The Wasp — 1891 — page 26: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents a Western narrative illustrated with a dramatic engraving of a large, heavily-built man in frontier attire. The story describes a lynch mob execution in Canyon City involving a man nicknamed "Red Shed," a pack-train operator, and his Mexican wife. The narrative recounts how Shed allegedly killed an antelope and was tried and sentenced to death. The text details the mob's casual approach to vigilante justice, with participants including prospectors and townspeople. The story emphasizes the lawlessness of frontier mining communities, where formal legal proceedings existed but mob justice prevailed. The account presents this execution matter-of-factly, reflecting *The Wasp's* satirical critique of frontier brutality and the absence of genuine law and order in remote settlements.