Jim,
You are perfectly entitled to your opinions and I am perfectly entitled to mine.

I had no problem finding p74 for free. The climbing boys and what they did are as usual a total red herring to the description of this song and I assure you I am 100% right on this one. No opinions needed!
If you can't find p74 you'll just have to take my word for it, or wait till I come online again and I'll copy and paste it and email it to you.

The difference between our researches amounts to the fact that you are basing your opinions largely on the study of oral tradition. I am basing mine on a very wide study of many thousands of broadside ballads and the history of popular music in the centuries prior to 1900, as well as a deep study of oral tradition which can well match yours if not surpass it.