The information in the Frank C Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore supports the these that "Lubly Fan" was a direct antecedant of "Buffalo Gals". The former was copyrighted in 1844 by Cool White, whose real name was John Hodges. The Bowery Girls version was in the Christy Minstresl repertory. The Buffalo Gals version was copyrighted in 1848 with no composer or author listed. It took off as a hugely popular play-party song and many of the verses offer specific dancing instructions. Its popularity at community socials would seem to indicate that hookers were not the source of inspiration, but rather a town name that fit the meter. It would also seem to predate the attempted bison extermination on the Great Plains. The cowboys likely brought it with them from back east. The Frank C Brown text that it may have been inspired by an old English singing game "Pray, Pretty Miss" which also involves a bouncy rhythm and an invitation to dance and adds that "any place-name may be substituted for Buffalo. It cites versions with "Alabama Gals", "Round Town Gals", "Down Town Girls" and says that the tune is basically the same as an old German music hall song,"Im Grunewald, im Grunewald ist Holzauktion". Botkin in "treasury of American Folkore" says that he had been "told that this song originated on the old Erie Canal and landed early on the Mississippi in the keel-boat days." He doesn't offer any specific evidence but it is plausible and Wally will be pleased by this. Botkin also includes a couple of verses from the upper Mississippi called "Corn-Fed Girls" and a long story of the supposed origins of that particular text. Versions in "Cowboy and Western Songs" by Austin and Alta Fife include some pretty detailed dance instructions, e.g "break and bounce with the couple on the right, and swing four hands around" and "partenr with the left and the left hand round- Lady in the corner and seven hands round" etc. Vance Randolph in "Ozark Folksongs" references a "Cincinnati Girls" version and ancludes one of the sweeter gentler sets of lyrics:

I says, my angel, would you lide to walk,
Like to walk, like to walk,
And have with me a little talk,
And shake those feet I view?

And would you like to take a dance,
Take a dance, take a dance,
Quadrille or polka fresh from France,
They're all alike to me.

For I will love you all my life,
All my life, all my life,
And you shall be my happy wife,
If you will marry me.

rich r