Life — July 21, 1921 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Tale of the Hasty Hoboes" This comic strip by A. B. Frost depicts a humorous encounter between two homeless men and revenue officers (tax collectors). The narrative follows their misadventure: the hoboes discover what they believe is a jug of alcohol ("hooch"), attempt to hide it from approaching authorities, and ultimately end up in a river or stream during the confusion. The final panels reveal the "jug" contained sheep-dip—a toxic pesticide used to treat sheep—explaining why the revenue officers seem cruel and the hoboes' desperate situation becomes absurdly darker. The satire likely mocks Prohibition-era enforcement and the desperation of poor drifters during this period. The joke relies on visual comedy and the escalating mishaps typical of early 20th-century newspaper comics.