Life, 1890-12-25 · page 12 of 51
Life — December 25, 1890 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Life Magazine Page 372: Satire and Social Commentary This page contains several satirical pieces typical of 19th-century Life magazine humor: **"Rather Strange"** mocks a learned European visiting Boston ("the H-U-B") who is ignorant of beans—likely referencing Boston's famous baked beans and suggesting that intellectual pretension masks practical ignorance. **Santa Claus cartoon**: A bitter commentary showing Santa vowing to avoid homes with dogs after being attacked, satirizing the disconnect between Christmas ideals and harsh reality. **"Lo" section**: A scathing political critique of U.S. Indian policy, directly blaming the federal government and Indian Agents for mistreating Native Americans through broken promises and land theft. Life argues the government bears moral responsibility equivalent to Indian violence—a remarkably progressive stance for the era. The remaining items are brief comedic vignettes about a cigar's odor clearing crowds, failed romantic pursuit, and a British cook's malapropism. Together, the page mixes light humor with pointed social criticism, particularly regarding government corruption and Native American injustice.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
372 RATHER STRANGE. A LEARNED man from o'er the se: Came seeking novel scenes, And when he reached the H-U-B Was introduced to beans, And all the people thought it queer, And they did loudly roar, To think this very learned seer Had not known beans before. Carlyle Smith. Santa Claus (viciously): WELL, THAT'S THE LAST HOUSE I'LL GO INTO TILL 1 FIND OUT WHETHER THEY KEEP A DOG, Lo. N case of a good hot war with the Western Indians, LIFre sincerely hopes that some of the more experienced and able-bodied braves may get as far as Washington, - and toy with the scalps of the committee on Indian affairs. The most regrettable fea- = ture of these outbreaks is that the innocent United States soldier is the largest vic- tim, The real cause of the trouble is Uncle Sam and the Indian Agent. A more blackguardly set of lying thieves than these Indian Agents it is impossible to imagine. And as they are the honored representatives of this government, there is no reason why Uncle Sam should be considered in this matter as anything more or less than a lying bully and a systematic thief. No civilized government ever played a more ignoble role than ours has with these natives, The English in India were angels of mercy in com- parison. Imagine yourself, you who read this, as the proprietor of a very comfortable farm. You are driven out of it by force, but as a compensation you are given a poorer one with the promise of a quarterly supply of provisions and blankets. The quarterly supply never reaches you and as the new farm is worth nothing, you, your wife and children enter upon a course of freezing and starvation, There is no redress for you in the courts, and you and your grievance are looked upon as a joke. Would your amiability increase as your cheeks grew thinner, or would you puta finer edge on the ancestral tomahawk and agitate in your own behalf? IT SCATTERED THEM. Brute: How did you manage to get through that crowd? I had to wait for half an hour. Cumso: I was smoking that cigar you gave me. LOVE’S LABOR LOST. ‘ OUR ENGLISH COOK. aq ‘ OW, ma‘am, ‘ow will you ‘ave the duck to-day? Will you heat it cold, ‘IVE REEN STANDING HERE FOR AN HOUR OR MORE TRYING TO MASH THAT or shall I ‘eat it for you? ROOSTER, AND HE DOFSN'T DEIGN TO TAKE THE SLIGHTEST NOTICE OF MEL" “ LOVE never comes in crowds.” No, it is just one after another. comicbooks.com