I think there's interesting hidden historical and moral value in this song: I haven't been able to confirm that H.S. Thompson ever visited the west, but if the wisdom of the versions one generation later is true ("miner 49er") then yes! And if he did, then that makes my case 100% foolproof.

My case? I believe I have strong evidence that this 1863 song was written as a description of an actual drowning, among hundreds or even thousands who drowned in a series of 1861-62 superstorms in the west that were called the Noachian Deluge.

That would explain its timing during the war, the final line about drowning (abnormal situation to drown due to wet weather) and its minstrel references to Digby Pine. (Slaves were fed smoked herring from Digby Nova Scotia, because it was cheap protein, and it came packed in pine boxes the size of a large shoe.)

Please use that link to let me know your comments, since I don't know that I'll notice them here--not a regular Mudcatter.