Life, 1897-10-21 · page 6 of 20
Life — October 21, 1897 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page discusses Rudyard Kipling's literary character Disko Troop from the novel *Captains Courageous*. The upper illustration depicts an anthropomorphic dog or seal-like creature, likely referencing Kipling's "Disko Troop" character—the wise, tough ship captain who teaches young men work ethic through labor. The lower cartoon titled "The Springtime of Love" shows a man proposing to a woman at a fence, a sentimental domestic scene typical of early 1900s humor. The right column discusses American character types, referencing "Wollville" stories and praising Kipling's ability to capture authentic American frontier figures with humor and sentiment. The "Successful Operation" dialogue at bottom appears unrelated—a brief medical exchange suggesting a patient died but the surgery itself succeeded, likely satirizing physicians' priorities.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Wisdom of Disko Troop. HE wise remark of Disko Troop, who is always “‘jest in his judgments," that “*¢he most inter- esting thing in the world js to find out how the next man gets his vittles,” is the secret of the fascination of Kipling’s ** Captains Courageous” (Century Co.), and of the great bulk of his work in prose. If one recalls the marvelous pageant of characters that he has created, there will be on each the ineffaceable stamp of bis occupation, Kipling's men always do some kind of work to ‘earn their vittles," and that gives them their surest footing in this world of labor. Whether it is cleaning and salting codfish or run- ning a special train from San Diego to Boston—it is all grist to Kipling’s mill, He makes you see and feel how it isdone—not mechanically, but what goes into the men who do these things. It is this kind of insight that makes his millionaire Cheyne almost the only real one in fiction, except Silas Lapham, He has that wonderful courage of the man who does things—'‘ the faith that comes of knowing men and things”—which is a more poetic way of saying that he always knew how the next man earned his vittles. * * * HE reformation of young Harve Cheyne is only another manifestation of the same principle. TO SETTLE THE HENRING SEA QUESTION, WE SUGGEST TO OUR ENGLISH BRETHREN TO HAVE THE ENGLISH SEALS RAISE SIDEBURNS, WHILE OUR FELLOW-SEALS MAY SPORT THE U, S. CHIN ADORNMENT. He was a nuisance to himself and all his DMIRERS of American character in the friends. But when old Disto taught him to raw will find much that is amusing in obey and work with his hands he started the volume of the old cattleman's tales, him on the road to being a man. collected under the title of ‘ Wolfville” The story is most remarkable for its won- (Stokes). They have the grim humor touehed derful grasp of American character by a with sentiment which Bret Harte taught us foreigner who for a time seemed not to ap- to expect in Western tales, and it is for- preciate us. That Kipling should see the tunately manifested through several types strength and humanity in a millionaire not overworked in previous frontier stories. quicker than our own writers is surprising; Droch. and that he depicts Gloucester fishermen so truthfully that even Massachusetts can’t pro- . test is astounding. Successful Operation. The tale is technically open to the easy objection that it is, through many chapters, $6 T-\OCTOR, was that operation a description of life on the Grand Banks on old Mr. Scadds a suc- with little bearing on the story itself. But cess >" from Kipling’s point of view it was because = young Harve earned his vittlesthusand so “A perfect success, sir that he became a man worth saving. “It was my impression that he One chapter {n the story stands apart as died.” among the very best manifestations of nar- “Oh yes, he did not survive; but tative power im recent fiction—that is the 116 Goeration was eminently success. description of the run of the special train, ‘© OPCral emineatly’su while they “brushed the Continent behind ful. We had been paid for it in ad- THE SPRINGTIME OF LOVE. them.” vance.” Ccomicbooks.com