Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1870-07-18
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER
trnox our RsayeaR ooRsrsfoSpESr')
~NArCHEpFoP OLD soNGs-UN:
HOLY ATRRATURk-DEATH
OF OF. WINTERs-RATTLh
OF VEAE WIRES RRRGTION".
The ssnrs or Rsrsy.ainr.

a 1.-THE BsaEs Of F~srty.ntne'
~ SAN FRANCISCO, July 16, 1870.
Having occasion a few weeks since
to run round with a relic Of 40, who
was on q visit to the city for the first
time In many years, we Of necessity
dabbled In all the small wickednesSes
comprised In the generic phrase, Sec
ing the Sights" and put In a portion
of the evening by visits 10 the Bella
Union, the New Pacific Theater. the
Great Oxford, and half u dozen Of the
smaller fry Of underground melodeons
that now dot the line Of Kearny street.
After we had been Captain Jinksed
and Wandering Refugeed in three or
four of these places consecutively, my
friend pathetically inquired What
has. become of the old songs Of early
days pa question I was quite unable
to answer. Subsequent visits to those
Halls of Harmony, with n further ex-
p~erlence of Captain Jinks and the
Wandering Refugee, led me to the
conclusion that a generation Of songs
passed away with the generation OF
adventures whose noble manhood first
caused the State to throb with life. and
that the song Of 40 is almost rs much
forgotten as the man who sang it. A
few lines Of the one, preserved In pio-
neer literature, q few homes Of the
other, carelessly scattered around
Yerba Buena cemetery, are all that Is
left Of either, and these, too, will soon
disappear. California in early days
was prolific In song. There was John
A. Stone fold Puts DIR. Robinson. Jack
the Grumbler, Mart Taylor and John.
SON. busy noting down the Items OF
their experience, and embodying them
in verse, or ~treasuring up the rough
hand of the hour and setting 1t IN still
rougher rhyme. Of these Mart Taylor
Is the only souvlner, and | believe he
ret works up passing events with
lines, though fame watts no notice OF
his later efforts. The song'of 40 oil
trasts with the song Of 20 exactly as
the bearded, b~lue-shlrted, bepistoled
miner of the pioneer period contrasts
with the kid7sloved, glossy-haired,
studded-shirt Individual Of to-day, and
If the appearance Of the latter-day
verse and man Is more polished, theyare
wanting In the heartiness and cirdot
that made up so much Of the formers
charm. There was no CLOSING over Of
strong language In those days ; no L.
damn, or ID for devil, but oaths were
written as oaths, and sung as oaths,
and applauded as 0aths, and a louise
was O louise In verse rs well rs In real.
ity. One song called "Crossing the
Plains "-the Captain Jinks Of its day
In popularity-panned out particularly
rich In naughty language, and another.
the arrival of the Greenhorn," was
u perfect dictionary o fforbidden words;
",rhe Fools Of 49," "Poker Jim,"
"Sweet Betsy from Pike" and Joe
Bowers" were all great fayorites. but
of these only the last Is remembered
BY the present generation of singers,
though what special qualifications II
had for fame more than the Others,
cannot find out.
There are two things that especially
admire in-the pioneer song-the open
disregard for conventional morality
and the prophetic views expressed on
the Chinese question. The ~anti-coolie
men of now will be pleased to hear
that John has always been In bad odor
with the song-maker, and always de.
ceiyed and disappointed his best
friends. Says one Of the oldest dittieS
l can recollect:
thought you'd cut your queue Oh. John,
And don Q Yankee coat.
And q collar high you'd raiss, John,
Around your dusky throat.
oh, John Tvo been deceived In You,
And In all your thieyish clan ;
For our gold Is all you're after, John,
30 get1t ~ you can.
The morality Of 40 we now admit
was rather zeroish; consequently the
chorus Of
Aeambler's life I do admire;
The best Of rum they do require;
piags SiS III night and Cleaned them cut
does not strike us as being much out
Of the way but another one. that
went to the tune Of BoGtmm Ddnce--
Because / would not pay my blu
They Kicked me out Of Downieville. =
stole a mulo and lost the trail,
And then fetched up In Hangtown jail
certainly showed most lax notions Of
propriety.
of Bret Earte or Warren Stoddard's
later rroduc:,vns can hardly be
claimed; for besides being somewhat
defcientint tho Jingle of rhyme, there
was marked difference In the lcnRth
of the lineS, showing that the earlier
poets ldfd not hamper themselves ny
any supStAuous restrictions OF measure.
In tie California Bdnk Robbers--a 10
mont Sntfc failure OF Adams Express
the utmost stretch of poetic license
IL reached In the rhyme; indeed 1t
would be very difficult to find words
TINT had less Similarity Of sound than
the endings of the lines. "Bankers,
and yankee" Is pretty goou, ana
"goll-darn-ye" rhymes moderately
we'll with "doglon-ye;" but when II
comes 10 "robbers-rowdles" and "find
end" the ear refuses to admit the pos
had not the least intention, when |
commenced, Of running OIL at this
length, and unless an immediate s!im t eh Eek
Is put to my pen, no space VIII De Is.t
to Chronicle the small talk and smaller
deeds of the last few days ; so we VIII
resign the songs Of 40 TO the limbo Of
forretfulness where it is to be hoped
thew will soon be followed by Captain
Jinis and the Wandering Refugee,
turn to more Immediate topics Of III
terest.
The STATE beard 81 Rdacs'isa
met on Tuesday and Wednesday, and,
after concentrating q change Of taxi