The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1904-02-20
Pike corNrY RALLAps.

This old song Is responsible for the fact
that Pike county, Mo, viii have a sepa-
rae building at the world fair, being the
only county in the United States thus rep
resented. Pike county lies along the Mis-
sissippi river, beginning about seventy
miles north Of St Louis Immediately
across the river in Pike county, III the
scene of the Pike County Ballad, Of
of John Hay, now secretary Of state. who
wrote the celebrated Little Breeches,
"Jim Blndso, 'Banty Tim and other
Pike places, more than thirty years ago.
The Missouri Pike, however, Is the most
famous county Of that name in the United
States, and chiefly because the Joe Bowers
song, with its II come from old Missouri
all the way from Pike, has caught and
held the popular fancy with such tenacity.
Residents of that county, wherever they
may 90, are known as "Pikers. and it Is
suggested by Director of Concessions Nor
ris B. Gregg, that the name Of The
Pike for the midway feature Of the
worlds fair may have been selected be
cause Pikers are such good fellows.
Pike county people have wandered TO
nearly every part of the earth, but there
is remarkable feeling of fellowship be
tween Pikers, which finds expression in the
organization Of clubs aud colonies in
several cities
In St. Louis there is the Pike county
colony, composed of more than 200 sub
stantial citizens, who used to live in Pike,
Il was at the late annual banquet of this
colony that the FIRST action looking toward
the placing of Pike county building at
the worlds fair was taken. The sugges
ton was made, there was some Joe Bow
ers talk, and it was unanimousl y voted
that Pike should have her building Col.
d. P Dyer, president Of the colony, i'm
mediately appointed committee to confer
with the exposition officials, and President
Francis of the exposition has just assured
the committee that the grounds and build
ings committee has approved the idea and
that the world fair will be pleased to grant
a free site for the building.
THE BOWERS CABIN.
1t has been decided that a commodiou'
log cabin, comfortably finished and fur
nished, to represent the pioneer home Of
Joe Bowers, will be the form of the build
ing, which is to be constructed entirely Of
Pike county logs and other material from
the home county.
At present the identity Of Joe Bowers
is not capable, apparently, of clear proof
Many Pikers and others interested in the
matter have endeayored to ascertain. who
was the author of the lines and if there
ever was real Joe Bowers who was al
the way from Pike Among those who
have interested themselves in the researches
are Congressman Champ Clark, of Bowl
ing Green, Mo, the county seat Of Pike
Hon. Thos. j. c. Fagg, formerly Of the
Supreme Court of Missouri, now postmas
ter at Louisiana, the largest city in Pike
county, and Colonel D. p. Dyer, United
States district attorney at st. Louis and
president of the Pike county colony.
Judge Fagg, who is now an Octogena
rian, went TO California a few years ago
and sought to trace the Joe Bowers ballad
to its source. In San Francisco he found
man who declared himself to have been
well acquainted with the author of the bal
lad. This man said that variety actor
and singer named john Woodward was the
author. Woodward, he averred, wrote
the lines and first sang them in San Fran
cisco and later all up and down the coast.
For years, according to this authority,
Woodward sang the song as his own
Hundreds of others took it up aud the song
soon spread all over the United States.
Bret Harte, coming somewhat later on
the scene, immortalized in prose some Of
the California gold seekers trials and trib-
ulations; but the distinguished author never
wrote a more pathetically humorous tale
than that contained in the Joe Bowers
verses.
WAS THERE JOE BOWERS
Whether or not Joe Bowers from Pike