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American Popular Song
American Popular Song
The Great Innovators, 1900–​1950
Third Edition

ALEC WILDER
Edited and with a New Introduction and Additional Chapter
by Robert Rawlins

1
 3
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 To James T. Maher:
for his inestimable contribution to this book, for his truly phenomenal
knowledge and research, his impeccable collation of thousands of facts, his
endless patience, his tolerance of my eccentric methods of work, his unfailing
good humor, his guidance and encouragement. Also for his superb editing. If
ever the phrase “but for whom this book would never have been written” were
apt, it is so in this instance.
 Contents

Acknowledgments  ix

Alec Wilder’s American Popular Song Revisited  1

1. T
 he Transition Era: 1885 to World War I 6
2. J  erome Kern (1885–​1945) 31
3. I  rving Berlin (1888–​1989) 91
4. G
 eorge Gershwin (1898–​1937) 132
5. R
 ichard Rodgers (1902–​1979) 172
6. C
 ole Porter (1891–​1964) 224
7. H
 arold Arlen (1905–​1986) 252
8. V
 incent Youmans (1898–​1946) and Arthur Schwartz
(1900–​1984)  287
9. B
 urton Lane (1912–​1997), Hugh Martin (1914–​2011),
and Vernon Duke (1903–​1969) 323
10. T
 he Great Craftsmen 357
I: Hoagy Carmichael (1899–​1981)  358
II: Walter Donaldson (1893–​1947)  373
III: Harry Warren (1893–​1981)  380
IV: Isham Jones (1894–​1956)  387
V: Jimmy McHugh (1894–​1969)  390
VI: Duke Ellington (1899–​1974)  396
VII: Fred Ahlert (1892–​1953)  400
VIII: Richard Whiting (1891–​1938)  403
IX: Ray Noble (1907–​1978)  408
X: John Green (1908–​1989)  411
XI: Rube Bloom (1902–​1976)  418
XII: Jimmy Van Heusen (1913–​1990)  423
viii Contents

11. Outstanding Individual Songs: 1920 to 1950 433

12. Additional Songs and Composers 493
I: George M. Cohan (1878–​1942)  494
II: Sigmund Romberg (1887–​1951)  499
III: Buddy DeSylva (1895–​1950), Lew Brown (1893–​1958),
and Ray Henderson (1896–​1970)  502
IV: Bernice Petkere (1901–​2000)  504
V: Ralph Rainger (1901–​1942)  506
VI: Fats Waller (1904–​1943)  510
VII: Jule Styne (1905–​1994)  514
VIII: Dana Suesse (1909–​1987)  519
IX: Individual Songs of Interest  526
X: Alec Wilder (1907–​1980)  535

Index of composers  547

Index of Lyricists 551
Index of Song Titles 553
 Acknowledgments

I should like first to thank the Avon Foundation, St. Paul, Minnesota, for
the grant that made this study possible. But for the financial support of the
Foundation, and the generous encouragement of its Trustees, I would not
have dared to undertake so exhaustive a piece of work. I hope that the fin-
ished book conveys, in some measure, my profound gratitude.
I am pleased to acknowledge the able guidance given the project by Mr.
Harvey G. Phillips during his tenure as Executive Assistant to the President,
New England Conservatory of Music, Boston. As the Administrator of
the Avon Foundation grant, Mr. Phillips kept a watchful eye on every de-
tail of disbursements but managed, nonetheless, to stand aside from the
ledgers and express his warm enthusiasm during the progress of the study.
His was a judicious voice in the many discussions that so complex a project
generates. Mr. Gunther Schuller, the President of the Conservatory, gener-
ously befriended the project from the time my original proposal was made to
the Avon Foundation.
In the early research stages of the project a number of very busy people in
the world of music graciously took the time to talk to me at length about their
work, and to answer my many questions about their professional experience.
They may feel, should they happen to see the book, that the biographical and
background information they so considerately provided served little ap-
parent purpose. Quite the contrary, for it was only through these discussions,
and the candor of my hosts, that I was able to discover what it was that I was
searching for. All of them were enormously helpful in guiding me toward
the central logic of the book: the music itself. I wish here to thank them for
their kindness, patience, and sympathetic help. The following submitted to
extended interviews:
New York City: Mr. Harold Arlen, Mr. Robert Russell Bennett, Mr.
Irving Caesar, Ms. Dorothy Fields, Mr. Abe Olman, Mr. Richard Rodgers,
Mr. Hans Spialek. Brooklyn, New York: Mr. Eubie Blake. Pacific Palisades,
California: Mr. Vernon Duke. Beverly Hills, California: Mr. John Mercer.
Tarzana, California: Mr. Shelton Brooks. Santa Monica, California: Mr. Ferde
Grofé. (Mr. Grofé was interviewed on my behalf by Mr. Rogers Brackett.)
x Acknowledgments

Malibu Beach, California: Mr. Gordon Jenkins. Remsenburg, Long

Island: Mr. P. G. Wodehouse. (Mr. Wodehouse, whose annual new novel is
not only a literary event but also a celebration of the vigor of wit in a dour
world, very patiently submitted to an interview by letter.)
Mr. Duke’s death deprived us of any further work from an uncommonly
gifted composer. He loved American music deeply and his affection was re-
flected in the astonishing scope and depth of his knowledge. Only weeks be-
fore his death he took the time to write a careful commentary on the concept,
and general scheme, of the present project, suggesting certain correctives
in early theater music. Then quite suddenly, this book lost an expert and
sympathetic guide.
Mr. Max Morath has a rare gift for discerning what was truly fresh and
original—​hip, to be precise—​about certain key songs at the turn of the cen-
tury. I am very much in his debt for sharing with me those insights which it
had taken him years of research, and public performance, to discover. And
I should like here to mention the generosity of Mr. Rudi Blesh in discussing
with Mr. James T. Maher certain aspects of ragtime which shed light on the
origins of the distinctively native popular song as it emerged in the 1890s.
Other people helped me in a variety of ways in resolving both legal and
editorial problems, and I should like to thank them all, particularly Mr.
Edward N. Cramer, Mr. Russell Sanjek, Mr. Harold Leventhal, and Mr.
Joseph Taubman. Mr. Taubman served as my counsel with respect to the ex-
ecution of the copyright permissions I sought. I am grateful to Mr. Philip
B. Wattenberg for assistance in copyright clearance. And I was pleased to
have the expert help of Ms. Maureen Meloy who prepared the final, revised
copyright and permissions data.
I know that it is customary to thank that silent expert who turns one’s
scrawl into a legible typescript. However, I find that in order truly to express
my appreciation for the work of Ms. Joellyn Ausanka I must describe her ex-
ceptional contribution to this book. She is an editor of children’s books who
happened, at the time, to be studying the organ music of Bach, an incidental
condition which brought a great sense of joy to the project. Bach does that.
Further, because of her affection for the songs I was discussing in the text,
she played through the sheet music of all of them as it was turned over to her
chapter by chapter to extract the copyright data. Needless to say, her keen eye
sifted out some errors and ambiguities in the text. The intelligence, care, and
critical enthusiasm she brought to the preparation of the typescript resulted
in a contribution I certainly could not have anticipated.
 Acknowledgments xi

From the beginning of the project, Mr. Sheldon Meyer of Oxford University
Press persisted in his belief in the value of what I had set out to do. He felt
that it should be published. I could not have asked for more heartening en-
couragement. Because of his conviction, the book is done. It bears, in its final
polishing, the mark of his astute editorial eye, as well as the careful concern of
Ms. Guy-​Dorian Cristol, the copy editor of the manuscript (who also played
through many of the songs once the sheet music got into her hands).
I have saved until the last a personal acknowledgment to a gentleman
I much admire, Mr. Howard Richmond. I faced two severe problems in orga-
nizing my work on the book: a place to work, and a source for the music
I wished to examine. Mr. Richmond solved both problems. He placed at
my disposal an audition room with a piano in his music publishing offices.
His staff graciously saw to it that there was always a music room available
to me. Fortunately, Mr. Richmond had several years earlier asked one of the
associates, Mr. Abe Olman, to assemble a sheet music library that would
bring together the work of the best-​known songwriters. The great bulk of the
songs I studied came from Mr. Olman’s shelves. I was thus saved the tedious
chore of searching through public and private collections for older music.
Without Mr. Richmond’s concern and generosity, a difficult task might
have become impossible in very short order.
A. W.

