Lost Child (III), The

DESCRIPTION: A little girl lives in a cabin in a "dismal forest" where many dangerous animals live. One day she disappears. A great search party is organized, and eventually finds her. Later the local men volunteer for their country and fight under Kane
AUTHOR: Andrew Riley (source: Shoemaker-MountainMinstrelsyOfPennsylvania)
EARLIEST DATE: 1931 (Shoemaker-MountainMinstrelsyOfPennsylvania)
KEYWORDS: children hunting animal rescue | forest
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Shoemaker-MountainMinstrelsyOfPennsylvania, pp. 244-250, "The Lost Child" (1 text)
Roud #15027
NOTES [210 words]: Almost certainly never sung, and while Shoemaker gives the name of the little girl who was rescued (Margaret McCabe, later Margaret McCabe Regan), he gives few other details -- e.g. no place and no date.
There are, however, hints. The song mentions Skinner Creek. This creek flows east into the Allegheny at Port Allegany (sic). I can't find a "Burbank Hill," but there is a "Burbank Hollow" near Smethport a few miles west of the Creek. Similarly, although I can't find a Kinzua Spring, Kinzua Creek flows west into the Allegheny (which has looped around) somewhat to the east of the town of Warren. Tuna is on the Pennsylvania/New York border, roughly NNW of Smethport and NNE of Warren.
All of these places are in McKean County in northwestern Pennsylvania.
McKean County was the place where Company I of the Pennsylvania Bucktails (13th Pennsylvania Reserves) was raised. The regiment was raised by Thomas Leiper Kane. So it's pretty clear that the reference at the end of the poem is to the Bucktails. For background on Kane and the regiment, see "The Bucktail Boys." Presumably it would be possible to find the roster of Company I of the Bucktails and perhaps find some of the men described in this song. But that's more work than I was willing to do. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.4
File: Shoe245

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