!Burgoo --- agk's diary 25 October 2025 @ 23:04 UTC --- written on GPD MicroPC in the kitchen --- Laura Wright (2022), *The Social Life of Words*, p. 168: Burgoo. Festive gathering (KY, MO, IL). a) social c1840s-, b) political c1850s-c1920s, c) business c1870s-? *Spirit of the Times* (1843), 13.234/2: Scott County will give a Free Public Barbecue.... Bill of Fare:...300 Gallons of first-rate Burgoo.... It will be expected that every gentleman who expects to eat Burgoo, will bring his cup and spoon. [*Spirit of the Times* was a popular upper-class New York City sporting magazine with a strong interest in horse-races and other sport in the Kentucky southwest frontier.] *Kentucky: A guide to the bluegrass state* (1939), p. 353-354: The old-fashioned barbecue was attended by people from the entire countryside, who gathered to hear fiery political speeches and consume quantities of burgoo. This delectable concoction is still regarded as a requisite to every large gathering in Kentucky; no political campaign can be launched...without this as the main dish. Burgoo is a rich, thick soup or broth made with beef, chicken, and vegetables. Huge cauldrons containing the highly seasoned mixture are fitted snugly over ditches in which wood fires have been built. Burgoo must be stirred continuously, and the process of making it requires 24 hours. [Good writers who would otherwise be unemployed in the Depression were hired by the Federal Writers Project, under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration to write American Guides containing historical driving tours of each state. This is from the Kentucky American Guide,] Alvin F. Harlow (1942), *Weep No More My Lady*, pp. 289-292: One old-timer specifies it must have squirrel, quail, pa't'ige, pheasant, wild turkey, field corn, barley, tomatoes, flour, celery, turnips, butter, cream, and -- well, a little dash of Bourbon wouldn't do it any harm. But the really top-ranking burgoo artists say firmly, only three meats. Everything is mixed together with plenty of water and cooked until the meat has all disintegrated and the whole has been reduced to a sort of paste, still nearly enough liquid to be inhaled out of a tin cup, though for those who shrink from making sounds like a pump emptying the last pint of water from an excavation, spoons are nearly always served with the cups. It is far better to eat than it sounds, and when it is served at a big public speaking..., it's just as free as branch water. The neighbors even used to send boys over with buckets to bring some home.... When Colonel Bennett H. Young and others were promoting the Louisville Southern Railroad in 1886, they strove to induce counties through which the line was projected to buy bonds. For two solid weeks Colonel Young, Judge Hoke, and others stumped well- to-do Anderson County, orating daily from 10 A.M. until nigh supper-time, with burgoo served to the crowd at noon. But those Anderson folk were Kentuckians and stubborn; though stuffed to the gills with burgoo, they didn't vote on the bonds. A year later, just to show that they were not susceptible to cajolery, but would do things at their own time and in their own way, they changed their attitude, and the road was eventually built." [The Louisville Southern ran from Louisville to Harrodsburg through Shelbyville and Lawrenceburg in 1888. It connected to the Cincinnati Southern four miles west of Harrodsburg. In 1889 it opened a branch from Lawrenceburg to Lexington, competing with the foreign-owned Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which owned millions of miles of track, millions of timber, iron and coal mining acres, and Birmingham, Alabama's steel mills.] [Southern railroad building in the 1880s was a speculative boom. Bond issues and northern and foreign investments raised hundreds of millions of dollars monthly. More than 180 new railroad companies, most small, started in the 1880s. Cotton and tobacco farmers and farm workers in the south, wheat farmers and silver miners in the west, and warehouse and railroad laborers nationwide fought railroad abuses with massive cooperatives, strikes, and elections. The movement brought together black and white, male and female, against greedy railroad and banking robber barons. It passed the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890.] Berry Craig, "Burgone?" *Kentucky Lantern* (2023): Burgoo...became so synonymous with Bluegrass State politics that a political rally which featured the concoction was called a "burgoo." There were big "burgoos" just about everywhere in Kentucky. Mayfield, the Graves County seat, hosted one of the largest on Oct. 17, 1931. The fete was for Ruby Laffoon of Madisonville, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate that lean Depression year. Same as legions of other old-time Kentucky solons, Laffoon believed that the shortest path to voters' hearts ran through