Annotation:Lost Indian (5)
X:1 T:Lost Indian [5] M:6/8 L:1/8 B:Ford - Traditional Music in America (1940) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:A A,|A,CE AcB|A2A AFE|A,CE AcA|B3 B3| e3 c3|d3 f3|efe dcB|A3B A2:| |:efg efg|a2g a3|efg efg|b2a c'2b| e'2d' e'2e|f2e fag|efe dcB|A2B A2:|]
LOST INDIAN [5]. American, Jig or Quadrille. A Major. Standard or AEae tunings (fiddle). AABB. Ira Ford's story of the title, filled with his usual narrative hyperbole, is as follows: "A steamboat plying on the Mississippi river anchored at a landing owing to the swollen waters, which were filled with driftwod and logs, making it too difficult to navigate. One evening, while waiting for the flood waters to subside, the passengers were dancing to the music of a fiddler entertaining them with the tunes and songs of the day. Suddenly, above the sound of the raging river, a quivering wail ending in a series of whoops came eerily across the water, and out of the impenetrable darkness into the radius of the boat's light floated a great log. On it was an Indian struggling to keep his balance. The wild cry echoed once again over the river and then the swirling currents caught the log, and the unfortunate redskin disappeared in a mighty plunge under the boiling waters. This tragedy made such a lasting impression on the fiddler's mind that he later became mildly insane. Thereafter the only tune that he would play was the one interrupted by this harrowing experience, in which he incorporated the wails and shouts of the lost Indian" (Ford, 1940).
