Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 64, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 March 1912 — An Old Time Favorite. [ARTICLE]

An Old Time Favorite.

Lafayette Journal. Muncie is always to the front with a claim when honor of any kind is being passed around. Muncie now claims the authorship of the celebrated “hound song,” which was supposed to have been born in Missouri. The Muncie claim is to the effect that a small boy, years ago, wrote the song as a protest to the abuse heaped on his “houn dawg.” But Muncie is slow. This song was not discovered in the Ozark mountains and it was not born in Muncie. Old residents of Lafayette testify that it was a favorite in this part of the state during the old canal days. The average canal driver had a hound to keep him company. As he trudged along behind his team he would whistle, or sing, the song;— Every time I come to town The boys start kickin’ my dowg aroun’; Hakes no difference if he is a houn’, They gotta quit kickin’ my dawg aroun’. This song was said to be the production of a man named Kendrick, who lived between Lafayette and Delpho and who was a character of the canal days. He was reputed to be the best fiddler in the state and he was in demand at the dances. He had many tunes in his repertoire, which he claimed as his own, and the “houn’ song” was one of them. Muncie should go a little slow about claiming credit for musical achievements.