We are especially grateful to Mr. Miles Kreuger, the president of The Institute
of the American Musical, Inc., and a meticulous researcher and historian,
for undertaking to reread the text and compile a list of the errors that fell to
his exacting eye. These errors have been corrected in subsequent printings of
the book.
J. T. M., 1974

In preparation of this third edition of American Popular Song, I would like

to thank the scores of colleagues and musicians who offered their advice and
expertise, including: Nancy Rawlins, John McClernan, Davide Ceriani, and
especially Pat Mercuri and Jake Spinella who were of tremendous assistance
in preparing the musical examples.
R. R., 2021
 Alec Wilder’s American Popular
Song Revisited

Revising the work of another is a bold undertaking, requiring no small degree

of humility, sensitivity, and respect. Preparing a new edition of Alec Wilder’s
American Popular Song was an especially tricky task, considering the en-
during stature of the book and Wilder’s overwhelming presence throughout.
But some fifty years later, the time for a revision has come. What that revision
would look like required careful consideration.
There were the obvious typographical errors, misplaced examples, inac-
curate dates, minor mistakes, incorrect measure numbers, and the like. Also,
language has been adjusted to adhere to present-​day racial and gender con-
siderations, while musical terminology has been changed to conform with
current practice. Then come the larger issues.
It was decided that Wilder’s text should remain mostly intact. His
sometimes-​outrageous opinions are part of the book’s charm and remain as
written. Minor revisions for clarity have been made, but most explanations
and elaborations were placed in footnotes. Wilder’s references to individuals
well known in his day but largely forgotten now (Edgar Guest, for example)
have received elucidation in footnotes. When Wilder was mistaken, such
as when he thinks he remembers how Sinatra sang a song but gets it wrong
(Wilder didn’t own a phonograph!), his assertion was left and referenced in
a footnote. It would have been insincere and misleading to simply correct
his words.
One fortunate opportunity that was pursued was the inclusion of musical
examples for the chapter on Irving Berlin. (The Berlin estate had not per-
mitted them in the first edition.) Although Wilder’s intended excerpts are
lost, sixty-​seven new examples were chosen to help clarify his discussions in
the text.
The first part of Chapter 1, “The Transition Era,” received more revision
than the rest of the book. While Wilder’s speculations and opinions pertaining
to this period are interesting, it was felt that a briefer, more objective account

American Popular Song. Alec Wilder, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2022.
DOI: 10.1093/​oso/​9780190939946.003.0001
2 American Popular Song

of this period would be more beneficial to the reader. Wilder’s comments on

the musical excerpts, however, have been left as he wrote them.
For a variety of reasons, Wilder left out songs and composers whose
absence was likely to raise an eyebrow. Inserting additional songs and
descriptions in Wilder’s original text was decided against. Rather than sig-
nificantly alter his original book, an additional chapter has been added at the
end. The selection process for the added songs and composers is explained at
the beginning of Chapter 12.
Unquestionably, the most significant challenge in revising American
Popular Song was the substitution of lead sheet notation for piano score.
This was largely done to embrace a wider range of readership and to reflect
a paradigm shift in the music world. Musicians today are less reliant upon
the piano score than in Wilder’s time. By contrast, they are likely to be more
familiar with chord symbols and lead-​sheet notation. And, of course, the ad-
dition of lyrics is helpful to all, including those who are not trained in music
but are familiar with the songs being discussed.
Indicating the harmony with chords rather than piano score was a
daunting task. A chord symbol as a reductive tool is meant to give some
indication of the harmony but is unable to specify a precise arrangement.
True, an arrangement can be hinted at by specifying the bass note, building
inner parts into the chords (such as V7sus going to V7), and the addition
of “in-​between” chords on the weak beats. But by and large, chord symbols
give a suggestion of the harmony but few specifics as to how it should be
realized. In many, if not most cases, popular songs of this era were not
expected to have a definitive harmony, arrangement, or a “correct” set of
chords. Arrangers and chord players took whatever liberties they deemed
appropriate when producing a new version. A song’s first appearance in
a show or movie was likely to reveal differences from the published sheet
music, no matter which came first. Successive reprints of titles and the pub-
lication of collections of songs might also deviate from the original sheet
music. Moreover, songwriters did not always have much or any control
over the printed arrangement that would appear in the sheet music. But
sometimes they did.
How much control did composers have over their arrangements?
Conflicting reports indicate that it varied considerably depending on the
composer and the publisher. We know, for example, that Irving Berlin,
Richard Rodgers, and Alec Wilder himself were quite particular about every
aspect of the harmony.
 Alec Wilder’s American Popular Song Revisited 3

Johnny Green, a brilliant composer in his own right, worked as a tran-

scriber for Irving Berlin in the 1940s. He affirmed that Berlin made all the
musical choices regarding his songs: “Whether it’s a word of lyric, a line of
melody, a line of countermelody, a harmonic progression, it was written by
Irving Berlin.”1
But George Gershwin tells a different story. In 1932 he published a collec-
tion of piano arrangements of his own songs, commenting in the introduc-
tion: “Sheet music, as ordinarily printed for mass sales, is arranged with an
eye to simplicity. The publishers cannot be blamed for getting out simplified
versions of songs, since the majority of the purchasers of popular music are
little girls with little hands, who have not progressed very far in their study
of the piano.”2 A reasonable conclusion would be that composers in most
instances had limited control over their music.
But, whatever the case, in American Popular Song Wilder treated each
piece of sheet music as if it were an art song. For this reason, if only to be sure
the music matched up with Wilder’s discussions, every attempt was made to
include the original (or extracted) chords to the musical passages.
But what were the “original” chords? Few composers were concerned with
chords—​the symbols themselves were generally added by the publisher to re-
flect the piano arrangement. (And chord symbols did not begin appearing at
all until circa 1920.) In many cases, editors were simply trying to pull vertical
alignments of the notes from the score, with no regard to functional harmony
or sequences of chords that made sense. At first, chords were intended for the
ukulele, with its restrictive limitations. Over time, chord symbols began to
indicate the harmony more accurately, but older sheet music chords can be
unreliable. A glance at a Tune-​dex card from the period bears this out.3
When extracting chords from the score, it was sometimes necessary to
separate “the arrangement” from “the essential” parts of the songwriter’s har-
monic intent. Even specifying the bass note by using “slash” chords could be
misguided in some instances. Consider, for example the opening of Hugh

1 Quoted in Laurence Bergreen, As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin (New York: Viking

Penguin, 1990), 477.

2 George Gershwin, Introduction to Gershwin at the Keyboard: Eighteen Song Hits Arranged by the

Composer for Piano (Van Nuys, CA: Alfred, 2005, reprint of first edition by Simon and Schuster, 1932).
3 Tune-​dex was a subscription service for music-​industry professionals that provided three
by five index cards, each containing the melody, chords, lyrics, and publishing information for
a single song. The company operated from 1942 until approximately 1963. See Witmer, Robert,
and Barry Kernfeld. “Fake book.” Grove Music Online. 2003; Accessed 13 Aug. 2021. https://​
www.oxfordmusiconline.com/ ​ g rovemusic/ ​ v iew/ ​ 1 0.1093/ ​ g mo/ ​ 9 781561592630.001.0001/​
omo-​9781561592630-​e-​2000144800.
4 American Popular Song

Martin’s “Tiny Room.” The tempo is indicated as slowly. The song begins with
six beats of a G pedal note. But the chord on the downbeat of measure 2 is
C7 (♭5). If one were to ignore the obvious decay of the low G over six beats
and indicate the chord on the downbeat of measure 2 as C7 ♭5/​G, the result
would be a terrible and unintended clash. True, a pianist might discern what
was going on, and hold the note through the changing chords, but what can
a guitarist do?
It was also necessary to seek a balance between including chords that
reflect current practice with chords that indicate more specifics but re-
sult in awkward chord sequences. There were times when chords had to be
extracted verbatim from the score to illustrate Wilder’s analyses, or just be-
cause they were so interesting. This results in a lead sheet of no practical value
to a musician. In such cases, two sets of chords were included, one revealing
the intricacies of the harmony as much as was possible, the other showing
chords that provide a usable performance tool. If the original chords seemed
viable for performance, they were placed directly above the staff, with the
chords more commonly played for the tune in parentheses above. When the
extracted chords seemed impractical for anything other than revealing what
was in the piano arrangement, they were placed in parentheses with the more
standard chords indicated directly above the staff. This, of course, was a sub-
jective decision.
For example, in Richard Rodgers’s “The Lady Is a Tramp,” in the key of
C most performers play some flavor of A7 or E♭7 in measure 2 leading to
the D-​7 in bar 3. But the printed chord for the second measure was C-​7 and
Wilder stresses the unique quality of this harmony. Consequently, it was
placed directly above the staff, with the more standard chord placed above in
parentheses. But in George Gershwin’s “A Foggy Day” in F, the second chord
in the sheet music is E♭-​6/​G♭, an unlikely chord to precede a G-​7 that is li-
able to puzzle the modern-​day performer and listener alike. In this case, the
more expected A♭9 was placed directly above the staff. In a more extended
example, the original chords to Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Here’s That Rainy Day”
provide a fine harmonic support to the melody but differ remarkably from
those shown by almost any fake book today. They appear directly above the
staff with the more common substitutions in parentheses above.
Rhythmic choices also raise questions regarding the composer’s intentions.
In some cases, rhythms had to be altered to reflect current practice and the
most likely intentions of the composer. For example, straight eighth notes are
the standard in modern fake books, with the understanding that performers
 Alec Wilder’s American Popular Song Revisited 5

will interpret the rhythm according to the tempo and stylistic expectations.
But in older sheet music, dotted-​eighth-​sixteenth pairs were sometimes in-
cluded in the published music to indicate a swing feel. Of course, if a dotted-​
eighth-​sixteenth pair is played correctly, it is not a swing feel at all. But if the
publisher needed to indicate that one passage should be played with straight
eighths and another with a swing feel, the dotted-​eighth-​sixteenth option
was the most direct. And then there are some passages that call for a dotted-​
eighth-​sixteenth pairs interpreted literally (such as Walter Donaldson’s
“Carolina in the Morning”). Except in cases where one of these conditions
applied (and one can never be sure), dotted-​eighth-​sixteenth rhythms were
changed to straight eighths.
Although Wilder often refers to lyrics in his text, examples in the orig-
inal edition did not include them. The decision to add them in this edition
presented its own set of unique issues. Publishers were not always correct
or even consistent with spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. Moreover,
some spellings have changed over the years (such as the tendency for hy-
phenated word pairs to fuse into a single word), and stylistic guidelines have
evolved. But in this case, it was decided to preserve the original as found in
the sheet music and not adopt current norms.
We all know of revisions of books in which the initial author manages to
recede into the background with each subsequent revision, until the book’s
original creator becomes a mere shadow from the past. This is decidedly not
such a revision. Corrections have been made, new information has been in-
cluded, and the format of musical examples has been completely revamped.
But the presence of Wilder remains. The final, newly written chapter
examines fifty-​three songs not included in the earlier edition. It includes
a brief synopsis of Wilder’s life, offers a glimpse into his personality, and
concludes by discussing ten of his songs.
Much of the significance of Wilder’s monumental book lies in the record
of the man himself: his vast musical experience, his shortcomings, his dis-
cerning ear, his prejudices, his insight, and his blunders. It is the intent of this
edition not only to renew the book’s relevance for modern readers, but to
preserve the record of the man who wrote it.
 1
The Transition Era
1885 to World War I

