Judge, 1909-05-15 · page 16 of 16
Judge — May 15, 1909 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous six-panel comic strip satirizing Theodore Roosevelt's famous African hunting expedition. The story follows "Little Johnny" and his band of anthropomorphized possums on a mock safari, apparently inspired by Roosevelt's well-publicized 1909-1910 hunting trip to Africa. The joke relies on the contrast between Roosevelt's celebrated hunting prowess and the comic incompetence of Johnny's group. Each panel depicts disasters: a tiger attacks their tent, catches fire, injures the guide, and sends the entire party into panicked hiding. The "taffy possums" (likely a pun on "tough" or satirizing Roosevelt's "tough" persona) prove entirely unprepared for actual African wildlife. The humor targets both Roosevelt's adventure narrative and contemporary enthusiasm for big-game hunting, presenting it as chaotic and undignified rather than the heroic enterprise Roosevelt's supporters claimed.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Maige- LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TAFFY ’POSSUMS. JOHN AND HIS PLUCKY ‘POSSUM BAND GO HUNTING GAME IN AFRICS LAND. 1. Inspired by tales of Roosevelt's pluck, 2 Whea night comes on they pitch their tent, In Africa John tries his luck. And Johnny, with vast discontent, They find a skillful native guide Blows up the huge pneumatic bed— ‘To show them where the tigers hide. ‘The guide lights up the fire instead. 3. While th Who smells the food, comes rushing in, Rebounding back into the The jguide at once in'terror fled — He screams with an in, dismay, ‘The rest all hide behind the bed. And does not like that kind of play 6. As tiger disappears from si he band take pictures of But John feels sort of scared At the desertion of their guide. 5. His fur is scorched, his skin is tor He 's hungry still, but quite forl Behind the bed, snug and secu! ‘The band watch his discomfitu: COPYRIGHT, 19, BY JONN A. SLRICHER, Paxa'y, PURLISUDNS, MIYTH AVENUE AND MADISON SQUARE, NEW YORE. I