The Wasp — 1891 — page 334: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts a hotel clerk speaking to a disheveled traveler who has apparently fled San Francisco in haste. The traveler, holding a satchel labeled "BLACKMAIL," appears anxious about associates named Kelly and Crimmins "coming" after him. The satire targets what seems to be a blackmail or extortion scandal involving San Francisco figures, with the joke being that the guilty party has fled north to Canada seeking refuge. The specific individuals referenced—Kelly, Crimmins, and the blackmailer—were apparently recognizable to contemporary readers, though their identities remain unclear today. The cartoon mocks both the criminal's cowardice in fleeing and the involvement of organized wrongdoing in San Francisco's affairs during this period.