The Wasp, 1913 · page 307 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 307: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **text rather than a cartoon**—it appears to be from a serialized narrative within *The Wasp* satirical magazine. The passage depicts a fictional pirate crew led by "John Trimmer" experiencing internal decay. The satire critiques how criminal enterprises collapse from within: Trimmer's crew, hiding after betraying associates Burnham and another schooner captain, gradually weakens as idle followers lose money to "parasite gamblers." Deaths mount through violence, disease, and alcoholism. Morale deteriorates as crew members question Trimmer's leadership—why aren't they raiding for new plunder? What happened to Burnham's vessel? The piece likely uses piracy as a metaphor for **corrupt political machines or criminal syndicates**, showing how inactivity and parasitism hollow out organizations from inside. The specific historical references to Burnham and Trimmer remain unclear without additional *Wasp* context, but the narrative structure suggests this is satirizing real figures or contemporary events recognizable to 19th-century readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
300 THE WASP of wood and drawers of water for the plantation. Since his treacherous act against Burnham and the other schooner Trimmer had not ventured far from his hiding place or visited any of his other secret ports. His followers had been content, for a while, to remain inactive and wallow in the mire; but in the course of time many of them fost all their ready cash to the parasite gamblers. At first it was a simple enough matter to set such an awkwardness straight by killing the gambler and starting all over again, but in time it was often the gambler who first used the knife or pistol. And some of the bold blades died at the hands of their shipmates in senseless brawls, and others died of fever, and-still others of too much rum. As the pirates weakened in numbers the parasites strengthened. Then the grumbling at John Trim- mer commenced. Why didn’t they put to sea? Why didn’t they replenish their pockets from new “prizes, or from one of their other treasure ports? And what had happened to James Burnham and the other schooner ? . Trimmer’s attempts at answering these questions Comichooks.com