1890 - Festive Revels

I took to sending in my poetry to the Idaho Recorder. By then my little jottings for the newspaper had made me the “scribe” from Pine Creek and Shoup, the one folks relied on to tell who danced, who cooked and who stayed out past midnight. That year I began to give such goings-on a new turn—setting them to verse, light as a fiddle tune.

I wrote of St. Patrick’s Day, a miner’s housewarming and the jubilee ball at Shoup. They were more than reports—they were celebrations, lampoons and my sly way of showing I could wield a pen as quick as any man. Sometimes I signed myself J.A.C.K., other times I ended with a knowing “Ye scribe.”

The river canyon was alive with revels and good cheer. If I could not keep a husband at home, I could at least keep a sharp eye and a lively quill.

Idaho Recorder, February 19, 1890

SHOUP'S JUBILEE

To the Idaho Recorder:

That all may know how we celebrate,

To you a few lines we'll dedicate.

Washington's birthday, the 22nd you know

Shoup's elite gave a ball, and all must go.

From the hill came the town's people, both great and small,

Uncles and aunts and babies and all.

And jolly good soul's were the fiddlers three,

Who timed the tune for the Shoup's jubilee.

From Pine creek there came a clannish mixed throng,

The Scotch, English, Irish and Welsh came along.

To represent three of the nation just cited.

Falls to the lot of the youngest invited.

And Mrs. Alex McLeod, nee Miss Jessie P.[1]

Is the fair delegate that happened to be.

The Irish were plenty, but in Shoup there were more,

Than the Pine creek McCulloughs[2] or Callahans a score.

Our sauerkraut friends, numbered least, but not last,

And "mine gute frau’and Fritz we'll love long and fast.[3]

Brown was the Yankee and his wife of the West.[4]

Made up the gay party of Pine creek's best.

The unmated knight as a gallant appears,

To escort lone dames as their brave cavaliers.

At the ball of the feast each on took his fill

Of the many choice viands, to balance the bill.[5]

The wine went around, with much good cheer,

As they drank to the health of those far or near.

We'll quote a few toasts (to our company's praise),

Giving meaning exact, with a slight change of phrase.

"They wished them wedded and a happy life,

With blessing tenfold and a buxom wife."

"That every Mormon may be swept form the land,

And Idaho one of Statehood's band."

"May the Kentuck mine be as rich with gold

As Munchausen's land, in times of old."[6]

"May Jack Gilmer reap of the golden grain,[7]

A harvest as plenty as the summer rain."

"That the Grunter folks, too, may be favored likewise,[8]

With a mountain of gold right before their eyes."

"May Bell & Sandilands have cause to rejoice-

When a 'better half' they make a choice."

"And up on the hill the Bullion de Clipper,

May be the bright star in the golden dipper."

"May Roach & Gibbs be financially blest,

And when this revels done take a day of rest."

Ye scribe also will do the same,

When after a few more lines "he" draws "his" name.[9]

But for drinking, toasting, dancing and feasting, they all did agree

That the best time of all, was Shoup's jubilee.

And now to our neighbors of Shoup we will say,

You'll all be invited to Pine creek some day.

But beware! O beware! of the dreaded blue stocking,

Whose appearance was once so dreadfully shocking.

We have camphor in stock, and bandannas profuse,

So for the occasion, you'll have plenty for use.

And to those whose brain may be on the rack,

Just say the blue stocking is only JACK[10]

Idaho Recorder, March 26, 1890

PINE CREEK

For the Recorder:

St. Patrick's Day dawned bright and clear,

And for Pine Creek's revel the time draws near.

The baking and brewing was all but done,

To insure a big feed for this ninety and one.

The hunters went gunning for many a mile,

And the chickens they slaughtered made a wondrous pile

But for St. Patrick's feast they went to the pot-

All to be served when piping hot.

Of those invited to St. Patrick's ball,

We'll endeavor in verse to name them all;

And if any get left it's not our fault,

But for lack of words we make a halt.

"Violin Billy”[11] was first on the scene,

As gay a gallant as ever was seen.

He says he prefers the girl he brought with him.

To Salt Lake maids, now in mem'ry dim.

