Rhyme of Old Steamboats

DESCRIPTION: Poem composed of the names of steamboats, rhymed with each other. Sample: "The Fred Wyerhauser and the Frontenac, The F. C. A. Denckmann and the Bella Mac, The Menomenee and the Louisville, The R. J. Wheeler and the Jessie Bill...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (The Burlington Post, according to Russell)
KEYWORDS: river recitation nonballad
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Botkin-TreasuryMississippiRiverFolklore, p. 586, "Rhyme of Old Steamboats" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Charles Edward Russell, _A-Rafting on the Mississip'_,, 1928 (republished 2001 by the University of Minnesota Press), pp. 345-346, "(no title)" (1 text)
Walter Havinghurst, _Upper Mississippi: A Wilderness Saga_, Farrar & Rinehart, 1937, 1944, pp, 247-248 "(no title)" (1 excerpt, presumably from Russell)
NOTES [50 words]: It's not clear whether this was ever sung, or just recited. - NR
So much for the theory that people made better use of their time in the days before television.
According to Russell, a Mr. F. C. Ralphe of Hastings, Minnesota, found this among "old papers" and sent it to the Burlingon Post in 1927. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: BMRF586

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