Judge — December 17, 1904 — page 28: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This six-panel comic strip uses racist stereotypes typical of early 1900s American humor. The story follows characters named "Sampo" and "Julia" (a mule) during Christmas ("Crismus"). The narrative: Sampo leaves Julia tied to a tree while collecting firewood. The mule kicks through rotting boards, accidentally breaking into a hiding spot where a miser had concealed gold before dying. The discovery leads to a chaotic celebration where the characters find enough wealth to "buy de opery-house ter lib in." **The satire**: The joke plays on the idea that unintelligent characters accidentally stumble into fortune through destructive behavior—hence the title's pun about kicking literally and figuratively "paying off." The dialect and characterization reflect deeply offensive minstrelsy conventions of the era. The comic relies entirely on racial caricature for humor, depicting African American characters in subordinate positions using exaggerated dialect.