During the thirty-​year period between 1885 and World War I, American
popular music underwent many fundamental changes. Finally, when these
changes—​rhythmic, harmonic, melodic—​were consolidated, a unique kind
of song emerged: American song. While this chapter will discuss and illus-
trate the roots and nature of these changes, it is not intended to be a formal
history of the music of this era. Further, it is deliberately selective in its choice
of songs that reveal evolution and innovation.
Stephen Foster (1826–​1864) was certainly the most celebrated songwriter
of his generation, if not the nineteenth century. His work began to attract
attention in the years after 1847, and by 1850 he was able to earn a living ex-
clusively through the publication of his own music, one of the first American
composers to do so.1 He wrote competently in a variety of styles but is mostly
known for his songs with a distinctive “American” flavor: “Old Black Joe,”
“De Camptown Races,” and “Oh! Susanna,” for example.
Foster grew up in Pittsburgh, where he demonstrated an early talent for
music, though he had little formal training. He developed a keen interest in
minstrel shows, and by listening to and studying the music (which at that time
was written and performed by White musicians2), Foster indirectly absorbed
many characteristics of African American music.3 In his most American

1 William W. Austin, “Susanna,” “Jeanie,” and “The Old Folks at Home”: The Songs of Stephen

C. Foster from His Time to Ours (New York and London: MacMillan, 1975), 11–​12.
2 While there were some Black minstrel troupes in the early days of minstrelsy, they did not be-

come significant or numerous until the 1860s, and it is highly unlikely that Foster would have heard
them during his formative years. See Clayton W. Henderson, “Minstrelsy, American,” Grove Music
Online, accessed January 7, 2021, https://​doi.org/​10.1093/​gmo/​9781561592630.article.18749.
3 Although Foster’s brother Morrison claimed, in 1896, that a servant regularly took Stephen to

an African American church, Stephen would have been too young at the time to have retained much
from the experience, and it is doubtful that it ever happened at all. See William W. Austin, Susanna,
Jeanie, and the Old Folks at Home, 238–​239.

American Popular Song. Alec Wilder, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2022.
DOI: 10.1093/​oso/​9780190939946.003.0002
 The Transition Era 7

songs can be heard duple meter, call-​and-​response, pentatonic scales, lim-

ited range, melodies constructed entirely of diatonic notes, short repetitive
phrases, and minimal harmony. Although he seldom employed syncopation,
Foster (who was of Irish descent) often employed the Scotch snap (short-​
long) in his songs, such as on “doodah” in “De Camptown Races,” “Susanna”
in “Oh! Susanna,” and “river” in “Old Folks at Home” (also known by the title
of “Swanee River”).
Most of Foster’s songs do not have these traits. To earn his living through
songwriting, Foster had to and did write in a wide variety of styles. “Beautiful
Dreamer,” one of his last and finest songs, contains no identifiable African
American characteristics. Most of his later work consisted of such “parlor”
songs. Only some two dozen of Foster’s nearly three hundred published
works have Southern themes or minstrel dialect, yet these few songs estab-
lished his career and ensured his legacy. And while it is true that Foster’s
(early) songs added to the body of stereotype blackface music, Foster used
his rare gift as a melodist to soar above such music.4
Foster may have set the standard for American song, but significant
contributions were made by other musicians as well, especially those of the
African American community. In Foster’s time, professional opportuni-
ties in the music business had been almost exclusively reserved for White
practitioners. But Emancipation (1863) changed this situation. The robust
pastime of music making among African Americans could now transition
from the amateur world to the professional one. In particular, the minstrel
show offered financial security for many Black musicians, both in the realms
of composition and performance. It is estimated that more than one hun-
dred Black minstrel troupes began touring between 1865 and 1890.5 Among
the most successful of musicians of this period was singer/​composer James
Bland (1854–​1911).
Although Bland was only one of hundreds of Black minstrels, his legacy
endures. As David Jasen and Gene Jones observe: “He alone left a body of

4 Foster had reservations about writing minstrel songs. In a letter to E. P. Christy he writes, “I have

done a great deal to build up a taste for the Ethiopian songs among refined people by making the
words suitable to their taste, instead of the trashy and really offensive words which belong to some
songs of that order.” Quoted in Gilbert Chase, America’s Music: From the Pilgrims to the Present, 3rd
ed. (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987), 256. His use of stereotyped dialog was
limited (although later editions of his songs often added dialect) and after 1852 he would abandon it
altogether. His authorized sheet music covers did not have the blackface caricatures found on most
minstrel songs.
5 Ra Guthrie P. Ramsey, “African American music,” Grove Music Online, accessed February 6, 2021,

https://​doi.org/​10.1093/​gmo/​9781561592630.article.A2226838.
8 American Popular Song

work that still matters.”6 Bland’s best-​known songs include “Oh, Dem Golden
Slippers,” “In the Evening by the Moonlight,” and “Carry Me Back to Old
Virginny.” In 1881, at the height of his career, he moved to England, where
he became a highly successful performer. Twenty years later he returned to
America, only to find his songs out of print and his name forgotten. Like his
White counterpart Stephen Foster, Bland died in poverty and dejection. But
collectively these two musicians produced the best songs of the minstrel era.
Aside from the songs of Bland, little popular music of distinction was pro-
duced during the twenty years following the end of the war. Published in
great numbers, songs followed well-​worn scripts and dealt with mundane
subjects: terrible disasters, politics, major events, modern inventions, and
the development of transportation (boats, canals, trains). The focus was not
on creating good music or even sincere music but rather on finding a subject
that would capture the public’s interest.
Ironically, now that Black musicians had gained a permanent foothold in
the industry, nearly all traces of African American music had disappeared
from popular song. An example is the Black composer Gussie Davis (1863–​
1899), who specialized in “tearjerker” songs. Among these were “The Fatal
Wedding,” “Why Did They Dig Ma’s Grave So Deep?,” and “Cradle’s Empty,
Baby’s Gone.” Davis was an astute songwriter who knew how to please the
publishers. Between 1880 and 1889 he was one of the most famous and
successful songwriters in America. Unfortunately, his songs are so much a
product of their times that are seldom performed today.

II

Eubie Blake (1887–​ 1983), composer, performer, son of former slaves,

observed during a discussion of music of the turn of the century, “People ask
me where did ragtime come from and I say I don’t know, I heard it all my
life . . . when my mother would go out and wash white folks’ clothes, I’d play
music lessons the way I liked and when she came home and heard me, she’d
say, ‘you take that ragtime out of my house, don’t you be playing no ragtime.’ “7

6 David A. Jasen and Gene Jones, Spreadin’ Rhythm Around: Black Popular Songwriters, 1880–​1930

(New York: Schirmer Books: 1998) 8.

7 Wilder knew Eubie Blake, and he seems to imply that these words came from a personal con-

versation. Blake lived a long time and became somewhat of a celebrity during his later years. Similar
stories were told in various interviews with slightly different wording. The story is also told in Robert
 The Transition Era 9

Ragtime first came to the public’s attention in the mid-​1890s; by the turn
of the twentieth century it had become a national sensation. The most dis-
tinguishing characteristic of this new sound was its rhythmic syncopation,
a distinctive feature of African American music. Aspects of ragtime began
to appear in popular song during the 1880s and the term was first used to
describe this music with “ragged” rhythms in the 1890s. The term ragtime
is most closely associated with a piano style that flourished from 1895 until
about 1919, but some rags had lyrics, and arranged rags were performed
by instrumental groups as well. Ironically, many of the songs published at
this time with “ragtime” or “rag” in the title were not rags at all (e.g., Irving
Berlin’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” 1911).
During the late nineteenth century, a number of historic shifts occurred
that resulted in the explosive growth of popular music in the United States.
The rapidly expanding sheet music industry, which soon became centered
in New York, was at the hub of this profitable business, soon to be called Tin
Pan Alley.8 The rise of the middle class, with more disposable income and
greater leisure time, allowed more time for music making, and sales of pianos
skyrocketed. An improved transportation system led to both a wider dissem-
ination of music and public access to live performances, as countless mu-
sical organizations toured the nation. Vaudeville emerged in the 1880s and
became an immensely popular attraction suitable for the entire family. The
modern conception of musical comedy began to take shape sometime after
the Civil War.9 During the 1890s phonographs became available to the mass
market, and the first recording stars emerged. The result of all this activity
was a bustling music industry with a myriad of opportunities for fame and
fortune.

