Judge, 1926-07-03 · page 5 of 36
Judge — July 3, 1926 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Fourth of July at the North Pole" - Judge Magazine This page satirizes Arctic exploration fever, likely referencing early 20th-century polar expeditions. The main cartoon shows an explorer directing Inuit people, with the caption "I SAID WEST, YOUNG MAN, NOT NORTH!" — a play on Horace Greeley's famous "Go West, young man" maxim. The cartoonist mocks explorers' incompetence and disregard for Indigenous guidance. The accompanying poem celebrates celebrating Independence Day in the Arctic, humorously contrasting American patriotic traditions with extreme polar conditions. References to "Eskimo" culture, seal-skin clothing, and aurora borealis reflect period attitudes toward Indigenous peoples and exotic exploration. The satire targets both the romanticization of polar adventure and the era's colonial attitudes toward Indigenous knowledge and peoples.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE SAID WEST, ) YOUNG MAN, NOT NORTH! “We call her Belle.” Because, “She's always out of order.” Judge pays $5 for each one printed Fourth of July at the North Pole Wes Fourth of July rolls around to the Pole, There’s joy in each blubber-lined Eskimo soul; For this is the time for the Eskimo | Frolic, And even the children with Eskimo colic Dance gaily about until bedtime, or later, And pray for the folks who live near the Equator. And why not? kimo skies There’s not the least trace of mos- quitoes and flies, And Eskimo papas and Eskimo mammas Go chortling about in their seal skin pyjamas— Cause they don’t have to fear lest they should miss the ice man Shades of Horace Greeley! Or try to remember to empty the ice pan, For under the Es- PFIORAS GREELEY 4 ria Ss a7 They don’t have to smear vaseline on Or gingerly sidestep the boisterous their blisters, misters Who rush in where angels themselves fear to tread, And bat one on shoulders quite par- boiled and red. Oh, happy, oh, joyful, oh, blest Eskimo Who may in July roll about in the snow! And not stick to chairs (Oh, what luc —and what's more you Don’t daily writhe at “Ts it hot enough for you?” We envy your Fourth of July cele- bration While we all wring out for the birth of the nation— Though our pyrotechnique is good, it would bore you, You beat us at that—with Aurora The girl, who wears her furs in summer, dresses for her North Pole before you! expedition. George A. Paravicini comicbooks.com