Life, 1917-02-08 · page 14 of 42
Life — February 8, 1917 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct sections: **Buffalo Bill Poem** (left): A tribute poem by Christopher Morley commemorating Buffalo Bill (1840-1917), celebrating his frontier heroism—his skills as "ranchman and hunter, soldier, sheriff"—and his iconic white horse. The poem mourns his death and his representation of idealized American frontier mythology. **"Bedtime Stories" (right)**: A satirical tale about "Grandma Law" and an "Efficiency Expert" (appearing to represent early-20th-century business optimization movements). A Fox-trotter pressures the elderly woman to modernize her traditional lifestyle and home. The satire targets the era's obsession with "efficiency" and rationalization, mocking attempts to impose corporate-style improvement on traditional domestic life and elderly persons resistant to change. The illustration shows multiple figures in what appears to be a social gathering.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Buffalo Bill (1846-1917) LD chivalry of broad and endless plai How few your ranks, and quickly thinning out !— No mystic. knighthood of King Ar- thur’s reign Finer than that of pioneer and scout. No hero of romance, in armor bright, With lance in rest, the dragon grim to kill, Could fill our boyish hearts with such delight As that white horse—and on it Buf- falo Bill! Ranchman and hunter, soldier, sheriff —prince Of all that seemed to us beyond re- proach— He faced the redskin, and he did not wince ; We saw him save the fabled Dead- wood coach! Idol of all our youthful days of dream, Unerring shot, and all that boys adore— Now you have crossed the sharp divid- ing stream, Good hunting to you on the further shore! Christopher Morley. Bedtime Stories ALL ABOUT GRANDMA LAW * ID you ever hear the story of Grandma Law?" said Mr. Oracle. “No, indeed said Bright Eyes. “Won't you please tell it to me, Mr. Oracle?” “Well, I will if you will be a nice little girl and sit perfectly quiet. Grandma Law was a nice old lady who lived in an old stone house which some people said had been bequeathed to her by the Romans. At any rate, it was very ancient, and although it was very much decayed in places, no attempt had been made to give it any modern improvements. Indeed, Grandma Law's house presented a sharp contrast to all the other smart modern houses in the neighborhood. It was filled with cob- webs. Some of the shelves hadn't been dusted for generations. Everybody was dissatisfied with it, but nobody seemed to have any power to make it over. GREAT AMERICANS MRS, HELPHOR STILE, WHO MANAGES TO EVADE THE DUTY ON ALL HER GOWNS AND JEWELRY “Grandma Law went out to walk one day, when she met a Fox-trotter. “*Look here, Granny,’ said the Fox- trotter, ‘you have been a back number long enough; you must change your style and join us.’ “Grandma Law was naturally horri- fied by this language. She had worn the same sunbonnet for hundreds of years. In fact, she was the very quin- tessence of accumulated dignity. “* You've got to do it,’ said the Fox- trotter, nodding wisely. ‘You just wait and see.’ : “The Fox-trotter lost no time. He went promptly over to his friend, the Efficiency Expert. He explained the situation, “*Tell her her faults,’ he said to the Efficiency Expert. “So the Efficiency Expert sat on Grandma Law’s doorstep /the next comicbooks.com