Tramp Stamps

Not that kind.
This kind.

And we get a comic strip today at The Imp of the Diverse. I love a good comic strip (the survival of the bad ones always amazes me[1]). This strip from the El Paso Herald on September 13, 1910 is from one of the great classics of the comic strip, Mutt and Jeff. When I read it as a child, I had no idea that it had been created before my grandparents were born. According to Wikipedia, the strip started (as A. Mutt) in 1907, with Jeff appearing in 1908. I’ve glanced at some of the other Mutt and Jeff strips from the period, and I’m still not quite sure why they’re being tracked. Or why the inspector is a dog. The obvious answer is “because.”

Though Inspector Stew may be skilled at tracking, it’s unclear why he’s tracking Mutt and Jeff. They do, however, seem to be tramps, engaging in schemes to get money and not above a little petty thievery (the September 7 strip seems to imply that they’re going to steal eggs), although Stew is tracking them before that. I did find the strip that shows that Inspector Stew is eventually successful.

But what does this have to do with Esperanto?[2]

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