The Wasp, 1918 · page 277 of 330
The Wasp — 1918 — page 277: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains **narrative fiction**, not a political cartoon. It's an excerpt from a serialized adventure story in *The Wasp* magazine (page 268). The text describes a violent naval engagement between two vessels: James Burnham's crew attacking a schooner defended by a man named Trimmer. The passage depicts hand-to-hand combat with improvised explosives, pistols, and knives. Burnham's forces overwhelm Trimmer's crew—described as "ill-conditioned"—killing nearly all of them except Welsh Owen and five others. **Without additional context** (publication date, earlier pages, or illustrations), I cannot identify the specific historical or political references these character names might represent, or whether this satirizes actual events or political figures of the era. The brutal tone and focus on maritime conflict suggests this may relate to 19th-century piracy, rebellion, or colonial-era naval warfare, but the exact reference remains unclear from this page alone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
268 THE WASP crowding boarders fell a shower. of clumsy _ bombs—bottles, canisters, and earthen jugs charged with powder and slugs. The short fuses fell from some before the charges caught, and other fuses were tramped out blindly upon the deck ; but five of the things exploded among the une feet, killing and maiming a dozen of — Trimmer’s men. Then pistols were discharged and knives thrown by the brig’s defenders, and _ the schooner’s crew turned and struggled among - themselves to win to the shelter of the cabin and forecastle. James Burnham sprang down upon ‘the 3 schooner’s deck, followed close by his twenty. “Some of Trimmer’s men turned and fought, but most of them fell with gaping wounds in © their backs. Some recognized Burnham, and | screamed to him for mercy in the name of old — friendship ; but his blood was up, and he stood | in no need of old friends. It was a oo five others were spared of Trimmer’s ill-condi- : _ tioned forty. : rather than a battle, and only Welsh Owen and Welsh Owen explained Burnham’s easy victory by telling of the hideous state of affairs in the” harbour. James heard him with interest, then” told his own story briefly. The dead were E ea ebooks com]