The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-02-03

coast for water ! ran away from 1t. An
| Indian woman treated me very kindly,
and / recovered from my loathsome-
ness"
This IL written In large hand on ten
clips OF paper apparently torn from Q
book. These relics will be forwarded
to the office OF the Hudson's Bay Com
pany iii London.
tss e. OUR NATIONAL SONGS.
The Sad Fate Of the Men Who Brought
Them Before the People.
[vieksburg Heraldl
The "Star Spangled Banner" to be-
gin with. The words were written by
Key. One night. at Fort MoHenry. be.
low Baltimore, an actor by the name OF
Ferdinand Durang picked up flute
and tried several times, until he hit
upon the air Of "Anaereon in Heaven. !"
This suited him. Durang afterwards
sang 1t on the stage OF the Front Street
Theatre, and at the theatres at Phila-
delphia and Washington. It became
famous, and is the best of all our
national airs. Durang was q Pennsyl-
vanlan by birth; his father was native
Of France, was musician and wrote
the popular music called "Durang's
Hornpipe." which our grandmothers
and fathers were wont to dance. Poor
Ferd. Durang died In extreme poverty
at New York in 1881.
Hail Columbia" another OF our popu-
lar melodies, was first sung at Philadel-
phia on the stage by an actor by the
name Of Robinson, (familiarly called
| Hop" Robinson. as he had an impedi-
ment In his walA). Robinson never
made any money by his production or
singing and was very poor in his old
age.
which was the 'Marseilles" of the South
during the war, the words and music
saw Comedian" Harry made piles Of
money and gave 1t away for the benefit
Of the Southern soldiers during the war
Blackmar, the music publisher Of New
Orleans, sold the music to the amount
OF thousands OF dollars, but became a
bankrupt, and poor Harry got what a,1-
thors generally got, nothing.
AS for the song Of Home, Sweet
Home." that was written by John How
ard Payne, the great boy actor. Payne
introduced the song into his drama of
"Clari, or the Maid Of Milan" The
words Of the song were written by
/ VI,
Payne was precocious child actor and
was q great success when boy, but
like all such children, when he ceased
to be little he ceased to be great. In
| after life he wrote dramas, songs,
etc. He received an appointment az
| United States consul at Tunis. Africa,
but came home and died in extreme
perjury. So the author of "Home,
Sweet Home" died in a garnet, which
was not his home.
now come to the most popular Of all
Of our Southern songs-"Dixie." When
In 1867 Oampbell's Minstrels were at
bcrs Of the company, heard the negroes
sing an air and chorus while rolling
cotton on the levee. He thought it
good; 30 by a little alteration he ar
ranged it into what Is called walk
Around" which always winds up the
entertainment Of an Ethiopian concert.
1t was q success. In the spring of 1861,
when the war broke out, Mrs. John
Wood came to New Orleans to play an
engagement at the old Varieties Thea
tire. She produced "Pocahontas."
Near the close Of the second act there
Is a Zouave march by the ladies Of the
piece the leader Of !the orchestra was in
a quandary as to what music they would
have. Carlo Patti (the leader) could
not select anything that would suit the
stage manager IT. B. McDonough), and
the consequence was that the rehearsal
came to a standstill. at length Patti
struck up Dixie" It suited, and was
adopted. and was played with a chorus
to the same air. "Dixie" took the town
by storm; the pianos rang with it, the
boys sang 1t and the negroes whistled
1t. A musician by the name OF Romeo
Mineri arranged 1t for march for the
Washington Artillery battery, and
from that hour till now all
Southern men and women hail it
with delight. Cold must be the South
ern heart that does not glow with de-
light at the sound Of our dear Dixie"
But the composer, Dan Emmett, what
of him? Why, he can be found in a
common variety saloon at Chicago now
playing on his fiddle for mere pit
tance, ekeing out miserable subsist-
ence playing Dixie" to an admiring
crowd Of newspaper boys, roughs and
beer jerkers. So much for those who
wrote and successfully put before the
public our national airs. Edwin Burke
said, Let me but write nation songs
and care not who makes their laws"
Now, for my part, from what know of
the fate Of song writer's, would rather
make their laws.
Flooding the Desert or Sahara.