971. Starving to Death on My Government Claim (Traditional American)

This nineteenth century song of the pioneers is also known as "Lane County Bachelor", "Greer County Bachelor" and "The Alberta Homesteader". It tells of the harsh conditions that greeted early settlers in Kansas, though it has, of course, been adapted to various other parts of the American West. The Homestead Act of 1862 offered 160 acres of land previously owned by the railroads to homesteaders who agreed to live on the land for five years. Drawn west by the promise of free, fertile land, pioneer settlers started arriving in Kansas in 1869, but they found life more difficult than expected as the land was dry and not as fertile as they had been promised. This song, possibly written by a pioneer called Frank Baker to the tune of "The Irish Washerwoman", became popular throughout the west.