Lost Indian
The legend behind the tune
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There is a legend about the tune Lost Indian that goes back to the early days of the riverboats on the Mississippi River.
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Legend has it that there was a fiddler who used to play for dances on a particular riverboat. One day during the spring, the river flooded and the water became filled with debris. As the fiddler was playing the tune, unnamed at the time, he saw an Indian struggling to survive the raging waters by clinging to a log in the raging torrent. The Indian knew he was losing his fight against the river and gave his death wail - a high pitched scream that could be heard by the people on the riverboat and especially the fiddler. The fiddler watched the Indian drown and die.
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The fiddler was so affected by what he has witnessed that he went mad. They say that after that the only tune he could play was the one he been playing as he witnessed the untimely death. But he added the Indian's death wail.
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There are as many variations on the tune as there are fiddlers.
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But you can always hear the Lost Indian
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Today the tune is known as "Lost Indian" and a prominent part of the tune is the addition of the high pitched wail which is accomplished by sliding up high on the e string at certain points in the tune.
The tune has traveled far and wide across the United States and Canada, across the ocean, and for as many tribes as there are Indians, and for as many fiddlers as there are fiddlers, there are variations on the tune.
Some of this onformation was found in Ira W. Ford's book "Traditional Music of America."
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"Lost Indian" Hear the tune.
We play this tune as well as other old time American favorites on our album The RiverSings Her Songi> You can find the free download for this tune and others at Mp3.com. Have a listen to Tom Joad as well. He has plays this tune on banjo.
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