their stomachs. To feed the Mayfield multitude, more than 800 gallons of burgoo were brewed in 52 iron kettles over smoky blazes that reminded the hometown *Messenger* newspaper of "Chicago after a certain historic cow had kicked over a lantern and set fire to two thousand acres of property." Dr. Bow Reynolds was the "master of affairs and chief cook," the paper said. (Nearly every Kentucky community of significant size boasted a local "burgooist"). Twenty *sous* chefs assisted the master.... Around 7,000 people, evidently from throughout the old western Kentucky First Congressional District, congregated for the free burgoo and to hear stump speeches from Laffoon and his running mate, Albert B. "Happy" Chandler. ...Everybody gathered on the old Mayfield High School football field, now Mayfield Middle School's back campus. But burgoo central was across town at the Jackson Purchase stockyards. Reynolds and his helpers started cooking the burgoo on the Thursday night before the Saturday rally. "Down the middle of a large covered stock pen is a long alley extending from one end to the other," a *Messenger* reporter explained.... "On either side are stalls, formerly occupied by livestock but now inhabited by peelers of potatoes, carrots, onions and various other vegetables. In the alley is a row of forty old-fashioned iron kettles. Some are as large as a barrel in circumference, and others are larger." ...The Mayfield burgoo was served in cardboard cartons with slaw and bread for sides. It took three hours to feed the multitude, according to *The Messenger.* [Until 1928 Kentucky Democrat and Republican parties competed. From the 1930s til 1968, New Deal Democrats ruled Kentucky, alternating power between two factions with identical policy but different patronage networks.] [Earle Clements controlled one faction. A.B. Chandler controlled the other. Chandler won Governorship in 1935 and 1955, and lost in 1963. His faction also controlled Governor Keen Johnson and Lieutenant Governor Harry Lee Waterfield.] [The Clements faction controlled Governors Clements (1947), Lawrence Wetherby (1951), Bert Combs (1959), and Edward Breathitt (1963).] RECIPES *Turf, Field and Farm* (1872), 15.177/3: It would take a much clearer head than I have just now to explain to you how burgoo is made, so in lieu of a careful analysis I offer you the terse recipe of Capt. Beard: "Put into a large iron kettle a little of everything and then boil slowly." [*Turf, Field and Farm* was a popular upper-class New York City sporting magazine that bought *Spirit of the Times* and continued its coverage of horse-races and other sport in the Kentucky southwest.] Marion Flexner (1949), *Out of Kentucky Kitchens,* p. 45: Tandy Ellis's Burgoo (8 to 20 servings) For many years Tandy Ellis, the Kentucky wit and raconteur, ran a daily column in the Louisville *Courier-Journal.* It was considered quite an honor to be invited to his sanctum (Rambeau Flats) at his home in Ghent, Kentucky. Once, when I published a recipe for burgoo which called for cabbage, he took exception and sent me his own version of this distinctive Kentucky dish. He wrote: I have been asked many times for my recipe for burgoo, especially for home use. I learned to make burgoo from Gus Jaubert of Lexington, and from several other old-time makers of Kentucky burgoo. I trailed with Gus Jaubert on one occasion when he went to Ohio and served 10,000 people. He had one kettle that held 600 gallons.... My recipe to serve at the home for about 8 people[^1] follows: [^1]: I disagree with Mr. Ellis's figures. I have served 20 people with this recipe. But if it is kept in the refrigerator it can be used for several days. 2 lbs. beef cut from the shank (soup bone included) 1/2 lb. lamb (baby lamb, not mutton) 1 medium-sized chicken 2 C diced potatoes Red pepper to taste (1 small pod, or more to taste) 3 C corn cut from the cob (young field corn is best) Salt and black pepper to taste 1 "toe" of garlic 2 C diced onions 2 C fresh butterbeans or 1 pkg. frozen butterbeans 3 carrots, diced 1 C minced parsley 2 green peppers, diced, seeds removed 2 C okra, diced or cut in rings 4 qts. water, or more if soup cooks too thick 12 tomatoes or 1 qt. can Put the beef, lamb, and dismembered chicken in a soup kettle with water, salt, black and red pepper. An old-fashioned iron kettle with a tight-fitting lid will do. Let this come to a hard boil, reduce the heat, and simmer about 2 hours with the lid on. Add potatoes, onions, and at intervals of 10 minutes, the butterbeans, carrots, green peppers. Then add corn and simmer for 2 hours or until mixture seems very thick. Watch carefully so that it does not stick. Add more water from time to time if necessary, but use as little as possible. Add okra and tomatoes and the garlic and let simmer another 1 1/2 hours, or until these vegetables too are done and blended with the others. Mr. Ellis insisted