The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1920-06-05
THEIR LUCKY DAY
How Members Of Camping Party
Found a Cook.
Finding Of Mamma In the Wilderness
or Getting Water From Rock Would
Not Have Been Wonderful
After That Experience.

II might seem reasonable to believe
that In the wilderness the troubles
and trials caused by cooks or the want
of cooks could be comfortably left be-
hind, but according to Mrs. Mary Rob-
erts Rinehart such is not the case. SO
essential place in the routine OF
large camping party does a cook oc-
cupy that trouble with that impor-
tant parsonage is dire calamity. In
"Tenting Tonight" Mrs. Rlnehart
gives her views on the subject and
describes the nerve-racking experience
of trying to keep hold of an unstable
cook.
BY the end of the second day, she
says, we were we'll away from even
that remote part Of civilization from
which we had started, and terrible
fact was dawning on us. The cook
did not like US
Now, the center of camping trip is
the cook. He has the hardest job
that know of. He cooks with made
quate equipment on a tiny stove In
the open, where the air blows the
smoke into his face and cinders Into
his food. Worse than that, he must
cook not only for the party, but for
q hungry crowd of guides and pack
ers that sits In circle and watches
him, and urges him, and gets under
his feet. He is the first up In the
morning and the last In bed. He has
to dry his dishes on anything that
comes handy, and then pack all his
grub" on an unreliable horse anS
start off for the next eating ground.
So, knowing all this, and also that
we were about thousand miles from
the nearest employment Office and
several days hard riding from a set
Element, we went to Bill with tribute.
We praised his speclalties. We gave
him q college lad, turned guide for
.se summer, to assist him. We gath
cred up our own dishes. But gloom
hung over him like a cloud.
A few days later the climax came.
One afternoon we found a rangers
cabin and rode into its Enclosure for
luncheon. Breakfast had been early,
and we were very hungry. We had
gone long miles through the thick and
silent forest, and now we wanted
food. We sat In a circle on the ground
and talked about food.
At last the chuck wagon drove In.
We stood up and gave hungry cheer,
and then-Bill was gone! Some miles
back he had halted the wagon, got out,
taken his bed on his back, and start
ed toward civilization on foot. We
stared blankly at the teamster.
well" we said, "what did he say?"
"All he said to me was so long r."
said the teamster
And that was all there was to 1t.
There we were in the wilderness, far,
far from q cook.
In savage silence we lunched out of
tins. When we spoke it was to i'm
pose horrible punishments on the de-
faultlng cook. In silence we finished
our luncheon; In silence, mounted our
hOrses. In black and hopeless silence
we rode on north, moving every mo-
ment farther and farther from cooks
and hotels and tables d'hote.
At last in a clearing we saw a man
sitting quite idly beside the trail. We
rode up to him and said:
do you know of any place where
we can find cOok?"
And this man, who had dropped
from heaven replied:
II am cook"
So we put him on our extra saddle
horse and took him with us. He
cooked for us with might and main,
dawn and night, until the trip was
over.