Judge — November 8, 1890 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a sequential comic strip titled "The Amateur Sportsmen and the Bear; Or, the Itinerant Showman's Luck." The narrative follows amateur hunters attempting to hunt a bear, depicted through eight panels. The satire mocks wealthy urban sportsmen who fancy themselves outdoorsmen but lack genuine skill. The joke progresses from their confident initial encounter with the bear ("There's no show in that town, Casper") through escalating chaos as they prove incompetent—struggling, getting chased, and ultimately being outmaneuvered by both the bear and circumstances. The punchline suggests the "itinerant showman" (traveling performer) who owns the bear ends up the fortunate one, profiting from the amateurs' misadventure. The satire critiques class pretensions and the gap between amateur pretense and actual competence in frontier/sporting activities.