that the stew should cook for 7 hours, but 4 to 5 hours should be quite sufficient. As soon as soup is taken from stove, stir the parsley into it. This soup improves by standing and can be kept for a long time in the refrigerator. It is delicious when reheated. Serve with corn pones and follow it with a piece of pie -- a most satisfactory repast, Kentucky style. Keith McHenry (2012), *Hungry for Peace,* p. 121: Cooking for 100 is not much different from cooking for 10, except that most of the quantities are 10 times greater. However, for a few things this is not true. Spices and salt in particular should not just be multiplied when increasing the quantity of a recipe. Much less is needed in most dishes -- let your taste-buds be your guide. Some...groups have a "bottom-liner" who adds the spices so that the dishes are not over-spiced. Every once in awhile, a group will find that four or five volunteers are all adding pepper, salt, or another popular spice, and before long, the meal is too spicy.... Soup is one dish which lends itself to cooking at an event where people might be participating for several hours or even days. Upon arrival, set a pot of water to boil. While it is heating, start chopping up and adding vegetables.... Remove half the soup and serve it. With the remaining half, add more water and vegetables and keep cooking. This can go on indefinitely and becomes a never ending pot of soup.... Keep the food in a cool, dry place out of the sun and wash your hands before handling it.... Bacteria multiply most rapidly between 40F (4C) and 140F (60C), a range known as the Food Temperature Danger Zone; after three hours in this zone, bacteria may start to become a safety issue, particularly if the meal includes meat or dairy. It is possible to bring three buckets of water, one with soap, one with disinfectant and one for rinse and use 100 dishes to feed 500 people. Lillie Lustig, Claire Sondheim, & Sarah Rensel (1935), *The Southern Cookbook of Fine Old Recipes,* p. 6: From a handwritten copy by Mr. J.T. Looney of Lexington. He was Kentucky's most famous burgoo maker and it was for him that the [1932] Kentucky Derby winner Burgoo King was named. This is a recipe that takes many hands and some time to make. Ready in: 16 hrs Yields: 1200 gallons 600 lbs stew meat (no fat, no bones) 200 lbs stewing chicken (stewing hens) 2,000 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced 5 bushels cabbage, chopped 200 lbs onions, peeled and chopped 60 (3 quart) cans tomatoes (#10 cans) 24 (3 quart) cans tomato puree (#10 cans) 18 (3 quart) cans corn (#10 cans) 24 (3 quart) cans carrots (#10 cans) cayenne salt, to taste Tabasco sauce or A.1. Original Sauce Mix the ingredients a little at a time in water to cover in huge iron kettles. Cook slowly outdoors over wood fires for 15 to 20 hours (stew will thicken as it cooks). Use squirrels in season (a dozen squirrels to each 100 gallons). Robert Moss (2010), *Barbecue: the history of an American institution,* p. 114: The seasoning for Looney's burgoo was supposedly a closely guarded secret, but an Associated Press reporter published the formula in 1948 [6 years before Looney's 1954 death], listing red and black pepper, salt, Angostura bitters, Worchestershire sauce, curry powder, tomato ketchup, and sherry. [See Horace Ward (Apr 20 1948), "Kentucky in stew over real burgoo," *Kingsport (TN) News*, p. 10.] Robin Garr (accessed 2025), "Kentucky burgoo,* wine-lovers-page.com: This one is actually a real, old-fashioned recipe passed down from my grandfather, which I copied from old notes.... Iced tea and beer are traditionally served with Burgoo.... (Be sure to pronounce it with the accent on the first syllable).... Burgoo takes hours and must be started at dawn on the day of the feast. Set the big pot over the fire, fill it with two gallons of water, and add a 5-pound stewing hen and 2 pounds of boneless pork meat, all cut into good-size pieces. (Some traditional Burgoo procedures call for varmint meat, whatever's available from squirrel and rabbit to...possum).... While the meats are simmering -- which they must do for hours -- prepare the vegetables...: 1 pint of okra; 3 cups of chopped onion; 3 quarts of cubed raw potatoes; 3 quarts of fresh chopped tomatoes; chopped celery and celery leaves and parsley to taste; 1 teaspoon of sugar; salt and pepper to taste. When all these vegetables are done (which in Kentucky tradition means very thoroughly done indeed), add the next round of vegetables: 3 pints of fresh lima beans, 3 pints of fresh corn (sliced from 12 to 15 ears), 1/2 cup of minced green pepper and 1 average-sized onion, chopped. Continue simmering until these vegetables, too, are done, by which time the chicken and pork will have fallen into shreds. Add four slices of crisp, crumbled cooked bacon, and season to taste with Worchestershire Sauce, Louisiana Red-Hot sauce, and more salt and pepper. Serve in large bowls with French bread on the side. THE COOKS *Duluth Tribune,* 15 August 1884 (reprinted in Laura Wright (2022), *The Social Life of Words,* p. 172, 176): 'If you should go out to Kentucky about this time', said the old Judge to a Washington correspondent of the *Philadelphia Record,* 'you would probably be invited to a burgoo'.... You go out to a corner of the woods, where the thick underbrush has been carefully cut away and where there are trees enough for shade but not enough for gloom, and there you sit and play poker and smoke the finest tobacco in the world and drink oily ten-year-old sour mash, and sniff the delightful aroma of the burgoo until along in the afternoon, when the...