Judge — January 13, 1900 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This six-panel comic satirizes colonial African administration, specifically mocking the improvisation and absurdity of European "civilization" projects. "Chief Lumbago" (a stereotyped African chief character) attempts to build a water tower using a giraffe as the structural element. The panels show escalating chaos: catching the giraffe, using it as infrastructure, and the animal being paraded around as an accomplishment. The satire targets European colonizers' claims of bringing modern utilities and "progress" to Africa through ridiculous, impractical schemes. The giraffe—a living African animal—literally replacing proper engineering represents how colonial ventures substituted genuine infrastructure with exploitative spectacle. The title's mock-earnestness emphasizes the absurdity of presenting such incompetent plans as innovation or service to local communities.