Horton's In, The

DESCRIPTION: "The day retired serene and fair" as the Horton [which had slipped out of Canadian custody] returned home. The locals cheer that "The Horton's in!" The congratulate themselves on their cleverness in escaping
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Eckstorm/Smyth-MinstrelsyOfMaine)
KEYWORDS: sea escape
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 8, 1871 - Canada seizes the E. A. Horton (then in Halifax harbor) on a charge of fishing inside Canadian territorial waters
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Eckstorm/Smyth-MinstrelsyOfMaine, pp. 311-313, "The Horton's In! [I]" (2 texts)
Beck-FolkloreOfMaine, p. 213, "The Horton's In" (1 text)
Roud #4725 and 6563
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The E. A. Horton [Laws D28]" (subject: the escape of the Edward A. Horton)
cf. "The Escape of the Horton" (subject: the escape of the Edward A Horton)
NOTES [101 words]: Although this event was celebrated enough to inspire at least three songs, reading the description of what happened on p. 212 of Beck-FolkloreOfMaine makes it sound as if the Americans were more in the wrong than the Canadians. Possibly the Edward A. Horton was innocent of the charge against her, but that should have been settled by diplomacy, not international piracy. Which is what this was, although the songs don't ever use the word.
For extensive background on what happened, see pp. 303-310 of Eckstorm/Smyth-MinstrelsyOfMaine, an essay entitled "The Story of the Return of the E. A. Horton." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.2
File: BeMe213

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