Judge — August 24, 1889 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine cover from August 24, 1889, uses allegorical satire about the American South. A classical female figure (representing Justice or Liberty) stands amid the Mississippi River landscape, wielding a whip or rod to control several dog-headed figures at her feet. The "dog-days" reference—typically meaning the hottest summer period—becomes a pun: these are literal "dogs" (caricatured figures) representing Southern political or social problems. The sign reading "50 POUND" suggests these figures are being penned or controlled like animals. The satirical point appears critical of conditions in Mississippi during Reconstruction's aftermath, likely mocking Southern governance or racial violence. The cartoon implies these problems require firm discipline—personified by the dominant female figure.