Stock Photo - 'The Silent Highway - Man.', 1858. Your MONEY or your LIFE!. The Thames in the summer of 1858 was in a dangerously filthy state. This cartoon shows Death rowing through the sluggish waters of the River Thames, with the usual complement of dead and swollen dogs floating by. The title refers to the fact that the river was so contaminated that it did not so much ebb and flow, as ooze. Such was the stench from the river that parliamentary proceedings were interrupted, and officials became ill. Disraeli issued a Bill on 15th July 1858 to implement a programme to cleanse the Thames. Through the murk can be seen London Bridge and the dome of St. Paul's. From Punch, or the London Charivari, July 10, 1858.