Life — July 28, 1898 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "All Flesh is Grass" This Life magazine cover from July 28, 1898 features a political cartoon titled "All Flesh is Grass," with the subtitle "Then is Smithers pushing a load of hay up hill!" The image shows a cyclist struggling to push a bicycle loaded with hay up a steep hill—a visual pun on the phrase "all flesh is grass" (meaning human mortality, from Isaiah 40:6). The joke appears to be about someone named Smithers undertaking an impossibly difficult task, represented by pushing heavy hay uphill on a bicycle. Without additional historical context, the specific political reference remains unclear—it likely referenced a contemporary figure or event recognizable to 1898 readers. The satirical point seems to mock either Smithers' foolish effort or some associated public endeavor considered futile or absurdly difficult.