Kimball and William Bolcom, Reminiscing with Sissle and Blake (New York: The Viking Press,
1973), 38.

8 “Originally, Tin Pan Alley was a nickname given the actual street (West Twenty-​ eighth
Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue) in Manhattan where many of the fledgling pop-
ular music publishers had their offices. In time, it became the generic term for all publishers
of popular American sheet music, regardless of their geographic locations.” David A. Jasen, Tin
Pan Alley: The Composers, the Songs, the Performers and their Times (New York: Donald L. Fine,
1888), xv.
9 The new style of musical theater based on popular music developed out of combination of

entertainment forms, including comic opera, operetta, music hall productions, minstrel shows,
vaudeville, and burlesque. See John Snelson and Andrew Lamb, “Musical,” Grove Music Online,
accessed February 7, 2021, https://​doi.org/​10.1093/​gmo/​9781561592630.article.19420.
10 American Popular Song

III

One of the best American writers of the late nineteenth century was Benjamin
Robertson Harney. In discussing Harney’s life and work with me, Eubie Blake
observed, “He’s dead, and all of his people must be,” before adding: “Do you
know that Ben Harney was a negro?” I hadn’t known, of course.10 Mr. Blake
then provided a clue to Harney’s great success as a performer. “Ben Harney
played ragtime like White people played it.” He managed to get his songs
published as well as widely performed. He was assumed by White people
to be White. And though he died in a predominantly African American
community in Philadelphia, the fact that he was Black has never been pub-
licly stated, possibly out of a traditional concern for his surviving relatives.
Harney had no children.
Rudi Blesh and the late Harriet Janis in their book They All Played
Ragtime,11 the definitive study of a subject very dear to the authors, have pro-
vided a substantial biographical sketch of Harney, and an enlightening anal-
ysis of his most famous songs in the context of ragtime and blues traditions.12
Songs with a distinctly American flavor can be found prior to the turn of
the twentieth century. Shelton Brooks, with his “Some of These Days” (1910)
and “Walkin’ the Dog” (1916), did introduce a fresh point of view. But there
were others before him. Max Morath, an authority on turn-​of-​the-​century
American song, as well as instrumental ragtime, considers certain songs of
the 1890s to be the most significant breakthroughs in “American” non-​hack
writing. And they are all by Ben Harney. The first of these is “You’ve Been a
Good Old Wagon, But You’ve Done Broke Down,” copyrighted in 1895, but
written two years earlier. Although it would be printed in  time today, it is
shown in  in an early copy provided by Mr. Morath.
It comprises a verse (not so marked), a chorus, and a “dance.” In the
sung portions of the song there are, amazingly, only two chords, tonic and

10 William H. Tallmadge has investigated this thoroughly to the conclusion that there is no indi-

cation of any African American heritage in Ben Harney’s lineage. See William H. Tallmadge, “Ben
Harney: The Middleborough Years, 1890–​93. (American Composer),” American Music 13, no. 2
(June 22, 1995): 168. Blake had never met Harney, yet Wilder accepted his word, and subsequently
other authors would assume that Wilder’s claim was accurate. For the sake of preserving this record,
Wilder’s comments have not been corrected.
11 Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis, They All Played Ragtime: The True Story of an American Music

(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1950).

12 The real contribution Blesh and Janis made was to explain Harney’s contribution to ragtime and

American music. Their biographical details of Harney’s life are woefully inaccurate. See Tallmadge,
169–​170.
 The Transition Era 11

dominant. Were one to have arranged this song at any time after 1920, or
to have printed a new piano copy, the harmony would have been much less
spartan. The melody almost begs for more harmony.
The verse is fourteen measures, the chorus twenty-​eight, and the “dance”
forty. The most interesting phrases in the chorus are repetitions of the verse.

Example 1.1 “You’ve Been a Good Old Wagon, But You’ve Done Broke Down”

One must keep in mind not only the date, 1895, but the antique spelling of
the notes. (Were the song reprinted using modern spelling, it would read as
follows.)

Example 1.2 “You’ve Been a Good Old Wagon, But You’ve Done Broke Down”

Considered the first ragtime song ever published,13 it was far from the typ-
ical pop song.14 And it is unfortunate that one cannot hear a recording of it by
Harney.15 For undoubtedly it would reveal that the printed copy is an almost
totally emasculated “whitening” of the original. Surely, the melody suggests a
much more swinging piano part than was published.

13 William H. Tallmadge, “Harney, Ben(jamin) R(obertson),” Grove Music Online, accessed

February 7, 2021, https://​doi.org/​10.1093/​gmo/​9781561592630.article.41378.

14 Charles K. Harris (1867–​1930), one of the most successful songwriters of the 1890s, wrote a book

in which he describes the requirements for a successful song. His “rules” include a small vocal range,
simplicity, repetition of the title throughout the song, and “heart interest” or pathos. See Charles K.
Harris, How to Write a Popular Song (New York, Chicago, and London: Charles K. Harris, 1906).
15 Harney did in fact record “You’ve Been a Good Old Wagon” in 1925. He sings unaccompanied.

Benjamin Robertson Harney, Benjamin Robertson Harney, and Robert Winslow Gordon, “You’ve
Been a Good Old Wagon, But You’ve Done Broke Down,” Library of Congress, 1978, audio, https://​
www.loc.gov/​item/​ihas.200196487/​.
12 American Popular Song

Eubie Blake praises Harney unstintingly as the true father of the style of
piano playing made famous by James P. Johnson, to some degree, and Fats
Waller, fully. Mr. Blake’s praise does, I must admit, seem to conflict with his
other remark that Harney “played ragtime like White people played it,” but no
matter.
“Mister Johnson, Turn Me Loose,” 1896, another Harney song for which
he wrote his own idiomatic lyrics, has only a sixteen-​measure chorus, but
again, it is a departure from the norm. It unexpectedly starts in A minor (the
key is G major) and moves, after two measures, to G major. The melody in
both instances follows the notes of the chords.

Example 1.3 “Mister Johnson, Turn Me Loose”

“At a Georgia Camp Meeting,” first published as a piano piece in 1897,

then as a song (with words added) in 1899, is another song employing the
eighth, quarter, eighth-​note device. Words and music were by Kerry Mills.
It is a strong, memorable tune, very much in the ragtime, cakewalk tradi-
tion.16 There were earlier “walk around” dance songs, but Mills’s song was
so successful that he was long given undue credit for inventing the cakewalk.
As has been pointed out by others, the most familiar strain in the song is an
adaptation of the Civil War song “Our Boys Will Shine Tonight.” Here are the
beginnings of verse and chorus:

Example 1.4 “At a Georgia Camp Meeting”

16 A cakewalk is an African American dance that predates the Civil War. It involved a strutting step

that was evidently a parody of the pompous dignity of White slaveholders. It was common for the
dance to become a competition, after which the winner would be rewarded with a cake or confection,
hence the expression “that takes the cake.”
 The Transition Era 13

In 1899 there was also a very successful pop song called “Hello! Ma Baby”
that was certainly in the ragtime genre. It was written by Joseph E. Howard
with lyrics by Ida Emerson, Howard’s wife.
It is a cheery little song, one of the many written about that new gadget, the
telephone. And its lyric indicates that it is a “coon song.” It is a cakewalk kind
of tune, the principal rhythmic device of which is the succession of eighth,
quarter, and eighth notes.

Example 1.5 “Hello! Ma Baby”

As the twentieth century approached, New York became the focal point of
the rapidly expanding popular music industry. Successful publishing firms,
such as T.B. Harms and Witmark & Sons, developed effective strategies for
determining what kinds of songs the public wanted and producing them by
the thousands. Themes included recent inventions (telephone songs were
extremely popular), dance steps, fads, celebrities, current events, patriotic
songs (following the 1898 Spanish–​American War), and ethnic songs.17
And ragtime was all the rage. Although piano rags rarely rivaled popular
songs in sheet music sales, ragtime’s peppy, spirited, infectious rhythms per-
meated popular music of the day.18 Ragtime was the perfect music for the
Progressive Era and would continue to project its influence throughout that
period.19

IV

“Under the Bamboo Tree,” 1902, words and music by another talented
African American writer and performer, Bob Cole, probably owed its

17 Thomas S. Hischak, “Tin Pan Alley,” Grove Music Online, accessed February 7, 2021, https://​doi.

org/​10.1093/​gmo/​9781561592630.article.A2257382.
18 Among the many songs of the period that emphasize syncopation or rhythmic vitality are “Bill

Bailey,” “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Yankee Doodle Boy,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
19 H. Loring White argues that ragtime’s influence went beyond the musical sphere and impacted

many aspects of society: “It reenforced the outlook and attitudes of society, and it reflected them back
into the culture.” H. Loring White, Ragging It: Getting Ragtime into History (And Some History into
Ragtime) (Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 2005), 2.
14 American Popular Song

popularity as much to its novelty lyric as to its music. Oddly, the chorus shifts
from the  rhythm of the verse to . It is a short, sixteen-​measure chorus with
a single syncopated motif of one measure, with, again only two chords. There
is nothing remarkable about it except in comparison to the other songs of
that period. Here is the motif:

Example 1.6 “Under the Bamboo Tree”

“Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?,” music and lyrics by Hughie
Cannon, has remained popular since 1902. However, it has a contrived
quality that removes it, to my mind, from the more natural melodies of Ben
Harney. Its first four measures suggest a more natural development than the
melody actually has.

