“Mullin’s Boom,” a folksong first performed in 1823 by the inmates of the Newcastle jail, and thought to be so politically subversive that it was banned by law not longer afterwards, will be brought to life again, for it’s bicentennial, by a new performing troupe, Character Matters Miramichi. Performances are scheduled at NBCC Miramichi (May 13 @ 7pm and May 14 @ 2pm and 7pm). Tickets are $20, available at the door (cash only).
The song itself detailed an altercation between local lumbermen, and a group of loggers from Maine, along the Southwest Miramichi, sometimes referred to as the “Battle of Musha-Whack.” The local workers accused their American counterparts of intruding, and cutting on their territory. As might be expected then, the script takes a humourous tone, as a set of locals – Frank Gleason, John Burroughs, and Michael Darby – escape the Newcastle jail on Halloween Night and flee to the Southwest, where they find work with the logging crews of Robert Doak. Trying to earn their way with saw and axe, little do they realize that the industrious Thomas Boies has sent Ron Alden, Jerry Garfield and Teddy Gordon, recently arrived from Maine, to cut for him on the very same ground. Confusion and excitement abound, as these two bands of woodsmen face off in a bout that was best captured in verse.