Life, 1918-03-14 · page 24 of 40
Life — March 14, 1918 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Moccasins"** is a humorous poem by Arthur Guiterman using Native American characters (Eagle Claw, a Sioux warrior, and Firefly) to tell a romantic courtship story. The satire targets gender roles: the bashful warrior performs household labor (fetching water) to woo the woman, who teases him about his shabby moccasins. When he laments having no one to repair them, she pointedly asks, "Have you tried?"—implying he should do it himself rather than expect women's domestic labor. The accompanying illustration shows the couple by a river, with the poem's gentle mockery of traditional male courtship rituals. **"A Fair Question"** discusses military health, prompted by Major Gardner's death. The Anti-Vivisection Society challenges medical claims that inoculations benefit soldiers, arguing instead that serums poison recruits and that proper sanitation—not vaccines—ensures health. This reflects early 20th-century anti-vaccination sentiment. The bottom illustration shows a woman knitting during a theater matinee, unrelated to the articles above.
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424 “LIFE: The Moccasins T was the gallant Eagle Claw, a warrior of the Sioux, That loved the sprightly Firefly, hut lacked the heart to woo. He saw her take her waterpail, on household duties bent ; He donned his ragged moccasins, and followed where she went. And down beside the rivulet, despite a mild demur, He seized and filled the waterpail and carried it for her. She smiled at him, and said to him, with roguish tone and sweet, “What dreadiul, ragged moccasins are those upon your feet!” . “Within my lodge is none,” he said, “to make them new for me!” : She looked upon the moccasins and laughed, “There ought to be!” “But who would mend the moccasins for such as 1?” he sighed ; “T could not find her anywhere!” She murmured, “Have you tried?” “Oh, will you mend my moccasins?” he begged with long- ing thrill, She looked upon the moccasins and whispered, “Yes, 1 And up the bank and through the grove and toward the lodge-fire’s gleam, A double trail of moccasins is leading from the stream. Arthur Guiterman A Fair Question HE death of Major Gardner has called direct attention to the methods of selecting camp sites, the amount of illness in camps, and camp sanitation and cleanliness in general. The National Anti-Vivisection Society, in a tele- gram to Congressman Gard, has called attention to the fact that + « « the recruit is invariably and repeatedly inocu- Jated with serums that poison the blood, thus reducing vitality and inviting the ravages of disease. In view of this statement of fact, based upon careful observation and record, would it not be well to make some accurate attempt to discover whether there is the slightest foundation in the statements so persistently put forth by medical men (who largely derive their emoluments from inoculations of various serums) that serums do the slight- est good? On the contrary, if it could be easily shown by impartial investigation not only that they do no good, but that they are the cause of widespread illness and death, would it not be well to make it clear that in methods of sanitation alone is there any security for keeping our sol- diers in good physical condition? MRS, kK. PERSISTS IN KNITTING THROUGH THE MATINEE