The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1912-11-14
Tramp Steamers Cook Adopted
by Balloons in Africa.
Rescued by Boats Crew-Later He
Disappears and Is Believed to
Have Answered to the Call
of the Wild.

New York-Here is yarn for your
whiskers, mate. Believe 1t or not, but
all the officers of the British Tramp
Midair, which few days ago was ly-
ing over in South Brooklyn, are willing
to take oath as to It's truthfulness.
They declare that the strange events
as related by Second Mate Brownlee,
acting as spokesman for the rest, are
just as they happened.
I'VE had a cook" began the second
mate, 81 say had for he is not with
US now. But this hero cookie. who
was Hindu, was the best cook we
ever had. 1t took us some time 10
get used to his countenance, for never
did a man wear such a mask for
face as that Hindu boy. And it was
because of this face of his'n that
brought about this strange adven-
ture.
I'VE touched in at Zanzibar, on the
West African coast, and the cook and
three of the Lascar crew went ashore
in search fsome herbs that they
use for making medicine for them
selves. Well, the day wore along,
and no sign of the cook and the
Lascars.
THE old man finally got worried
about not having a cook, and told me
to take couple of men and go find
cookie. We started out toward the
jungle, thinking that the cook and the
Lascars, having got tired picking
herbs, curled up and went to sleep,
Just as we arrived on the edge of
the jungle we saw the two Lascars
who had accompanied the cook run
ming toward us with their eyeballs
sticking out of thei rheads.
1t seems as how the cook and the
two Lascars were searching about
for herbs when they heard loud
chattering about them, and when
they looked up they saw about 40
balloons sitting in row and watch
ing them.
THE balloons were particularly in
terested in cookie. And l might say
right here that cookie was the near
est approach to a baboon in human
form that / have ever beheld. He
was that missing link Darwin was
looking for. The balloons did not
pay much attention to the two
Lascars.
Suddenly the leader of the balloons
ran over and took hold of cookie and
began to yammer away in baboon
lingo. All the other balloons came
over to cookie and completely sur
rounded him. They paid no atten-
ton whatever to the two Lascars.
When the Lascars tried to rescue
cookie the balloons went after them
like fury.
The next morning we started out
big party to find cookie. Into the
jungle we went for about five miles.
yelling our lungs out. Finally far in
the distance we heard an answering
shout and knew that we were near
ing the kidnapped one. Finally we
came into a clearing in the jungle and
there in the center of an admiring cir
Gle Of balloons sat cookie. In front
Of him was a pile of nuts and fruit
IudL IuOS0 UdDOOuS AdO eo1IACICu tAO
brought before him. Cookie was a
sort of baboon king.
HE had found that they would not
hurt him, and the baboon life sort
of appealed to him. We had to sail
into those balloons right smart before
they would bulge an inch, and got
cookie by the back of the neck and
started back for the ship.
ct was not long before all the Of
ficers on the ship were wishing that
we had left the cook with the balloons.
He got so he didn't care how he
cooked any more. Those balloons had
spoiled him sure. He felt of great i'm
portance, and the old man decided
he would get another cook at the first
port we made.
well, we put in UP the coast a bit,
and that very night cookie went over
the side and disappeared. He never
showed up again, and we didn't make
any effort to find him. We have come