The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-04-17

Of the most famous of them ala
song variously known as 1.-THE Dying
Cowboy" 1.-The Cowboys Lament and
1.-THE Lone Prairie" song of in
Vulnerable verses and of many varia-
lions both as TO the wording of the
different stanZas and the chorus which
follows each stanza. In practically all
versions the first stanZa is the same:
"Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie.
These words came low and mournfully
From the pallid lips of a youth who
lay
On his dying bed at the close of day.
But the chorus ranges from this
version
20, bury me not on the lone prairie"
Where the wild coyotes will howl Ger
me,
In narrow grave just six by three,
through this wording
go, bury me not on the lone prairie
Where the wolves can howl and growl
DER me.
Fling a handful of roses Ger my grave
With a prayer to him who my soul
will save.
to this plea
"Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie"
In q narrow grave six foot by three,
Where the buffalo paws Ger prairie
sea
o, bury me not on the lone prairie.
And in addition to those, other
choruses make use of such sound
Effects as the hiss of the rattlesnake,
the boot of the owl, the signing of the
wind and the beat of the buzzard's
wings, not to mention a varied list Of
stage properties" ranging from "a
sisters tear" and "a mothers prayer"
to 4" handful of roses" and 1.-THE spot
where his bones were lain"
By making allowance for much local
color" it is easy to see how 1.-THE Lone
Prairie" song was adapted from the
song, 1.-The Ocean Burial" words by
w. Fl. Saunders, music by G. n. Allen,
which appears in "The Nightingale"
book of songs for Juvenile Glasses,
Public Schools and Seminaries," COM
piled by W. o. and II. S. Perkins and
published by Ditson in 1860. The first
verse of 1.-The Ocean Burial tells how:
20, bury me not in the deep, deep sea-"
The words came low and mournfully
From the pallid lips of youth who
lay
On his cabin couch at close Of day.
and its other numerous verses de-
scribe the deathbed scene infinitely
and with a wealth of detail, only, of
course, the scenes are laid on the
deep, deep sea" instead of the "lone
prairie-e-e."
Nearly as famous a cowboy song
as 1.-THE Lone Prairie is another also
variously called 1.-The Cowboys La
ment" and 1.-THE Dying Cowboy" which
has this chorus:
"oh. beat the drum slowly and play
the fife lowly,
Play the Dead March as you carry
me along;
Take me to the churchyard and lay
the sod DER me
For I'm a young cowboy, I know I've
done wrong.
Different authorities on cowboy
songs and other native American bal
lads credit the authorship of this song
to various persons and the usual state
ment is that at appeared on the
ranges In the early eighties" Although
it is difficult to determine the author
ship OF a ballad, since such a song
usually represents the contribution
Of a succession Of amateur bards
rather than the work of a single poet,
it is my belief that, as nearly as the
authorship of "The Cowboys Lament"
can be determined, credit for it be-
longs to the late F. H. Maynard of
Colorado Springs, Colo, an old-time
cowboy. Here Is his story as he told
1t to me several years ago:
During the winter of 1876 I was
working for Grimes outfit which had