Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #29 — page 38: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains a poem titled "Know what the gangs a doin' now" that appears to be a satirical narrative about vagrant or homeless men ("the Bo," "the Hobo," "the Bum"). The poem tells of desperate, starving men in "Elephant Slough" who are so hungry they've resorted to eating stew made from questionable sources. It describes one character's hunger, another's prayer before an oncoming train, and ultimately depicts a hobo being hit by a train—presented as a darkly comedic "solution" to his suffering. The final stanza offers religious consolation: the deceased hobo awakens in "a nice white gown" on a "golden path," suggesting redemption through death. This reflects early 20th-century American attitudes toward poverty and vagrancy, using dark humor to address economic desperation and social marginalization.