The Wasp — 1879 — page 27: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This six-panel satirical narrative depicts two indigenous figures ("savages," in the period language) who approach a farmer seeking food. The farmer provides them sustenance and provisions. However, the final panels show the figures betraying this hospitality by attacking the farmer at nightfall, seemingly intent on robbery or worse. The cartoon illustrates a racist "ingratitude" trope common in 19th-century American media: the stereotype that Native Americans or other non-white peoples were inherently treacherous and could not be trusted despite charitable treatment. It reinforces a harmful narrative justifying colonial violence and dispossession by portraying Indigenous peoples as inherently savage and disloyal. The moral lesson promoted here—that kindness to outsiders invites danger—served to justify hostile policies toward Native Americans.