Scow Jean La Plante, De

DESCRIPTION: "I'll tol' of wan boat, de scow Jean La Plante, She's sail by Batteece, a Frenchman so quaint...." Her crew is captain, mate, cook, and dog. They race the Flying Cloud, and win when the latter snags a fishing line. A barrel of powder explodes the boat
AUTHOR: James J. Enright? (supposedly written 1867)
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Detroit Free Press)
KEYWORDS: humorous racing cook dog ship
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Walton/Grimm-Windjammers-SongsOfTheGreatLakesSailors, pp. 161-162, "De Scow Jean La Plante" (1 text)
Roud #19888
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rosie Belle Teeneau" (main character)
NOTES [84 words]: It is not clear to me that this poem/song is traditional. Walton's version is from print, and there is no mention of having heard even a portion of it from tradition. But the notes imply that the legend of Batteece and the gunpowder is traditional -- indeed, there is another poem about him, ""The Rosie Belle Teeneau," which involves a different boat and a different voyage but has a "Captain Batteece DuChene" and ends with the boat blowing up. This probably isn't folk song. It may be folk tale. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: WGM161

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