Judge, 1909-06-05 · page 16 of 16
Judge — June 5, 1909 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a children's adventure comic strip featuring "Little Johnny" and his band escaping from "Old Hokey Poke" and a Native American chief who plan to make them into possum stew. The narrative follows a rescue sequence: the children are captured, brought before a sick chief, Johnny produces a "Junce" (unclear what this is—possibly a magical object or treasure), which causes the pursuers to laugh so hard they lose their balance and tumble into the stewing pot they'd prepared. The humor relies on slapstick reversal—the hunters becoming the hunted. The indigenous characters ("Hokey Poke" and the chief) are portrayed as villains in a stereotypical adventure narrative typical of early 1900s children's entertainment. The comic reflects period attitudes toward Native Americans as exotic antagonists rather than as nuanced characters.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Suage LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TAFFY ’POSSUMS. JOHN AND HIS BAND ESCAPE ANEW FROM BEING MADE TO ‘POSSUM STEW. . John and his band, poor little folk, 2. Old Hokey takes them to his chief Are captured by old Hokey Poke. Who 's gotten very sick of ‘They do not like his club and gun, His eyes grow large and gl And think it really far from fun. At thought of so much “po ey stand beside the stewing-pot, And heap the fire blazing When suddenly the chief ’s quick eye they ery out John’s Junce, his treasure, doth espy. “ No funnier thing can ever 5. ‘They laughed so hard those'jokes to read, 7 sh ! a scream of ter ‘Their balance they forgot to heed. Four coal-black legs in They leaned back further than they oughter, No more of thore two And tumbled in the steaming water John and the band run off in glee. COPYRIGHT, 1999, BY JONN A. SLEICHER, PRESIDENT, 2% FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK comicbooks.com