Life, 1893-02-23 · page 5 of 16
Life — February 23, 1893 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "A Plausible Theory" This cartoon satirizes the mysterious disappearance of the SS *3033* (a ship). The text describes anxiety about the ship's passengers and crew, noting that finding items washed ashore suggests the vessel either sank or drifted away. The cartoon illustrates a humorous "plausible theory": rather than sinking or drifting, the ship has somehow driven onto land as if it were a horse-drawn carriage. A driver controls the vessel like a wagon, surrounded by desert vegetation and cacti, while a figure observes from the left. The satire mocks the desperate speculation surrounding the ship's fate—suggesting that the public's increasingly absurd explanations rival this ridiculous image of a steamship functioning as a desert stagecoach. It's comedy born from genuine maritime anxiety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIFE: PROBABLY DRIFTING ABOUT! NO NEWS YET FROM 3033. THE ANXIETY ABOUT HER PASSENGERS UNABATED.— AN INGENIOUS THEORY.—TALK OF A RES- CUING EXPEDITION.—LYNCH LAW FOR THE OFFICERS, T is now certain that 3033 has drifted out of the usual line of travel. Whether she has foundered and gone to the bottom, or is simply drifting about at the mercy of the elements, it is impossible to say with certainty. The anxiety which has characterized the friends and relatives of those on board is unabated, but instead of being shown by the acute evidences of grief which were apparent at first, it has settled into the dull apathy of gloom. Among the men there are occasionally heard faintly con- cealed threats of violence against the officers of the company, and there have been heard muttered suggestions of lynching them. In consequence, Superintendent Byrnes has stationed two burly policemen at the door of the Afa‘/ and Express, and the pious editor of that journal takes his daily walks accompanied by a ferocious-looking and undershot English bull-dog. 117 Considerable excitement has been caused by the finding on the beach at the corner of Thirty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue of a hoop-skirt, a set of false teeth, and a lady's six- button glove, which were supposed to have been washed ashore from 3033. These were found the morning after the Arion Ball, and were probably thrown overboard from a passing cab. Members of the Chamber of Commerce and New York Stock Exchange are circulating subscription papers to raise the funds necessary to fit out a rescuing expedition. Lieut. Peary has agreed to take command, and it will probably start North from the Battery about Monday. One of our readers has sent in the plan which we print below, as furnishing a probable solution of the mystery of 3033's disappearance. The explanation is, on its face, a plausible one, but is not borne out by any facts familiar to the navigation of Fifth Avenue. Our reader suggests that 3033 has drifted into a port which was never yet entered by any one or any thing from that thoroughfare, and it is im- possible to believe that 3033 has drifted so very far from her course. We are therefore compelled to reject this theory. As usual, LiFe will continue to keep its readers fully sup- plied with the latest news about 3033, and if she should be sighted, will get out an extra to announce that fact to the anxious public. os A PLAUSIBLE THEORY. comicbooks.com