THE ORIGIN OF NEGRO MINSTRELSY. 



425 



to Dixon — was given a place in the South, 

 for when Emmett first heard the expression 

 as a young man, it was from the lips of 

 circus men, who, when caught by a spell of 

 unseasonable weather in the North, were 

 wont to wish they were in " Dixie land." 



The song of " Dixie " won instant popu- 

 larity. It came just prior to the war, and the 

 South at once appropriated it as a national 

 anthem. Thousands, perhaps millions, of 

 copies of the song were printed and sold in 

 the Southern cities, each publisher giving 

 the credit of authorship to a different com- 

 poser. 



Ferth & Pond, to whom Emmett had 

 sold the rights to Dixie for $500, very 

 naturally wished to protect their property, 

 but it was not until after the war was ended 

 that they were able to do so. Then Em- 

 mett, at their request, advanced and proved 

 his claim to the authorship of the piece. 



Emmett remained with Bryant until 1865, 



when he established himself with Charley 

 White in the management of a place of 

 amusement called " The Melodian " on the 

 Bowery. The enterprise was attended with 

 considerable success, but Emmett became 

 dissatisfied, and decided to branch out by 

 himself. He removed to St. Paul and 

 opened a minstrel show in that city, but to 

 poor business. 



Hoping to better himself he secured a 

 theater in Chicago, but bad luck followed 

 him there, and after a short and very costly 

 experience he was glad enough to retire 

 from the field. This was about his last ap- 

 pearance as a " burnt cork artist." 



In 1888 Emmett returned to Mount Ver- 

 non, Ohio, wishing to end his days there, 

 and there he still lives, his few simple wants 

 amply supplied by the Actors' Fund of 

 America, which grants him a weekly pen- 

 sion. 



Editor Recreation: I have pleasure in 

 sending you a photo of a deer, killed by an 

 old Indian last November. It was frozen 

 stiff and we stood its fore legs in a barrel 

 in order to make the picture. 



You will notice there are 2 hooks on the 

 last prongs of both antlers. Counting all 



the protuberances he has upward of 35 

 points 



A great many people have called to see 

 the head, among them several old hunters, 

 and all declare it a marvel. I should like to 

 hear from some of the readers of Recrea- 

 tion in regard to the scarcity of such heads. 

 K. H. C, Leech, Minn. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOATS. 



Killed by W. E. Carlin, and exhibited by Recreation, at 

 the Third Annual Sportsmen's Exposition. 



" Mayrh, do you understand this new X- 

 ray process? " 



"Oh. yes; it's a method of curing sick 

 people by letting them look at photographs 

 of their bones." 



