Poem accompanying Ella Watson portrait:
Some boys in Deadwood asked again:
“You knew her once, didn’t you, Ben?”
“Well, Yes” I said. That’s all I said
Then rode on down toward lead.
The wind blew through these Black Hills flowers.
One Spring day. The sun shone on our heads.
I’ll pack my Colts and board a train
For old Wyoming once again.
To even up the score for Kate.
No man can change his fate.
Snow blows through the Black Hills towers
But did I say: “The sun shone on our heads?”
Lynching ballads became popular folk songs. Some were written in advance and handed out at the lynching. Some ballads imparted moral lessons; others simply gloried in the event.