Judge — February 4, 1888 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine page satirizes the "Wild West" as a destination for European emigrants, arguing they'd prefer New York instead. The comic presents six illustrated scenarios showing natural disasters befalling a frontier farmer: 1. Grasshoppers destroy crops 2. A tornado destroys his farm 3. Prairie fire burns his property 4. Winter brings severe snowstorms 5. Spring flooding submerges everything 6. A blizzard ends his career The final large panel shows a well-dressed man (the emigrant) safely indoors in an urban setting, appearing content and prosperous—implying civilization and comfort in New York contrast sharply with the relentless environmental catastrophes of frontier life. The satire mocks the romanticized notion of Western expansion while highlighting genuine agricultural hazards that made frontier farming precarious during this period.