Example 1.7 “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home”

The contrived, manufactured flavor, to me, is evidenced in the cadence in

measure 7 as well as the one in measures 22 and 23.

Example 1.8 “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home”

Example 1.9 “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home”

I am especially surprised, probably because for years I have heard the title
of the song and presumed that its melody would have a much more natural
flavor.
 The Transition Era 15

In 1910 Shelton Brooks wrote the words and music of a song that was
truly a landmark in popular music, perhaps the landmark of the tran-
sition era. It was completely unlike most songs of its time and appears
not to have derived from any of the popular song elements then cur-
rent. It is a straightforward, well-​written rhythm ballad, melodically and
harmonically. Its title is “Some of These Days,” and it has the unusual
form of ABCD. Like Berlin’s “The Girl on the Magazine Cover” of a few
years later, it never repeats its initial idea. Deservedly, it was a big hit
and was adopted by Sophie Tucker, a famous celebrity of the day, as her
theme song.
Considering that the melody is in G major, it is highly unexpected that
after the three “held” pickup notes the harmony of the first measure is a
B7 chord. This resolves in the third measure to E minor, returns to B7,
and then, after once more resolving to E minor, proceeds through E7 and
A7 to D7.
Then, instead of repeating the original idea, it continues through G7
to C major. Indeed, it never ceases to move harmonically, far more so
than most other pop songs of that time. It should be remembered that
Mr. Brooks was a successful vaudeville pianist. Yet so provocative is the
melody that it became an immense success, and though the harmony may
have mightily pleased the players of that time, the success of the song was
due surely to the melody. And I am certain that the tantalizing suspension
of the rhythm in the opening pickup notes also had to do with the song’s
popularity.
I should make note here of a piano piece, “The Memphis Blues,”
copyrighted in 1910. This historic blues became a song in 1912 when it
was published with words. It is discussed subsequently.
Also in 1920 there was a song by Lewis F. Muir called “Play That Barber
Shop Chord.” Long afterward it achieved a second success as a result of
Judy Garland’s enthusiastic revival of it.
Both verse and chorus display a strong African American influence
that was rare among White songwriters of the time. The first eight meas-
ures of the verse surely demonstrate this natural, uncontrived kind of
line.20

20 The sheet music cited by Wilder was based on the Judy Garland recording as heard in the 1949

musical film In the Good Old Summertime. The examples included here are from the original sheet
music of 1910.
16 American Popular Song

Example 1.10 “Play That Barber Shop Chord”

