VI.
The songs of this group relate to the days of pioneer migration Westward. The one exception is The Sailor's Request, placed here in order to bring it into proximity with its later variant, The Dying Cowboy.
Arkansas Traveller (Santford Barnes) ii, 4a3b4c3b, 14ca: A laborer's humorous recital of his hard experiences in Arkansas. He leaves the state, vowing that if he sees it again it will be "through a telescope from hell to Arkansaw."
Starving to Death on a Government Claim, 4aa and 4aabb, 20: "Ernest Smith" recites humorously his hard experiences as claim-holder in Beaver County, Oklahoma. He resolves to go to Kansas, marry, and "life on corn-dodgers the rest of his life."
The Dying Cowboy, ii, 4abcb and 4abcb, 6: A cowboy, shot while gambling, laments his career and fate, gives warning to his comrades, sends a farewell to his family and sweetheart, and gives directions for his funeral.
The Lone Prairie, 4aabb, 10: A dying cowboy requests that he be buried not on the lone prairie, but at home beneath the cotton-wood boughs, near his mother. His comrades ignore his petition. (Cf. The Sailor's Request.)
The Sailor's Request, 4aabb, 9: A dying sailor requests that he be buried not at sea, but at home in the churchyard, near his father. His comrades ignore his petition. (Cf. The Lone Prairie.)
California Joe, 3abcb, 17: A prospector during the California gold-fever, in 1850, saves a girl of thirteen years from Indians, and gives her over to her uncle, Mat Jack Reynolds. Later, she almost shoots, by accident, her saviour, thinking him a Sioux.
Polly, My Charmer, 4aa, 9: An adventurous youth, on the point of going West, is detained by the charms of "Polly." He wishes he were like Joshua, in order to prolong his moments with his love, by making the sun stand still.
Jesse James, 2aa3b2cc3b and 2aa3b2cc3b, 4: A lyric concerning the robbing of "the Danville train" and "the Northfield raid"; the escape of Jesse and Frank James to the West, and Jesse's death at the hand of "Bob Ford."
Handsome Flora, 3abcbdefe, 6: Her lover, in prison for stabbing his rival, tells his yet constant devotion to the "Lily of the West," the "girl from Mexico."