The Wasp — 1891 — page 415: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and mastheads** for various San Francisco businesses (liquor dealers, insurance companies, pianos, etc.), typical of late 19th-century publications that relied on ads for revenue. The main editorial content is "**The Crocodile and the Nigger**" by Alfred L. Townsend—a poem with accompanying illustration. The poem depicts a crocodile encountering a Black man at a bayou, told from the crocodile's perspective. The narrative describes their violent confrontation with crude, dehumanizing language characteristic of the era's racist stereotypes. Below appears text referencing **Rudyard Kipling**, likely satirizing his work or writing style. The satire's specific target remains **unclear from this page alone**, though the crude racial content reflects The Wasp's offensive editorial stance.