The chorus does have a degree of contrivance, but this, I think, is justi-
fied by the demands of the lyric, which, as the title indicates, has to do with
harmony. The last section of the song shows how much it moves about. And
this amount of experimentation in 1910 was almost unprecedented, as, for
example, the shift to F minor in measure 13 and the descending A♭ triad in
measure 15.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
constituted the only defences of the town of Kuching, and which, as
no enemy was suspected to exist in the country, were seldom
guarded by above four men each; but Mr. Crookshank, who was
then administering the government, took the precaution to man them
with an efficient garrison, as it was said that during one of their
periodical religious feasts, several hundred men were to collect
quietly, and make a rush for the defences which contained the
arsenal. On Sir James Brooke’s return, however, strict inquiries were
instituted, but nothing could be discovered to implicate the gold
company in a plot, and it appeared unlikely they would attempt it
during the absence of the ruler who could have so soon revenged it.
On the 18th of February, the chiefs of the gold company
assembled about 600 of their workmen at Bau, and placing all the
available weapons in their hands, marched them down to their chief
landing-place at Tundong, where a squadron of their large cargo
boats was assembled. It is generally reported that, until they actually
began to descend the stream, none but the heads of the movement
knew the object, the men having been informed that they were to
attack a Dayak village in Sambas, where some of their countrymen
had lately been killed.
During their slow passage down the river, a Malay who was
accustomed to trade with them, overtook them in a canoe, and
actually induced them to permit him to pass, under the plea that his
wife and children lived at a place called Batu Kawa, eight miles
above the town, and would be frightened if they heard so many men
passing, and he not there to reassure them; he pulled down as fast
as he could till he reached the town of Kuching, and going straight to
his relative, a Malay trader of the name of Gapur, who was a
trustworthy and brave man, told him the story, but he said, “Don’t go
and tell the chiefs or the rajah such a tissue of absurdities;” yet he
went himself over to the bandhar and informed him; but the datu’s
answer was, “The rajah is unwell, we have heard similar reports for
the last twenty years; don’t go and bother him about it; I will tell him
what your relative says in the morning.” This great security was
caused by the universal belief that the Chinese could not commit so
great a folly as to attempt to seize the government of the country, as
they did not number above 4,000, while, at that time, the Malays and
Dayaks, within the Sarawak territories, amounted to 200,000.
But at midnight the squadron of Chinese boats pulled silently
through the town, and dividing into two bodies, the smaller number
entered Suñgei Bedil, the little stream above the government house,
while the larger continued its course to the landing-place of the fort,
to endeavour to surprise the houses of Mr. Crookshank, the police
magistrate, and Mr. Middleton, the constable, while a large party was
told off to attack the stockades. The government house was situated
on a little grassy hill, surrounded by small, but pretty cottages, in
which visitors were lodged. The Chinese landing on the banks of the
stream just above a house in which I used to reside, marched to the
attack in a body of about a hundred, and passing by an upper
cottage, made an assault on the front and back of the long
government house, the sole inhabitants of which were the rajah and
a European servant. They did not surround the house, as their
trembling hearts made them fear to separate into small bodies,
because the opinion was rife among them that the rajah was a man
brave, active, skilled in the use of weapons, and not to be overcome
except by means of numbers.
Roused from his slumbers by the unusual sounds of shouts and
yells at midnight, the rajah looked out of the venetian windows, and
immediately conjectured what had occurred: several times he raised
his revolver to fire in among them, but convinced that alone he could
not defend the house, he determined to effect his escape. He
supposed that men engaged in so desperate an affair would
naturally take every precaution to insure its success, and concluded
that bodies of the insurgents were silently watching the ends of the
house; so summoning his servant, he led the way down to a bath-
room, which communicated with the lawn, and telling him to open the
door quickly, and then follow closely, the rajah sprang forth with
sword drawn, and pistol cocked, but found the coast clear. Had there
been twenty Chinese there, he would have passed through them, as
his quickness and practical skill in the use of weapons are not, I
believe, to be surpassed. Reaching the banks of the stream above
his house, he found the Chinese boats there, but diving under the
bows of one, he reached the opposite shore unperceived, and as he
was then suffering from an attack of fever and ague, fell utterly
exhausted, and lay for some time on the muddy bank, till slightly
recovering he was enabled to reach the government writer’s house.
An amiable and promising young officer, Mr. Nicholets, who had but
just arrived from an out-station on a visit, and lodged in the upper
cottage, was startled by the sound of the attack, and rushing forth to
reach the chief house, was slain by the Chinese; while Mr. Steel,
who was there likewise on a visit, and Sir James’s servant, escaped
to the jungle.
The other attacks took place nearly simultaneously, Mr. and Mrs.
Crookshank rushing forth, on hearing this midnight alarm, were cut
down, the latter left for dead, the former severely wounded. The
constable’s house was attacked, but he and his wife escaped, while
their two children and an English lodger were killed by the
insurgents.
The forts, however, were not surprised; the Chinese, waiting for
the signal of attack on the houses, were perceived by the sentinel,
and he immediately aroused Mr. Crymble, who resided in the
stockade, which contained the arsenal and the prison. He
endeavoured to make some preparations for defence, although he
had but four Malays with him. He had scarcely time, however, to load
a six-pounder field-piece, and get his own rifle ready, before the
Chinese, with loud shouts, rushed to the assault. They were led by a
man bearing in either hand a flaming torch. Mr. Crymble waited till
they were within forty yards; he then fired and killed the man, who,
by the light he bore, made himself conspicuous, and before the
crowd recovered from the confusion in which they were thrown by
the fall of their leader, discharged among them the six-pounder
loaded with grape, which made the assailants retire behind the
neighbouring houses or hide in the outer ditches. But with four men
little could be done, and some of the rebels having quietly crossed
the inner ditch, commenced removing the planks which constituted
the only defence. To add to the difficulty, they threw over into the
inner court little iron tripods, with flaming torches attached, which
rendered it as light as day, while all around was shrouded in
darkness.
To increase the number of defenders, Mr. Crymble released two
Malay prisoners, one a madman, who had killed his wife, the other a
debtor. The latter quickly disappeared, while the former, regardless
of the shot flying around, stood to the post assigned him, opposite a
plank which the Chinese were trying to remove; he had orders to fire
his carbine at the first person who appeared, and when, the plank
giving way, a man attempted to force his body through, he pulled the
trigger without lowering the muzzle of his carbine and sent the ball
through his own brains. Mr. Crymble now found it useless to prolong
the struggle, as one of his four men was killed, and another, a brave
Malay corporal, was shot down at his side. The wounded man
begged Mr. Crymble to fly and leave him there, but asked him to
shake hands with him first, and tell him whether he had not done his
duty; but the Englishman seized him by the arm and attempted to
drag him up the stairs leading to the dwelling-house over the gate,
but the Chinese had already gained the court-yard, and pursuing
drove their spears through the wounded man, and Mr. Crymble was
forced to let go his hold, and with a brave follower, Duud, swung
himself down into the ditch below. Some of the rebels seeing their
attempted escape, tried to stop Mr. Crymble, and a man stabbed at
him, but only glanced his thick frieze coat, and received in return a
cut across the face from the Englishman’s cutlass, which, if he be
still alive, will be a remembrance to carry to the grave.
The other stockade, though it had but a corporal’s watch of three
Malays, did not surrender, until finding that every other place was in
the hands of the Chinese, the brave defenders opened the gates,
and charging the crowd of rebels, sword in hand, made their escape,
though they were all severely wounded in the attempt.
The confusion which reigned throughout the rest of the town may
be imagined, as startled by the shouts and yells of the Chinese the
inhabitants rushed to the doors and windows, and beheld night
turned into day by the bright flames that rose in three directions,
where the extensive European houses were burning at the same
time.
 It was at first very naturally thought that the Chinese contemplated
a general massacre of the Europeans, but messengers were soon
despatched to them by the kunsi, to say that nothing was further
from their intention than to interfere with those who were
unconnected with the Government.
The rajah had as soon as possible proceeded to the datu
bandhar’s house, and being quickly joined by his English officers,
endeavoured to organize a force to surprise the victorious Chinese,
but it was impossible; no sooner did he collect a few men, than their
wives and children surrounded them, and refused to be left, and
being without proper arms or ammunition, it was but a panic-stricken
mob; so he instantly took his determination, with that decision which
has been the foundation of his success, and giving up the idea of an
immediate attack, advised the removal of the women and children to
the left-hand bank of the river, where they would be safe from a land
attack of the Chinese, who could now make their way along the right-
hand bank by a road at the back of the town.
This removal was accomplished by the morning, when the party of
English under the rajah walked over to the little river of Siol, which
falls into the Santubong branch of the Sarawak, where obtaining
canoes, they started for the Samarahan river, intending to proceed to
the Batang Lupar to organize an expedition from the well-supplied
forts there. At the mouth of the Siol, the rajah found the war boat of
abang Buyong with sixty men waiting for him, which was soon joined
by six others, though smaller; as no sooner did the Malays of the
neighbouring villages hear that the rajah was at Siol, than they
began flocking to him. He now started for the Samarahan, and
rested at the little village of Sabang, and to the honour of the Malay
character, I must add that during the height of his power and
prosperity, never did he receive so much sympathy, tender attention,
and delicate generosity, as now when a defeated fugitive. They vied
with each other, as to who should supply him and his party with
clothes and food, since they had lost all, and if to know that he was
enshrined in the hearts of the people was any consolation to him in
his misfortunes, he had ample proofs of it then.
 When morning broke in Kuching, there was a scene of the wildest
confusion; the 600 rebels, joined by the vagabonds of the town, half
stupefied with opium, were wandering about discharging their
muskets loaded with ball cartridge in every direction; but at eight
o’clock the chiefs of the gold company sent a message to the bishop
of Labuan, requesting him to come down and attend the wounded.
He did so, and found thirty-two stretched out, the principal being
from gun-shot wounds; but among them he noticed one with a gash
across his face from the last blow Mr. Crymble had struck at the
rebels, and before his arrival they had buried five of their
companions.
It was evident that in the intoxication of victory the Chinese aimed
now, if not before, at the complete government of the country, and
summoned the bishop of Labuan, Mr. Helms, Mr. Ruppell, and the
datu bandhar to appear at the court-house; the English were obliged
to attend the summons, and the last came with great reluctance, and
contrary to the advice of his energetic brother, but it was thought
expedient to gain time.
The Chinese chiefs even in their most extravagant moments of
exultation, were in great fear that on their return the Malays might
attack their crowded boats, and destroy them, as on the water they
felt their great inferiority to their maritime enemies.
It must have been an offensive sight to the English and the
Malays to witness the arrangement of the court-house: in the rajah’s
seat sat the chief of the kunsi, supported on either side by the writers
or secretaries, while the now apparently subdued sections took their
places on the side benches. The Chinese chief issued his orders,
which were that Mr. Helms and Mr. Ruppell should undertake to rule
the foreign portion of the town, and that the datu bandhar should
manage the Malays, while the kunsi as supreme rulers should
superintend the whole, and govern the up country.
Everything now appeared to be arranged, when it was suggested
that perhaps Mr. Johnson might not quite approve of the conduct of
the Chinese in murdering his uncle and his friends; for the rajah at
that moment was supposed to be dead, and the head of Mr.
Nicholets was shown as the proof. At the mention of Mr. Johnson’s
name there was a pause, a blankness came over all their faces, and
they looked at each other, as they now remembered apparently for
the first time that he, the rajah’s nephew, was the governor of the
Sea Dayaks, and could let loose at least 10,000 wild warriors upon
them. At last it was suggested, after an animated discussion, that a
letter should be sent to him, requesting him to confine himself to his
own government, and then they would not attempt to interfere with
him.
The Chinese were very anxious to have matters settled, as with
all their boasts they did not feel quite comfortable, and were anxious
to secure the plunder they had obtained. They now called upon the
gentlemen and the Malay chiefs present to swear fidelity to the
kunsi, and under the fear of death they were obliged to go through
the Chinese formula of taking oaths by killing fowls. Next day the
rebels retired up country unmolested by the Malays, and a meeting
was at once held at the datu bandhar’s house to discuss future
proceedings; at first no one spoke, there was a gloom over the
assembly, as the mass of the population was deserting the town,
carrying off their women and children to Samarahan as a place of
safety, when abang Patah, son to the datu tumanggong, addressed
the assembly. He was a sturdy man, with a pleasant, cheerful
countenance, and a warm friend to English rule, and his first words
were,—“Are we going to submit to be governed by Chinese chiefs, or
are we to remain faithful to our rajah? I am a man of few words, and I
say I will never be governed by any but him, and to-night I
commence war to the knife against his enemies.”
This was the unanimous determination of the assembly, but they
were divided as to the course to be pursued. Patah, however, cut the
knot of the difficulty by manning a light canoe with a dozen Malays,
and proceeding at once up the river, attacked and captured a
Chinese boat, killing five of its defenders. In the meantime the
women and children were all removed from the town, and some
boats were armed and manned, but imperfectly, as the Chinese had
taken away the contents of the arsenal, and the principal portion of
the crews were engaged in conveying the fugitives to Samarahan.
 Patah’s bold act was well-meaning, but perhaps premature, as the
Malays, being scattered, could not organize a resistance, and urgent
entreaties were made to the rajah by well-meaning but injudicious
friends, to return and head this movement. He complied, though he
knew its futility, and arrived at Kuching to find the rest of the English
flying, the town in the hands of the Chinese, and smoke rising in
every direction from the burning Malay houses. It appeared when the
news reached the Chinese that the Malays were preparing for
resistance, they determined to return immediately and attack them
before their preparations were completed. They divided their forces
into two portions, as they were now recruited by several hundreds
from the other gold workings, and had forced all the agriculturists at
Sungei Tañgah to join them; in fact, their great cargo boats would not
hold their numbers, so one-half marched down the road leading from
the fields I have mentioned, near the little hill of Stapok, while the
rest came by river.
As soon as the Malays saw the Chinese boats rounding the point,
they boldly dashed at them, forced them to the river’s banks, drove
out the crews, and triumphantly captured ten of the largest. The
Chinese, better armed, kept up a hot fire from the rising ground, and
killed several of the best men among the Malays, among others
abang Gapur, whose disbelief in his kinsman’s story enabled the
rebels to surprise the town, and who to his last breath bewailed his
fatal mistake; and one who was equally to be regretted, our old
follower Kasim, whom I have so often mentioned in the earlier
chapters. The latter lingered long enough to see the rajah again
triumphant, and said he died happy in knowing it. It was he who,
though a good Mahomedan, and without knowing he was a
plagiarist, used to say,—“I would rather be in hell with the English,
than in heaven with you, my own countrymen.” Notwithstanding their
losses, the Malays towed away the boats, fortunately laden with
some of the most valuable booty, and secured them to a large
trading prahu anchored in the centre of the river. Having thus
captured also some better arms and ammunition, they kept up a fire
on their enemies who lined the banks.
 In the meantime the rajah arrived opposite the Chinese quarter,
and found a complete panic prevailing, and all those who had
preceded him flying in every direction; having vainly endeavoured to
restore a little order, he returned to carry out his original intention. He
