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A BULL CHASE. "The words of the WISE, are as GOADS"
   
Complete Explanation:
Another satire on the special committee of the House of Representatives investigating Van Buren's Treasury Department. The committee, chaired by James Harlan but dominated by Henry A. Wise of Virginia, centered upon Secretary Levi Woodbury and probed irregularities in handling and accounting of federal funds in the customs houses. This occurred in the wake of the Swartwout embezzlement scandal uncovered in November 1838. (See "Price Current" and "Sub Treasurers Meeting in England," nos. 1838-21 and -20.)

In "A Bull Chase" Henry A. Wise (left) spears the hindquarters of a bull with the head of Treasury Secretary Woodbury, saying "C'mon Prentiss, I'm into him! He's going to roar!" He apparently addresses Mississippi Congressman Sergeant S. Prentiss, a Whig ally, who is unseen in the wings.


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