Yes, it's all very fishy. It was based on the testimony of one person, years after the fact, who only heard her father sing the song and tell of the song's contexts--she never witnessed it in any of those contexts. Moreover, the collector (somehow) knew that the tune he gave was not "the original," after it was pointed out to him that his tune was "Buffalo Gals."

In today's world, this would not have been published in any reputable folklore journal.