joined the fugitives farther down the river, and having sent off the
ladies and the wounded to the secure fort of Lingga, under the care
of the bishop and as many Englishmen as he could spare, he
prepared on the following day to take the same route, in order to
obtain a base of operations, and a secure spot to rally the people
and await a fresh supply of arms. It was sad to think of the mischief
which might happen during this period of enforced inaction,
particularly as the datu bandhar and a chosen band were still in
Kuching anchored in the centre of the river, and making attacks
whenever they saw a chance. The Chinese were dragging up heavy
guns, and it was evident the Malays could not hold for many days,
and there was now nothing to defend, as the flames reddened the
horizon and the increasing volumes of smoke told the tale too well
that the town was being destroyed.
With feelings of the most acute distress these few Englishmen,
under their brave leader, put out to sea to bear away eastward; when
a cry arose among the men, “Smoke, smoke, it is a steamer!” and
sure enough there was a dark column rising in the air from a three-
masted vessel; for a moment it was uncertain which course she was
steering, but presently they distinguished her flag; it was the Sir
James Brooke, the Borneo company’s steamer, standing right in for
the Muaratabas entrance of the Sarawak River. The crew of the
rajah’s boat with shouts gave way, and the prahu was urged along
with all the power of their oars, to find the vessel anchored just within
the mouth.
Here, indeed, was a base of operations; the rajah felt the country
was saved. The native boats were taken in tow, and the
reinforcements of Dayaks, who were already arriving, followed up
with eager speed. What were the feelings of the Chinese when they
saw the smoke, then the steamer, it is not necessary to conjecture;
they fired one wild volley from every available gun and musket; but
the balls fell harmlessly; and when the English guns opened on
them, they fled panic-stricken, pursued by the rejoicing Malays and
Dayaks.
Early that morning a large party of Chinese had crossed from the
right to the left bank to burn the half of the town which had previously
escaped; but though they succeeded in destroying the greater
portion, they signed their own death warrant, as the Malays, now
resuming the offensive, seized the remainder of their boats, and the
relentless Dayaks pursued them through the forests. Not one of that
party could have escaped; some wandered long in the forests and
died of starvation, others were found hanging to the boughs of trees,
preferring death by suicide to the lingering torments of hunger. All
these bodies were afterwards found, and the natives said on every
one of them were from five to twenty pounds sterling in cash, silver
spoons or forks, or other valuables, the plunder of the English
houses.
Thus was the capital recovered; the Chinese on the right bank all
fled by the road, and thence retired up to the fort of Biledah, opposite
the town of Siniawan. The Land Dayaks were all ready assembled
under their different chiefs, and these without one exception stood
faithful to the government, and now rushed in every direction on the
Chinese, driving them from their villages, and compelling them to
assemble and defend two spots only, Siniawan and Bau, with the
landing places of the latter. The smoke rising in every direction
showed them that the loss they had inflicted on others was now
retaliated on them. The kunsi had in their blind confidence made no
preparations for an evil day, and it was well known that their stock of
food was small, as everything had been destroyed except their own
stores at Tundong, Bau, and a little at Siniawan, and they were
required to supply all those whom they had forced to join them from
the town and the whole agricultural population.
The harassing life they led must soon have worn them out without
any attacks, as they could no longer pursue their ordinary
occupations, or even fetch firewood or water without a strong armed
party, as the Dayaks hung about their houses and infested every
spot. It soon became a question of food, and they found they must
either obtain it, or retire across the border into Sambas. They
therefore collected all their boats and made a foray of eight miles
down the river to Ledah Tanah, and there threw up a stockade, in
which they placed a garrison of 250 of their picked men, under two of
their most trusted leaders. They put also four guns in position to
sweep the river, and these Chinese had the best of the government
carbines and rifles there. They also sacked a few of the Dayak
farmhouses, and one party made a bold attempt to reach the rajah’s
cottage at Peninjau, to which I have referred in my chapter on the
Dayaks of the right-hand branch.
But the villagers of Sirambau, Bombok, and Peninjau assembled
in force, threw up stockades across the steep path, and successfully
defended it against the assailants, who were driven back and
pursued with loss. To check the Chinese and afford assistance to the
Land Dayaks, the rajah sent up the datu bandhar and a small but
select force to wait his arrival below the Chinese stockade, but the
gallant bandhar, on being joined by the datu tumanggong and abang
Buyong, and a few Sakarang Dayaks, dashed at the fort, surprised
the garrison at dinner, and carried it without the loss of a man; the
Chinese threw away their arms and fled into the jungle, to be
pursued by the Sakarang Dayaks; stockade, guns, stores, and
boats, all were captured, and, what was of equal importance, the two
principal instigators of the rebellion were killed.
As soon as a few of the fugitives reached the fort at Beledah a
panic seized the Chinese, and they fled to Bau, where they made
preparations to retire into Sambas. The rajah, who was hurrying up
to the support of the bandhar, hearing of his success, despatched
Mr. Johnson with the light division to harass the enemy, and the
advance parties of his Sea Dayaks were on them immediately, but
the Chinese being well provided with fire-arms were enabled to retire
in tolerable order, from a few miles beyond Bau to the foot of the
Gombang range, along the good path which, as I have before
mentioned, they had constructed; but every now and then the active
Dayaks made a rush from the thick brushwood which borders the
path, and spread confusion and dismay, but the Chinese had every
motive to act a manly part, as they had to defend above a thousand
of their women and children who encumbered their disastrous flight.
 At the foot of the steep hill of Gombang they made a halt, for the
usual path was found to be well stockaded, and a resolute body of
Malays and Dayaks were there to dispute the way. It was a fearful
position; behind them the pursuers were gathering in increasing
strength, and unless they forced this passage within an hour they
must all die or surrender. At last some one, it is said a Sambas
Malay, suggested that there was an upper path, which, though very
steep, was yet practicable; this was undefended, and the fugitives
made towards it.
The Sarawak Malays and Dayaks, too late seeing their error in
neglecting to fortify this also, rushed up the edge of the hill, and
drove back the foremost Chinese; their danger was extreme; at that
moment, as if by inspiration, all the young Chinese girls rushed to
the front and encouraged the men to advance, which they again did,
and cheered by the voices of these brave girls who followed them
close, clapping their hands, and calling to them by name to fight
bravely, they won the brow of the hill, and cleared the path of their
less numerous foes. They were but just in time, as the pursuers were
pressing hotly on the rearguard, and the occasional volley of
musketry told them that the well-armed Malays were upon them; but
they were now comparatively safe, as they soon cleared the
Sarawak borders, and, although a few pursued them, the main body
of the Malays and Dayaks halted on the Gombang range.
The miserable fugitives, reduced to two thousand, of whom above
a half were women and children, sat down among the houses of the
village of Sidin, and many of them it is said wept not only for the loss
of friends and goods they had suffered from the insensate ambition
of the kunsi, but that they must give up all hope of ever returning to
their old peaceful homes. The kunsi, which on the night of the
surprise had numbered six hundred men, were now reduced to a
band of about a hundred, but these kept well together, and were
better armed than the others, and formed the principal guard of the
Taipekong, or sacred stone, which they had through all their
disasters preserved inviolate.
Several times the assailants, who mistook it for the gold chest,
had nearly captured it, but on the cry being raised that the Taipekong
was in peril, the men gathered round and carried it securely through
all danger. But here at Sidin, all immediate apprehension being over,
the discontent of those who had been forced to join the rebels burst
forth without control, so that from words they soon came to blows,
and the small band of the kunsi’s men was again reduced by thirty or
forty from the anger of their countrymen. Continuing their disorderly
retreat, they were met by the officers of the Dutch government, who
very properly took from them all their plunder and arms, and being
uncertain which was their own property, erred on the safe side by
stripping them of everything. Thus terminated the most absurd and
causeless rebellion that ever occurred, which, during its continuance,
displayed every phase of Chinese character: arrogance, secrecy,
combination, an utter incapability of looking to the consequences of
events or actions, and a belief in their own power and courage,
which every event belied. The Chinese never have fought even
decently, and yet till the very moment of trial comes they act as if
they were invincible.
I think this insurrection shows that though the Chinese require
watching, they are not in any way formidable as an enemy, and it
also proves how firmly the Sarawak government is rooted in the
hearts of the people, since in the darkest hour there was no whisper
of infidelity. Had the Chinese been five times as numerous, there
were forces in the background which would have destroyed them all.
Before the Chinese had fled across the border thousands of Seribas
and Sakarang Dayaks had arrived, and the people of Sadong were
marching overland to attack them in rear, while the distant out
stations were mustering strong forces, which arrived only to find all
danger past.
I almost believe it was worth all the disaster to show how uniform
kindness and generous consideration are appreciated by the Malays
and Dayaks, and how firmly they may become attached to a
government which, besides having their true interests at heart,
encourages and requires all its officers to treat them as equals. The
conduct of the Malay fortmen, of Kasim and Gapur, the generous
enthusiasm of abang Fatah, and the gallant rush at the Ledah Tanah
stockade by the bandhar and his forces, show what the rajah has
effected during his tenure of power. He has raised the character of
the Malay, and turned a lawless race into some of the best
conducted people in the world.
I must add that the results of the Chinese insurrection were very
curious in a financial point of view; though above three thousand five
hundred men were killed or driven from the country, yet the revenue
rose instead of falling, which proves what an extensive system of
smuggling had been carried on. The breaking up of the kunsi was
felt by all the natives as a great relief; and if the Chinese were to
increase to ten times their former numbers, there would not be the
slightest danger if ordinary precautions were taken, and if there were
stringent rules well carried out to prevent them either forming
extensive companies, or proper measures pursued to crush all
attempts at banding themselves into secret societies.
The Dutch authorities who formerly suffered so much from that
very formidable association, the great gold kunsi of Montrado, are
now free from all anxiety, as they no longer permit the Chinese to
form companies more numerous than may prove sufficient to
develop a single working, and the same system is at present
pursued in Sarawak. It is not at all surprising that those Chinese who
were forced to join in the insurrection under threats of the vengeance
of the kunsi, should look back with regret to the quiet days they
spent whilst cultivating the fertile soil around Stapok or Suñgei
Tañgah, and should now petition for permission to return to Sarawak,
which they do. However, the regulation I have before mentioned as
in force in the Sambas territories, prevents their leaving, as they
cannot readily gather together the six pounds sterling necessary, and
if they remove they like to do so in a body, but small parties of
fugitives occasionally arrive. It is worthy of remark, that a few days
after the insurrection, boats full of armed Chinese arrived from
Sambas to inquire whether Sarawak were not now in the hands of
their countrymen, and were proceeding up to join them, but were
easily driven back and destroyed by the Malays, who, in a cause
which they have at heart, are more than a match for treble their
number of Chinese.
 The Dutch authorities hearing of the rebellion in Sarawak sent
round a steamer with a party of soldiers to the assistance of the
authorities, but fortunately by that time all danger was passed, and
as soon as possible after the receipt of the news, Sir William Hoste,
who has always shown so intelligent an interest in Bornean affairs,
sailed for Sarawak in H. M. S. Spartan.
The news of the insurrection reached me after a very long delay,
as the first intimation I had of it was through a letter from Mr. Ruppell,
dated Singapore, as he had left Sarawak after the failure of the
Sunday attack, and I was kept in suspense for above a week, when
a more rapid sailing-vessel brought me the news that Sir James
Brooke had triumphed.
I went down to Sarawak by the first opportunity, and reached it in
July, to find everything proceeding apparently as if no insurrection
had occurred. Though the Malay town had been burnt down, yet the
inhabitants had soon recovered their energy, and had built their
houses again, which, though not so substantial as the former ones,
still looked very neat. Some things were missed in the landscape,
and the handsome government house with its magnificent library,
had disappeared; Mr. Crookshank’s and Mr. Middleton’s houses
were also gone, and, with the exception of the rajah, they were the
principal sufferers, as the Chinese had had no time to destroy either
the church or the mission-house, or the Borneo company’s premises,
and although they all suffered losses from pilferers, yet they were
comparatively trivial, when placed in comparison to that noble library,
which was once the pride of Sarawak.
I found, as I had expected, that the loss of worldly goods had had
little effect on the ruler of the country, who was as cheerful and
contented in his little comfortless cottage, as he had ever been in the
government house. His health, which before was not strong, had
been wonderfully improved by his great exertions to endeavour to
restore the country to its former state, and I never saw him more full
of bodily energy and mental vigour than during the two months I
spent at Sarawak in 1857. Everybody took their tone from their
leader, and there were no useless regrets over losses, and it was
amusing to hear the congratulations of the Malay chiefs, “Ah, Mr. St.
John, you were born under a fortunate star to leave Sarawak just
before the evil days came upon us.” Then they would laughingly
recount the personal incidents which had occurred to themselves,
and tell with great amusement the shifts they were put to for want of
every household necessary. There was a cheerfulness and a hope in
the future which promised well for the country.
There is at the present time a branch of the Tien Ti Hué,
established in our colony of Labuan, and last August its meeting-
house was discovered in the depths of the forest, but none of its
members were caught unlawfully assembling, though all its chief
officers are well known to the police, and as Labuan is a penal
settlement for Chinese convicts, the evil of permitting the secret
societies to continue is obvious.
The danger to be apprehended from the secret societies is that all
the members are banded together by the most solemn oaths, and
under the penalty of death, not to divulge one of its secrets, and to
aid and assist its members under every circumstance; to bear no
witness against them, whatever may be their crimes, to shield
fugitives from the laws of the country, and lastly to carry out the
orders of their chiefs, whatever may be the consequences. In
Singapore murdered men were formerly often found with the mark of
the secret societies upon them, and the ordinary operations of the
law are insufficient to meet these cases. In fact, when any of their
members are brought to trial, the wealth of these great societies is
sufficient to enable them to engage the services of the best
advocates, and to bribe most of the witnesses, and the Singapore
government has been thwarted in its efforts to put down the secret
societies, and to prevent pirate junks arming in the harbours, by the
technicalities of judges totally unacquainted with the condition of
eastern society, and by the perseverance of some of the lawyers
there, who consider it right to defend those curses to the country by
every means which are placed within their reach, by laws intended to
meet the requirements of a highly civilized people like the English,
and not a wild gathering from a hundred different countries, such as
is to be found in Singapore.
 Not to interrupt the narrative, I have not before noticed that during
the height of the insurrection, when the rebels had only been driven
from the town a few days, news came that several hundred Chinese
fugitives from the Dutch territories had crossed the borders towards
the sources of the left-hand branch of the Sarawak, and were
seeking the protection of the Sarawak government. Though
harassed by incessant work, the rajah did not neglect their appeal,
but immediately despatched trustworthy men, who safely piloted
them through the excited Dayaks, who thought that every man who
“wore a tail” ought now to be put to death. No incident could better
illustrate the great influence possessed by the rajah over the Dayaks
and Malays, and his thoughtful care of the true interests of the
country, during even the most trying circumstances.
 CHAPTER XIV.
THE MISSIONS: ROMAN CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT.

