Life, 1909-09-30 · page 5 of 32
Life — September 30, 1909 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be from a satirical account (dated 1609-1909) mocking polar exploration claims. The top illustration shows a winged allegorical figure guiding various ships—likely representing different explorers' competing claims to discovering the North Pole. The article text, titled "How I Found the Pole: A Challenge to the World," describes a 1908 expedition with the author's mother-in-law, mentioning New England sleighs and sled dogs. The tone is deliberately tongue-in-cheek, particularly the line "rather tiresome, as my mother-in-law insisted on waking me up at four o'clock every morning and reading family prayers." The satire appears to mock the era's polar exploration controversies and inflated claims of discovery, while using domestic humor (overbearing in-laws) for comedic effect.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
How I Found the Pole A Challenge to the World N the summer of 1908, accompanied only by my mother-in law, I storted out in search of the pole. I thought it best this time not to make any premature announcement of my intentions, as my mother-in-law was not feeling well and I was afraid that the notoriety might unnerve her. We passed the winter in Greenland, where my mother-in- law knitted me some worsted neckties and a pair of sealskin suspenders. In the dead of winter we started North We both felt very confident of winning, as we had been practising every winter for years by going sleighing in an old- fashioned New England sleigh. Having survived that, the pole had no terrors for us. On the 31st we reached the pole. The journey up was rather tiresome, as my mother-in-law insisted on waking me up at four o'clock every morning and reading family prayers She is there now. URING all these centuries in which we have sought the North Pole, little did we reck the power it possessed to heat things up. OSSIBLY we could get the truth by turning Messrs. Cook and Peary over to the police department and giving them the third degree ‘OW happy with either we'd be, were t'other dear ex- plorer away THE HARVEST MOON comicbooks.com