The Wasp — 1890 — page 346: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The main cartoon illustrates a story about **Bob White of Mendocino County**, a man celebrated locally for his ready wit and cleverness. The narrative describes White's hunting mishap: a Scotch engineer borrowed White's well-trained Irish setter, which failed to retrieve birds. When White shot the dog in frustration, the engineer protested mildly. The satire mocks **White's obstinate nature**—he deliberately ruined an expensive chronometer watch the engineer admired by refusing to stop when commanded, retaliating for the dog incident. The joke targets White's petty vindictiveness: when given a direct order, he deliberately disobeys out of sheer stubbornness, illustrated through the watch metaphor that "wouldn't stop." The cartoon emphasizes eccentric local character types common to 1880s California mining communities.