Texas and Southwestern Lore Page: 202
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Texas and Southwestern Lore
But if you do get homesick, and want to Griffin go,
I will even loan you a horse to ride from the hills of Mexico."
With all this flattering talk he enlisted quite a train,
Some ten or twelve in number, strong, able-bodied men.
Our trip was quite a pleasant one, over the road we had to go,
Until we reached old Boggy Creek out in New Mexico.
Right there our pleasures ended--our troubles then begun;
The first hailstorm that came on us, Christ, how those cattle run!
In running through thorns and stickers we had but little show,
And the Indians watched to pick us off the hills of Mexico.
The summer season ended, the driver could not pay.
The outfit was so extravagant he was in debt today.
That's bankrupt law among the cowboys. Christ, this will never do.
That's why we left his bones to bleach out in New Mexico.
So, now, we'll cross old Boggy Creek and homeward we are bound;
No more in this cursed country will ever we be found.
Go home to our wives and sweethearts-tell others not to go
To that God-forsaken country they call New Mexico.
The most popular ballads were and are sung with many
variations. These have come about, one may safely assume,
from three principal causes: the changes incident to their oral
transmission, additions made to supply the gaps left by for-
gotten portions, and those changes designedly made to suit
the fancy or taste of the singer. However they may have
come about, the variations of "The Buffalo Hunters' Song"
are worthy of notice.
THE BUFFALO HUNTERS' SONG
This ballad was current upon the buffalo range to the west
of Fort Griffin in 1875. It is the more interesting because
the tune to which it was sung was adapted to the ballad of
"Sam Bass."2 It was sung not only by hunters and cowboys,
but by freighters from Fort Worth to the little frontier town
of Griffin (near the site of Albany) long before Bass made
Round Rock famous. While most of the details of the ver-
sion here given are the same as those given by Mr. Lomax,3
the divergencies seem sufficient for printing it.
2James W. Mullens to J. E. H., Jan. 14, 1927.
3Lomax, Cowboy Songs, 185.202
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Texas and Southwestern Lore (Book)
Collection of popular folklore from Texas and the Southwest, including ballads, cowboy songs, Native American myths, superstitions and other miscellaneous folk tales. It also contains the proceedings of the Texas Folklore Society. The index begins on page 243.
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Dobie, J. Frank (James Frank), 1888-1964. Texas and Southwestern Lore, book, 1927; Dallas, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67662/m1/204/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.