It is interesting that much of the 'Nicht At Eeenie' 1932 material, including unusual musical transcripts, turns up again in 1942 in the Montgomeries' 'Scottish Nursery Rhymes' collection.

In 1992 I got in a care home in Stonehouse
Auntie Mary had a canary
Up the leg of her drawers
It whistled for oors and frightened the Boers
And won the Victoria Cross.

A 1993 newspaper account of our current king's visit to a ceilidh on Islay tells that he he 'recited his party piece learned from his Scottish grannie' - exactly the same text as I got in Stonehouse.
I give five pages to variants of Auntie Mary and her canary in my book 'Doh Ray Me, When Ah Wis Wee'.

I think there was a lot of discussion awhile ago on Mudcat about another apparent Boer War song 'Hold him down, you Swazi Warrior'