The Wasp — 1879 — page 515: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents two satirical engravings contrasting religious hypocrisy with indigenous peoples: **Top panel**: Depicts Native Americans or enslaved people with bows and spears, shown in a "savage" or "primitive" state. **Bottom panel**: Shows a robed religious figure (likely a Catholic priest or missionary, given the cross and formal robes) preaching to a gathered crowd of indigenous peoples and children, with some figures sitting or kneeling below. The satire appears to critique Christian missionaries' activities—suggesting the irony of "civilizing" or "Christianizing" indigenous populations while depicting them as already possessing their own culture and social structures. The juxtaposition implies commentary on colonial religious conversion efforts and their justifications. Without visible text attribution or date, the specific historical context remains unclear, though this reflects 19th-century American attitudes toward missionary work and indigenous peoples.