“Our Jack” led the tune for the St. Patrick’s ball,

And with Uncle Sam’s help the music suits all.

Then came the firm of Spayds & Pound,

With the gay and fair they are always found.

Spayds' marble-topped head grown plain to view,

But he has the same smile for me and for you.

There was Stevens and Bell and Gill and Whitmore,

And of fine young bachelors many time more.

McLaughlin and Legyt[12] and Shultz and Dalling,

They'll all be perfection when they have a darling.

Masters and Wright and Poe a la grippe,[13]

They'll soon take the trail on a pleasure trip.

Buchanan and Welch and James and Gilmer,

To partake in such frolics they sometimes demur.

Suydam and Chamberlain and Gibbs and Labrecque

Are not always present at every one's beck.

Myers and Coulter and Smith and Lorenz.

And here the list of single bliss ends.

The wedded are few but they make up the rest,

And among them are those the blue stocking fits best.[14]

The Molls and the Boyles and the dandy St. Clairs . . .

The cream of the whole . . . dispute it, who dares?

The guests were made happy, the supper was prime.

And Pine creek's the place to have a good time,

And when next they gather in festive throng,

May from Tom Wend's ranch sound the welcoming song.

The revel and riot the music and din,

Will make his lone castle a place to live in.

But boys you must leave your whisky behind,

For Tom's a teetotaler stern in his mind.[5]

But this is all guess work, so wait till you see

Where the next royal banquet is going to be.

We will long remember St. Patrick's ball,

And may the shamrock bloom ever by cottage and hall,

Each guest, to memory oft recalls

"The harp that once through Tara's halls."[16]

May its music beloved it place regain

And Erin's proud sons breathe freedom again.

When they have "Home Rule"[17] may they nothing else lack,

Is the best fond wish of St. Patrick’s J.A.C.K.

Idaho Recorder, May 28th 1890

Pine creek, March 17, 1890.

A MINER'S CELEBRATION

All ye learned dwellers of this enlightened age,

’Tis not for wake or wedding our pen writes down this page.

If you are a Yankee of genuine “blue blood,”

Or a Missourian as ancient as the flood,

You will perhaps remember in the days that are gone by

The rollicking old “hoe-down” your youthful legs did ply.

’Tis of a similar occasion we now attempt to write—

A miner’s celebration this festive May night.

Way down the Salmon river, near by its raging tide,

Lives Clipper Bullion Eli,[18] whose name is known far and wide.

He built a rustic cabin most picturesque to see,

And Chamberlain,[19] “mine host,” invited all his guests to be.

They came from very quarter, there was Pine creek’s peaceful band.

Of the “lion and the lamb,” the most noted in the land.

The Kentuck miners too all in single file they pace,

As if they had no wish to augment the human race.

A gundalow was loaded down to the water’s edge

With Shoupites by the dozen, clad in gay equipage.[20]

They filled the miner’s cabin to its very rafters bursting,

And by the clinking of the glasses not of them went thirsting.

Dancing was the pastime which everybody joined in.

And if there ever was a house warming ’twas in the humble cabin.

At 12 o’clock they gathered around the feasting board,

Each claiming a kinship to the famished rebel horde.

For a toothsome “duff” or a pandowdy our chef is just the man;[21]

But if he hides in “baches cabins” imagine if you can.

How defiled and depraved he very soon will be.

Unless his downward course he’s made at once to see.

But to moralize at supper is bad for the digestion,

And that would never do at a miner’s celebration.

Our miners are richer than any you’ll find,

In counting wealth untold they are never behind.

Each and all own shares in nature’s sealed stock,

And a bonus short of millions would be a fair amount.

In nature’s cabin each one owns a gem,

Which he deems far richer than any of them.

When some morn he’s awakened by the Midland Pacific,

’Twill fill his empty pocket earths only specific.

From the golden flight we will now descend,

To take parting leave of each guest and friend.

“With babble and revel and wine the brief night goes,”

Till the last adieu is given as the early morning glows.

May you and I and all be there on another such occasion

To grant a happy loyal greeting at a miner’s celebration.

