Mariposa

DESCRIPTION: The steamer Mariposa, loaded with general cargo and sheep, runs on shore at Grassy Point, Labrador. "A portion of her cargo is gone up and down the shore, Honestly and hardly earned by the people of Labrador"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast)
KEYWORDS: ship wreck sea humorous theft
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sep 27, 1895 - Mariposa, sailing from Montreal to Liverpool sinks in the Strait of Belle Isle at L'Anse Au Clair (source: Northern Shipwrecks DataBase)
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast 79, "Mariposa" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab079 (Partial)
Roud #9980
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Old Mayflower" (theme of wreckers) and references there
NOTES [90 words]: Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast: "The general attitude toward wrecks was summed up for me by one man, who said, 'If the good Lord sees fit to wrack a vessel, we hope it'll be hereabouts; we can use anything on board.'" - BS
There seems to be some disagreement about the date of this wreck. Frank Galgay and Michael McCarthy, Shipwrecks of Newfoundland and Labrador, [Volume I], Harry Cuff Publishing, 1987, p. 87, agrees that the SS Mariposa was lost in the Strait of Belle Isle, but gives the date as September 24, 1895. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.2
File: LLab079

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography