Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, March 1924 · page 55 of 71
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #57 — page 55: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several brief humorous sketches typical of early 20th-century American satirical magazines: **"Out Where the West Begins"** references Bill Nye, a real Western humorist and editor of *The Boomerang* in Laramie, Wyoming. The anecdote satirizes the rough frontier code: an Eastern "tenderfoot" (inexperienced newcomer) attempts privacy while changing clothes, but Western barroom patrons violently reject this "civilized" behavior, shooting through his makeshift newspaper screen. The joke mocks both Eastern propriety and crude frontier masculinity. **"Rough On Cats"** is a bawdy poem parodying overly romantic "love" songs—the speaker wants rough treatment as proof of authentic passion, ending with a drunk man's confused murmur comparing his girlfriend to striped stockings. **"Monthly Etiquette Lesson"** offers mock-serious advice about chaperones, using coded language ("call some other chap her own") for courtship conventions. The final line uses contemporary slang ("Maple Sugar"/"Sap") for romantic relationships. These pieces reflect Whiz Bang's irreverent, working-class humor targeting Victorian social norms.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
50 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Out Where the West Begins When Bill Nye was editing The Boomerang at Lara- mie a tenderfoot from the East made his appearance one day and went to the only hotel in town. Wanting to change his shirt, he retired to the rear and put a news- paper over a broken window sash as a screen to his im- promptu toilette. But this was too much for the boys in front of the bar, and down came the sash, newspaper and all as a bullet went through the outfit. “See here, pussyfoot,” said an aggrieved voice, “we’ll stand for none of your damned privacy in this town!” “Say, did you ever kiss a girl in a quiet spot?” “Yes, but the spot was quiet only while I was kissing it.” Rough On Cats Honey, oh, honey, why don’t you act rough? You hug and you squeeze, but it isn’t enough. Maul me and slap me, for I’ll never cry, Take me and break me and blacken my eye. I’ll trust you to bust me when I don’t behave, My lovin’ man must come right from the cave! As the copper picked a moonlit individual from out the gutter and leaned him against a barber’s pole, the boiled party murmured: “Put down your rags, ol’ gal; them striped stockin’s are louder ’nell!” Monthly Etiquette Lesson When attending a ball a young lady always should have a female chaperone until she is able to call some other chap her own. Olaf says Maggie is Gus’s Maple Sugar and he is her Sap.