Notes

[1] Jessie Palmer McLeod

[2] James and Elizabeth “Lilly” (Palmer) McCullough

[3] Referring to German immigrants, Herbert and Julia (Stein) Moll—“Mine gute frau” is German, for “my good wife.”

[4] Joshua Brown and his second wife, Sara Louisa Turner

[5] Viands is an old-fashioned term for food, especially select or savory dishes served at a feast or special occasion. Annie uses it here to highlight the abundance and quality of the meal shared in celebration.

[6] “Munchausen’s land” refers to the wildly exaggerated tales of Baron Munchausen, a fictional adventurer popularized in the 18th century. Known for claiming impossible feats—riding cannonballs, traveling to the moon—Munchausen became shorthand for fanciful boasting. By invoking his name, Annie gives the Kentuck Mine’s prospects a playful nudge: perhaps it’s rich in gold, or perhaps in imagination. Either way, the miners’ hopes are soaring—and Annie can’t resist a poetic wink.

[7] John T. “Jack” Gilmer (1834–1928) first came west as a miner during the rush years, working in Colorado, then in Montana’s Alder Gulch before turning his attention to the freighting business. With his partner, A. C. Salisbury, he built Gilmer & Salisbury, a stage and express company that by the 1870s controlled most of the mail and passenger routes in Montana and Idaho. Their line connected far-flung mining camps to towns such as Virginia City, Helena, Boise, and later Salmon City, making “Gilmer’s stage” a household name in Lemhi County. Though Gilmer spent much of his later life in Salt Lake City, where he became a banker and businessman, his reputation as both miner and stage operator endured throughout the Northern Rockies.

[8] Grunter Folks are the men that work the Grunter Mine and mill.

[9] Annie places “Ye scribe” and “he” in quotation marks to poke fun at the convention of referring to the anonymous newspaper correspondent as male. In many 19th-century frontier papers, contributors—especially women—used gender-neutral or masculine language to maintain credibility or protect their identities. Here, Annie subverts that tradition with a wink, subtly reminding the reader that the scribe behind the lines is very much a “she.”

[10] In 19th-century slang, a “blue stocking” referred to an educated, intellectual woman—often viewed, sometimes derisively, as unfeminine, overly serious, or socially out of step. The term originated with the 18th-century Blue Stocking Society in England, a circle of literary women (and a few supportive men), who prioritized conversation and learning over fashion and flirtation. By Annie’s time, “blue stocking” could be either a critique or a quiet compliment. In this verse, Annie has fun with the label. She warns the revelers of a “dreaded blue stocking” whose appearance was once “dreadfully shocking”—then deflates the drama by revealing that the feared figure is simply “Jack,”her pen name.

[11] “Violin Billy” is William E. Taylor

[12] Abraham Legit also spelled Leget

[13] “à la grippe” is a French phrase meaning “with the flu.” In 19th-century English, “grippe” was a common term for influenza, so Annie’s phrase indicates that Masters, Wright, and Poe were suffering from the flu.

[14] Annie is again calling herself the blue stocking.

[15] Tom Wend doesn’t like strong drink.

[16] “The harp that once through Tara’s halls” is the opening line of a poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore (1779–1852). The piece laments the fading of Ireland’s ancient grandeur, using the harp—long a symbol of Irish culture and sovereignty—as a metaphor for lost glory and silenced music. Tara was the legendary seat of Ireland’s High Kings.

[17] Home Rule is a phrase for Statehood

[18] Elias Suydam

[19] The Miner’s Celebration was at Chamberlain’s home along the Salmon River, apparently a house warming.

[20] A gundalow is a flat-bottomed freight boat traditionally used on shallow or tidal rivers—particularly in New England and frontier settlements. In this poem, Annie uses the term to describe a heavily loaded river vessel filled with festively dressed residents of Shoup (“Shoupites”).

[21] Toothsome duff refers to a rich, boiled or steamed pudding—often made with flour, suet, molasses, and dried fruit—popular in British and early American cooking. A pandowdy is a rustic baked fruit dessert, typically made with apples and topped with a crust that is broken and pressed into the filling as it bakes. Annie praises the cook’s talent with these hearty treats—and the chef is unmarried.