Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, August 1921 · page 6 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #23 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous narrative piece (not a political cartoon) from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang*, a 1920s satirical magazine. The unnamed narrator describes a drunken aviation adventure with his friend "Gus" and pilot Homer Cole, a WWI veteran. The satire targets post-war excess and frivolous spending: the narrator, already intoxicated ("bender"), impulsively spends his last $50 on a plane ride, then—while continuing to drink—convinces the pilot to make additional flights and eventually buy a plane on installment. The humor lies in the absurdity: two drunk men deciding they need an airship for commuting between their Minnesota cabin and farm, leading to an impulsive purchase they can barely afford. The piece mocks 1920s consumerism, the novelty of aviation, and bohemian excess among the rural wealthy—typical *Whiz Bang* fare targeting contemporary American behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
4 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Two hours later I passed by the Ashley Air-port, located in Robbinsdale near the Whiz Bang farm. Instead of backing against a bale of cotton, I backed against a 90 horsepower aeroplane, handed the pilot my last $50 and said: “Come on, Gus, let’s go.” And, believe me, Gus and I went some before we got off this last “bender.” The pilot, Homer Cole, veteran of four years’ service in France, fulfilled his duties in a business-like way, while Gus and myself were filling ourselves in an unbusiness-like way. Our first stop was Brainerd, Minn., a hustling city about 150 miles north of Robbinsdale. We had so much real or fancied fun on our first flight that we enveigled Cole to make another leap of 22 miles to Breezy Point lodge in the old Indian territory. Of course in the meantime we had ridded ourselves of our visible supply of to-basco sauce and both knew that our stay in my Pequot log cabin resort must be brief. Therefore, the very bright and brilliant idea soaked in the hired man’s dome. that an airship would be a necessary permanent ad-junct for traveling back and forth between Robbinsdale and Pequot. Gus conducted negotiations with Cole and learned that his plane could be purchased on the installment plan. The deal was soon closed and at this writing the plane is partly mine.