Around them the other groups of sky-brothers were busy at their own culinary arrangements, and roasting meat, frying onions, and baking bread sent delicious odors creeping everywhere about the great encampment.
* * * * * * * * * *
The term "sky-brothers" makes me think the crews of all the other ships must be composed of males. One might think, "Oh, Pynchon can imagine a fantastic bunch of ships lighting through the air in 1893 but he can't imagine one woman aboard any of them?!" And while that's probably a valid point, I think Pynchon is probably using the fact that the only way women were allowed on non-pirate sailing vessels was if they disguised themselves as males because I still believe one of the Chums is probably a girl (my guess has been Chick Counterfly because of the name "Chick" and also her "fly" runs "counter" to theirs (i.e. she has a vagina)).
Pynchon's probably trying to get us readers to imagine one of those gigantic Boy Scout gatherings where troops from all over get together to have one great big weenie roast. If he wasn't trying to get the reader to imagine that then he failed because I imagined it. Or I failed for imagining something he didn't intend. But I'm used to that. You can imagine how many things I imagined that Danielewski didn't intend while I was reading House of Leaves!
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