The Wasp, 1913 · page 54 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 54: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains narrative fiction rather than a political cartoon. It depicts a scene aboard a ship where a character named Burnham, apparently having been knocked unconscious, recovers in the forecastle (crew's quarters). He drinks rum to ease his thirst and pain, then hides the bottle. A New England shipmaster arrives and addresses Burnham as a "mutinous dog," suggesting Burnham has rebelled against authority. The shipmaster asks mockingly how Burnham likes his "berth" (bunk/position), then attempts to rouse him by kicking, but Burnham feigns unresponsiveness. The text suggests a conflict between crew and captain—likely satirizing maritime labor disputes or class tensions common in the era. The shipmaster's contempt and physical abuse illustrate the harsh treatment sailors endured, which was a social criticism The Wasp frequently targeted.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 53 was a weak but refreshing mixture of rum and water. His mouth and throat were dry, and his tongue was like leather. He tilted the bottle again and drank deep. He hid the precious bottle in a nook beside the heel of the bowsprit and returned to the corner in which he had found himself upon first recovering consciousness. He sprawled limply, closed his aching eyes, and thought hard in spite of the throbbing of his head. A second visitor came to the suffocating fore- castle an hour later, and this was the shipmaster himself. “So there ye lay, ye mutinous dog!” said the New Englander. Burnham opened one eye languidly and groaned. “How d’ye fancy yer berth?” queried the other, grinning dryly. Burnham closed his eye and sprawled more limply than before. The shipmaster stirred him briskly with the toe of his boot, but failed to excite any. ' response. He went to the foot of the ladder and Comichooks.com