[black cooks] pronounce the burgoo ready and ladle it out to you in big bowlfuls.... You take -- or rather...[they] take -- a gigantic kettle and hang it over a roaring fire.... Then the waiters with shining, smiling black faces and snow-white jackets and aprons, bear great bowlfuls of the toothsome stew through the grove... until everybody has actually had enough. Then... [they] satisfy themselves.... A few weeks later... [they] hold their camp meeting on the same spot. Alvin F. Harlow (1942), *Weep No More My Lady,* pp. 289-292: Gus Jaubert, a skinny Lexington Frenchman -- to Kentucky he was never Zho-behr' as his father would have pronounced it, but just plain Gus Jawbert -- was the state's chief burgoo maker in the latter nineteenth century and even into the twentieth. He officiated at political rallies, picnics, religious encampments, and big Bluegrass farm and stock sales. If we are to believe those who knew him, he had one colossal kettle that held 700 gallons, another 300. [A false story widely told was he] compounded a mess of it for [Confederate] General [John] Morgan and his hungry cavalrymen...during the Civil War ["at a time when food was so scarce that all men but the officers had to eat blackbirds" -*Kentucky* (1939)]; just grabbed up what this and that soldier brought in from his foraging -- chickens, ducks, corn, potatoes, wild greens, peppers, et cetera. Gus's meats were lean beef, chicken, and rabbit. When he died [in 1920], Jim Looney, also of Lexington, succeeded him as No. 1 burgoo maker to the state. Robert Moss (2010), *Barbecue: the history of an American institution,* p. 111: Jaubert was born in New York in 1840, the son of French immigrants, and moved to Louisville...when he was four years old.... At age fourteen young Gus was hired by a pitmaster to turn the spits at a Know-Nothing rally in Hopkinsville.... In April 1861, Jaubert enlisted as a private in the Confederate army [infantry, not cavalry]. After the war...he opened the Magnolia Saloon on Mill Street in Lexington. He soon became involved with a Captain Beard and Jake Hostetter, two veterans who had already established themselves before the war as noted Kentucky barbecue men. Hostetter...cooked barbecue for the big political rallies of the antebellum era.... Jaubert began cooking with them for stump speeches. In 1866, Senator George H. Pendleton of Ohio traveled to Kentucky to make a speech in support of James B. Peck, a Lexington lawyer running for Congress. For the occasion, Gus Jaubert decided to serve...a massive pot of burgoo.... In a newspaper interview, Jaubert...explained that burgoo originated as a Welsh stew that gained popularity in the British maritime service and was brought by sailors to Virginia and other southern states. As Jaubert tells it, burgoo was once made from a shank of beef, chicken, corn, tomatoes, onions, and bacon. In his version, he eliminated the bacon, increased the amount of beef and chicken, and added potatoes as a thickener.... Jaubert tended the pits at so many events for the state Democratic Party that he took to bragging that he had "made more Democratic votes in the South than any other living man." John Aughey (1888), "The southern barbecue," Reprinted in *Tupelo* (1905), pp. 397-400: In ordinary times Uncle Jake Hostetter may be an humble citizen in Lexington. Now..., he rules supreme in the cooking lot.... The thousands who sniff the odors, and look longingly toward the incense arising from the fires, are wandering through the park wondering when dinner will be ready.... Even the president of the day, Hon. W.C.P. Breckenridge [U.S. Rep. (D) 1885-1895], recognizes the authority. The speaking has commenced from a stand in the park, and somebody wants to know when the orators are going to stop for dinner. "Just when Uncle Jake Hostetter says the mutton is done to a turn," replies Mr. Breckenridge, and another statesman is let loose to say a great many pretty compliments about Kentucky, and a very few words about national politics. The Blue Grass country has contributed to this occasion three great cauldrons. Whatever useful purpose they may have subserved about hog killing time, they are now doing duty in the manufacture of 900 gallons of burgoo.... The fires were lighted under the vats...and the burgoo has been steadily boiling ever since. This boiling necessitates heavy stirring, and...the old expert who presides over each kettle comes...