The Wasp — 1889 — page 77: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Wasp* contains primarily literary content rather than political cartoons. It features three sections: 1. **"Sambo's Wooing"** — a dialect poem about courtship 2. **"A Sheridan Story"** — a narrative about General Sheridan and a portrait, discussing artistic posing and military bearing 3. **"A Terrific Race War"** — titled dispatches describing violent racial conflict in Possum Trot, Mississippi, with escalating casualties between white and Black residents The "Race War" section uses satirical mock-journalism, presenting increasingly absurd "dispatches" to mock sensationalized newspaper reporting about racial violence. The humor appears grimly ironic—treating serious racial conflict as fodder for comedic exaggeration rather than earnest social critique. The page also includes poetry and short humor pieces unrelated to current events.