The phrase "Root, hog, or die" appeared in the United States' Telegraph (Washington, D.C.) as early as Sept. 5, 1827.

II

Plain Dealer (Cleveland, O.), March 13, 1844:

"AN OUTPOURING.--A love sick swain, in order more fully to ascertain the mind of his 'ladye [sic] love,' closes a letter with the following verse:

If you was a dog, and I was a hog,
A rootin' away in the yard;
If the old man should say, 'drive that old hog away,'
Would you worry or bite very hard?

"A sentiment so sublime deserves an answer, and we venture to suppose that the lady said in reply:

When I are a dog and you are a hog,
A wandering out from the sty,
I'll not breathe a bark, but merely remark,
'Go it, Porkie! ROOT, HOG, OR DIE!'"


III

Marysville [O.] Tribune, Apr. 16, 1856:

"JOE BROWN, the Champion Jig Dancer and original 'Old Bob Ridley' who stands without a rival in the world, will introduce his admired song of 'Root Hog, or Die,' and introduce his never-to-be-forgotten Dance of 'Essence of Old Virginny.'"


For "Essence of Old Virginny" (largely the same tune as "Root, Hog"):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svLNGe2iS_o