The Wasp, 1913 · page 193 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 193: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is from a serialized adventure narrative in *The Wasp*, not a political cartoon. It depicts a naval battle scene featuring ships named the *Wasp* and *Polly*, with characters including Captain Trimmer, James Burnham, and a pirate named Hicks. The text describes combat during what appears to be a privateering or pirate-hunting engagement. Burnham fatally wounds Hicks in hand-to-hand combat, and the *Polly's* crew is decimated. The narrative emphasizes brutal action and martial heroism—common themes in late 19th-century American adventure fiction. Without additional context (issue date, author, surrounding pages), the specific historical or political references remain unclear. This appears to be entertainment fiction rather than satire or social commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
188 THE WASP Trimmer sailed once around the scene of action, cursing at the trick that had been played on him; and then, evidently satisfied in his mind that his men had the upper hand, he swung the Wasp’s stern to the conflict and set off in pursuit of the brig. Some of the Polly’s uninvited guests cursed like fiends upon seeing that their captain did not intend to send another boat to their help; but they fought all the more furiously for this knowledge. James Burnham gave no thought to anything but the devilish work in hand. He undertook and dis- patched three single engagements in masterly style and then came face to face with Hicks. He did not know the short, heavy-set fellow with the black beard and the brandished cutlas for the redoubtable pirate; but if it had been the evil one himself he would not have cared. He ran Hicks through the top of the right lung and passed on along the slip- pery deck. Twenty minutes later the last of the Polly's crew gave up his black soul through a red gash in his breast. Of the twenty-eight who had left the white Comichooks.com