I just remember the 1st verse of a shanty:

I never see the like since I've been born,
when a big buck nigger with the sea boots on
says: Johnny, come down to Hilo, poor old man.
Oh wake her, o shake her,
oh wake that girl with the blue dress on,
for Johnny is gone to Hilo, poor old man.

Hilo [pron. Eelo] is the the once famous Peruvian salpetre port.