[to Uncle Jake] for due respect and glorification. "You might not think it," says the old grey-headed Kentuckian whose eye is on the largest of the pots where 500 gallons of burgoo are bubbling, "but a piece of mutton suet as large as my hand thrown into the pot would spoil the whole mess. That shows you that there are some things you can't put in burgoo. Sometimes out in the woods we put in squirrels and turkeys, but we didn't have any this time. I think they've got a leetle too much pepper in that pot down there, so if you don't find what you get is just right come to me and I'll fix you up with some of this." As the meat boils from the bones the latter are raised from the bottom of the kettle by the paddle and thrown out. Gradually vegetables lose all distinctive form and appearance and the compound is reduced to a homogeneous liquid, about the consistency of molasses. "Burgoo ought to boil about 14 hours," says the old expert, "we've only had about 8 for this, but I think they'll be able to eat it." ...Uncle Jake...goes over and looks at the burgoo, and consults with the old expert. Then he glances over the fence at the long tables, and finds that two wagon loads of bread have been hewn into rations and strewn along the pine boards. The tin cups, 3,000 of them, are hurriedly scattered with the bread. From all parts of the grounds there is a sudden but decorous movement toward the tables, and the orator on tap runs off a peroration and stops.... Gus Jaubert and a dozen butchers, with their long, sharp knives, shave [the mutton from the barbecue pits] and cut and deal out with all the speed that long practice has given them. The burgoo, steaming hot in new wooden buckets, is brought in, and as the attendants pass along the lines the hungry people dip out cupfuls and sip it as it cools. There are no knives or forks. Nobody asks for or expects them. Neither are there spoons for the burgoo. The great slices of bread serve as plates for the meat. There are 5,000 people eating together, and all busy at once.... All types and classes of Blue Grass people are facing those tables, and handling their bread and meat and burgoo with manifestations of appetite which tell of the relish of the fare. SIDE DISHES Marion Flexner (1949), *Out of Kentucky Kitchens,* p. 64, 166: Kentucky Coleslaw (With boiled mayonnaise) (4 to 6 servings) In the Deep South a boiled mayonnaise made of eggs, butter, vinegar, cream, etc., is often preferred to that with an oil foundation. This mayonnaise is especially delightful with sliced cold tomatoes, in potato salad, ...or mixed with shredded cabbage to make this delectable Kentucky Coleslaw. Shred 1 small head of green cabbage very, very fine. There should be about 2 cupfuls. Put in a bowl of ice water and let stand 20 minutes. Drain, pat dry in a towel, and mix with a dressing made as follows: 2 well-beaten eggs 1 T flour (rounded) 1/4 C apple cider vinegar 3 T sweet or sour cream 1/2 t dry mustard 1 t salt, or more to taste 1 or 2 T sugar (to taste) 1 T butter or olive oil 1/4 C water To the well-beaten eggs add flour, mustard, salt and sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy. Slowly add water mixed with vinegar. Pour into saucepan, add butter and set over a low flame, stirring constantly. Let cook until thick. The mixture will lump, but do not be discouraged. Remove pan from stove and *beat* and *beat* and *beat* the mixture until smooth once more. Add cream and correct the seasoning. Cool. Mix with the shredded cabbage. Serve with fish, ham, roast pork, or any dish where slaw is indicated. This slaw should be a moist one. Cream Corn Pones (6 small pones) 1 C unsifted white corn meal 1/2 t salt 1/4 C thick sweet cream 1 T melted lard for skillet 1/2 C boiling water 1 T melted lard or butter 1 t baking powder Put corn meal in a bowl. Get the water-ground meal if you would have your pones taste the way ours do in Kentucky. Don't try to make this recipe with yellow meal. Add salt to meal and stir in the boiling water. The mixture will resemble dry crumbs. Cover the bowl and set in the refrigerator an hour or so to chill. Just before you are ready to make your pones, bring your corn meal mixture into the kitchen. Be sure that your oven is hot by this time -- 450F is about right. Add to meal mixture the 1 tablespoon of melted lard or butter, and baking powder mixed with the sweet cream. Stir well. Now the mixture should be a paste, firm enough to handle. Take heaping tablespoons of this paste and form them into croquette-like shapes, placing them in a preheated iron skillet in which there is another tablespoon of melted lard or butter. Then pat the tops with your fingers