Arrival of the Roman Catholic Mission in Labuan—Signor Cuarteron

its head—Curious reports—His real history—Finding the Treasure
—Turns Priest—Ostensible object of the Mission—Not attempted
—Ease with which Captives could escape—No Inclination to do
so—Turned Mahomedans—Return of Signor Cuarteron—
Courtesy of the Brunei Government—Intentions of the Italian
Priest—Model Village—The Italian Priests—The Churches—Old
Battery—Regret at the withdrawal of the Roman Catholic Mission
—Protestant Mission at Sarawak—Present Condition—
Comparative Failure—Partial Success at Lingga and Lundu—Mr.
Chalmers and the Land Dayaks—Causes of his Influence—
Mistake in establishing the Mission at Kuching—The Reasons—
Objectionable Position for Schools—Proper Position for the
Mission—Suitable spots—Waste of Funds in Boats and
Plantations—Deplorable Secession of Missionaries—Reasons to
account for it—Present Management faulty—Mr. Gomez in Lundu
—Christian Dayaks warn the Government—Missionaries always
welcome in Sarawak—Important political effect—The Church
should be among the Dayaks—Suitable Men for Missionaries—
What the Head of a Mission should be—What he too often is, and
should not be—Five Recommendations to increase Efficiency—
Unoccupied Room for a great Increase of the Number of
Missionaries—Method of distributing them—Personal Character
—Dayaks an interesting Race—A Tribe half Mahomedans half
Pagans—Use of eating Pork—Districts unoccupied—Position of
the Missionary in Sarawak—The Bornean Mission an important
one.
I will first notice the Roman Catholic, as it has proved of the least
importance; and perhaps I shall best explain its complete failure by
giving an account of its chief.
In the spring of the year 1857, a Roman Catholic mission arrived
at our colony of Labuan. Its principal, Signor Cuarteron, a Spaniard,
soon became an object of interest, from the various reports that were
spread respecting his previous life, and from its becoming generally
known that he was the possessor of great wealth acquired by
extraordinary means. Strange stories were soon afloat, which would
have done more credit to his adventurous spirit than to his honesty: it
was asserted—and with truth—that the Manilla government had
once set a price upon his head; and absurd whispers were abroad
that he had been concerned in the slave-trade, and in buccaneering
pursuits.
I have often heard him tell his own story, and it is a curious one.
He had noticed a ship loading treasure in Hongkong harbour, and
accidentally heard afterwards that a wreck had been seen on a
certain shoal in the China seas which answered the description of
the treasure ship: he went there and recovered a large amount of
silver. He took it to Hongkong, and ultimately, there being no
claimants, received the whole. Some of his enemies in Manilla took
offence at his not bringing it to his own port, and accused him of
having committed acts of piracy during the time he was engaged
trading in the isles farther east. He heard of this charge while
cruising in the Sulu seas, passing the necessary time before the
treasure would be adjudged to him. Distrusting colonial justice, and
to avoid pursuit, he burnt his vessel and escaped in a native boat.
After some months all charges were withdrawn, and he returned to
Europe, and presenting himself before the Pope, explained his
desire to found and manage a mission in Borneo. He was permitted
to do so, and remained in Rome some years, in order to study, and
after visiting Spain and Manilla, at last reached Labuan, with four
Italian priests, two destined for the Bornean mission. I need not
comment on the singularity of some parts of this history.
He placed one of the priests at Brunei, the other at Labuan, while
he himself commanded a station at Gaya Bay. His principal object in
establishing the mission was, he said, to recover from slavery those
poor Christian brethren who, having been captured by pirates, had
been sold on the north-west coast of Borneo. They are there
doubtless, but he never appears to have made a sensible effort to
free them. There are three hundred in Brunei, all of whom could
have been obtained at 7l. a head, but I never heard of his paying but
for one old woman. He used to threaten the Brunei authorities with