The Wasp — 1889 — page 137: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This illustration satirizes American railroad expansion and its relationship to westward settlement and commerce. The cartoon depicts a vertical cross-section showing three transportation layers: ships in a harbor below, railroad trains in the middle landscape, and what appears to be Native Americans or frontier settlers on the right side observing the development. The text headline "How can American railroads, fette[d]..." (incomplete in the OCR) suggests criticism of railroad regulations or limitations. The stacked cargo cars labeled with various goods indicate the commercial exploitation of resources and trade routes during westward expansion. The overall composition critiques how railroads simultaneously colonized the landscape, displaced indigenous peoples, and consolidated corporate economic power—a common satirical theme in Gilded Age publications like The Wasp.