers sought the light of day, and the injured paid his score. The moral is obvious: When you are in a foreign land do not fancy that you can manage local affairs better than the natives. Wallace Peck. WHEN THE CORONER ARRIVED, THIS IS WHAT HE SAW OFTHE Cowsoys’ DEEP-SEA ANGLING CLUB, comicbooks.com