The Wasp, 1913 · page 55 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 55: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be part of a serialized narrative rather than a political cartoon. It depicts a shipboard scene where sailors debate the fate of an unconscious man named Burnham, found adrift. The satire targets maritime corruption and opportunism: the shipmaster cynically calculates Burnham's value—worthless dead, but worth thirty guineas to a planter if revived, or even more valuable if framed as a pirate captain to claim a government reward and see him hanged. The crude sailor dialect emphasizes the callousness of those profiting from colonial trade. The passage satirizes how maritime law could be weaponized for profit, and suggests that accusations of piracy were convenient—used to eliminate inconvenient people while claiming civic virtue. The reference to pirate captains being "set adrift" by their crews reflects real historical practices, here invoked ironically to justify false accusation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
54 THE WASP bawled for Mr. Winch, the first mate. Winch looked through the hatch and was told to fetch down a bottle of liquor. He soon arrived with a bottle of brandy. He, too, stirred the limp form of Burnham with an inquiring toe. “Leave the dog lay,” he suggested. “He’s purty nigh gone, anyhow.” “Fetch him round,” said the shipmaster. “Put a gill or two o’ that there liquor into him. He ain’t worth a penny dead, afloat, or ashore; but if we land him alive an’ in good heart he’s worth thirty guineas out 0’ any planter’s pocket. “Tf we kin make one o’ these here pirate cap- tains out o’ him, we'll git the reward from the gov- ernor, an’ see him hanged into the bargain!” “Ye’re a deep one,” said Winch, with admira- tion in his voice. “An’ how d’ye know he ain’t a pirate?” replied Smith. “Looks like one, don’t he? Picked up adrift in a open boat, wasn’t he—an’ ain’t that what all these here pirate crews does to their cap- tains when they wanter git quit o’ them?” Comichooks.com