BTW, the version posted by Joe appears word for word as DeNoyer sang it, a decade previous to Schwedland. As it is highly improbable that two singers would sing it exactly this same way, even if they learned it from the same source originally, I must conclude that Schwedland's source was not just DeNoyer, but the Smithsonian recording made of DeNoyer.

In particular, I believe the phrase "gord stick" was a mental blip arising from saying "goad stick" while thinking "Gordon" (the protagonist's surname). I don't believe it is a regional pronunciation of "goad" or has any other meaning in a lumbering/ox-driving sense, and its meaning "an instrument of gaming" hardly applies here.

I find this song curious in that the big event--the race itself--is not described in progress. The Peters version above, though obviously condensed, bridges over the race gracefully, while the DeNoyer/Schwedland version makes an abrupt jump, as if a verse or two have been omitted. Obviously, the whole race couldn't be covered, as this would spoil the surprise at McCluskey being quite behind when he expected to be far ahead, but are there versions which describe the start of the race (and some obstacle Gordon encounters, that being de rigeur)?