Life, 1925-08-13 · page 23 of 36
Life — August 13, 1925 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a serialized adventure story by Captain Dangle, illustrated by Herb Roth, not political satire. It depicts life aboard a merchant ship called the "Sweet Marie." The narrative humorously contrasts the Captain's complaint about monotonous sea life with his officers' reminders of recent dramatic incidents: Chinese pirate attacks, severe monsoons with damage to rigging, whales crashing onto deck, and mice infesting the hold. The joke is ironic—the Captain claims endless tedium while his crew catalogs genuine maritime disasters. The opening cartoon shows a boiler explosion during these chaotic events. The story concludes with the bosun reporting the crew has abandoned work for an illegal gambling game, threatening mutiny. This appears to be light entertainment fiction typical of Life magazine's content during this era, featuring nautical adventure and comedic exaggeration rather than social commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
awe oon BT TM as « “Beg pardon, sir.” It was Furniss, the chief engineer. “A boiler just blew up and the ship's on fire.” There’s the Tang o the Salt Air in W ind aad Wave “London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down——” ANG the chanteyman. “My fair la-a-a-ady,” came the husky-throated chorus. Eight days out from Bulawayo, the crew of the “Sweet Marie” were catting the anchor. From the bridge, the Old Man's listless eyes followed the bos'n as he reached for another cat. “Ling-ling, ling-ling, ling-ling, ling-ling, ling...” tinkled the bell abaft the wheel. . ¢ bells!” roared the Old Man, coming out of his y. “What the ———!" Vrong number, ex-cuse it, ple-az,” soothed the star- ard lookout, but the Captain, once aroused, stayed aroused. ‘Look alive, my bullies,” he bellowed. “Furl the st'ns'ls, half-reef the spanker and sluice the main crojick! 7-45-39-6, punt forma- McGillicuddy back! And a set of ad to the first man to reach the gll'nt shrouds!” In the mad scramble that followed, litle Mickey Goldberg, ex-gunner’s mate of the Hebrew cutter “Palestine,” won by a nose. The sharp ears of the Skipper heard the grumbling of one or two that it wasn’t fair. Mickey already had three sets of Conrad. “Belay that!” shouted the Skipper, “or every mother’s ugly son of you will get no rice pudding with his supper to-night.” Discipline was keen on board the “Sweet Marie.” “The trouble with this life,” grumbled the Captain to his officers assembled in the officers’ mess, “is the everlasting, Boarded by Chinese Pirates. By Captain Dangle Illustrated by Herb Roth — — monotony. Wind and wave, wave and wind, sun in the daytime and moon at night. Sometimes a little rain, sometimes snow.... Like a dodgasted troupe of per- forming elements!” “Why, Captain,” remonstrated the ruddy-faced “third,” Mr. Mickles, “wasn't it only last week we were boarded by Chinese Pirates?” “So it was, Mister,” retorted the Captain, “and a fine mess they made out of the laundry. I haven't had a decent collar to wear since.” “What about the monsoon two and a half weeks ago?” asked the mate. “Didn't she blow the mizzen clean off to Kaula Lumpur and land a school of whales smack on top of the after deckhouse? We were hull under for eighteen hours, with nothing but a jury mast, a trys'l, a crippled sea anchor and half a royal. The waves were running like mountains. By the Bull of Bashan, sir, it was like shipping on a sub- marine!” “Oh, that,” said the Old Man, de- precatingly, “that... 1!" “And then,” said Mr. Bunker, who should have been the assistant chicf engineer but happened to be the second mate, “mice got in the hold.” “Nasty things,” said the Captain, sympathetically, A shadow fell athwart the door. It was the bos'n. “Axin’ your pardon, sir,” said the bos'n, “I'm havin’ a bit of difficulty with the crew. They've got into a kind of crap game and they refuses to work the ship. Sort of a blinkin’ mutiny, you might call it.” The bos'n was a char- comicbooks.com