August 2012 Idaho Songs of the Month

Phantom Mule Train . (Gary Eller, 2011). This song is based on an event reported in the Idaho Statesman in 1870. Hispanics from California were highly valued in the gold camps of early Idaho because they knew how to handle large numbers of pack animals. Pack animalss were the only way to get supplies into the back country camps and to bring the products back out. Although the song was written recently, it is included because it represents an example of a song that should have been written but wasn't (or has been lost to history). The rendition here is sung by Gary Eller.

Seven Devils Miner Bear Fight. (Hannibal F. "Seven Devils" Johnson, 1895). The colorful Hannibal Johnson published this poem in his 128-page book of poems and songs, Poems of Idaho, in Weiser in 1895. This poem is a good example of one of his humorous pieces that likely was based on a real event in the rugged Seven Devil Range of the Hells Canyon Country. Rue Frisbee of Emmett recited the poem.