The Wasp — 1887 — page 456: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains a narrative text column about an Arctic expedition, alongside an engraved illustration depicting a winter camp scene and a "Christmas Song" poem. The main text describes the hardships of polar explorers, emphasizing their courage and sacrifice. It references specific challenges: scurvy, starvation, frozen conditions, and the death of a Lieutenant whose body couldn't be properly buried. The narrative celebrates these men as national heroes. The illustration shows a desolate winter encampment with figures and supplies in a snowy landscape. The accompanying "Christmas Song" poem adopts the explorers' perspective, contrasting holiday sentimentality with their grim reality—emphasizing endurance through suffering rather than festive cheer. This appears to be celebratory journalism about contemporary Arctic exploration, likely referencing real expeditions from the 1880s (mentioned dates: "1887, First Peary Silver Medal").