to flatten them slightly. Put pones in the oven and leave them there for half an hour. By this time they should be brown, and cooked on the inside. If not, turn them over and let them stay in the stove an extra 5 minutes. Serve them piping hot with beans or greens or soup or salad, and always allow at least two to each person. As with biscuits, you always "butter 'em while they're hot." These pones are equally good made with thick sour cream. Use same amount as you would of sweet cream, but substitute 1/4 teaspoon of soda for the baking powder. Ernest Matthew Mickler (1988), *Sinkin Spells, Hot Flashes, Fits and Cravins,* p. 7, 10, 39: Aunt Sarah's Stepped on Corn Bread Alabama ground cornmeal Enough hot water to make a mush Plenty bacon drippings Make pone. Bake 2 or 3 hours at 250 degrees. Aunt Sarah said, "Careful you don't hurt your foot." Connetta Boyle's cole slaw 1 head cabbage, shredded 1 onion, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 1 3-oz can pimientos 1/2 cup bees' honey 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup cooking oil 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp salt Mix together the cabbage, onion, pepper, and pimiento. Combine remaining ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Pour dressing over the cabbage mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 3 days. Careful when you take the lid off, cause sometimes it'll smell like old feet. Serves 10. Felicia Batten's sweet fried pies 2 cups sifted self-rising flour 1/4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 2 Tbsp Crisco 1 egg yolk 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup evaporated milk Canned fruit (apples, peaches, or pears) Into the flour, baking powder and salt cut in the Crisco. Mix egg yolk, milk and sugar then add to the flour mixture. With a rolling pin roll out a quarter inch on a floured surface. Cut in 4-inch squares. Spoon on a little bit of fruit, remembering that you are going to fold them point to point, so they'll come out like triangles. Fold over the fruit and seal the edges with a fork. Repeat til all dough is gone. Fry in a skillet with about an inch of very hot shortening until brown. You have to watch the ladies with these. They go easily into their pocketbooks for later. Delicious with a glass of milk. UNSOLVED MYSTERIES I'd like to know if burgoo was associated with particular a) social classes, b) racial politics, c) partisan positions. I've read of burgoo's association with railroad startup founders and boosters Col. Young and Judge Hoke in 1886 and with the soon-to-be assassinated enemy of the monopolist L&N railroad Governor Goebel in 1899. A burgoo seems like an expensive extravagance. Tales generally include an accounting of how many chickens and beef cows went in the cauldrons (pretty much every time you saw an "..." ellipse above, that was what I cut). Burgoos were hosted for candidates in the walnut grove around Stone Wall horse farm's opulent plantation house (between Midway and Versailles in Woodford County), at private horse tracks, and by Kentucky Colonels at the Derby. Are burgoos vote-buying, like the mob giving away stolen Christmas turkeys during the Depression? Were they ever a demonstration of political power built on the strength of popular mobilization, or always expressions of economic power? Social burgoos at the turn of the century were also at gatherings of tobacco farmers, public auctions, and estate sales. Public auctions like tobacco auctions, or like foreclosed farm auctions? By Buck Duke's monopolists who drove so many farms to foreclosure in those days, or by the Planters' Protective Association? Duke's Trust, as sole buyer, forced growers to sell tobacco below the price to grow it. The PPA held out for a higher price, and their 10,000 night riders beat and whipped growers who sold low, burned their farms and destroyed their fields, and blew up non-PPA tobacco warehouses. Fancy New York sporting magazines and other high- class sources were delighted by burgoo's performance of rugged frontier spirit. These may be some of the best early sources only because Kentucky was such a late adopter of public education, so nobody else could write about the burgoos they went to. Black subordinates staffed many a burgoo pot. Did they host burgoos in which they were not subordinate during the 5,000-person strong celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation in Louisville in Dec 1865, mixed-race agricultural radical political conventions in the 1880s, elite black Fabian political events at the turn of the century, Lincoln Independent Party politics in the 1920s, or cooperative and self-help society political events? For what it's worth, W.C.P. Breckenridge was a "New Departure" man who consistently stood for admitting blacks to full civil rights, including the right to testify against whites, even as he served in the Democratic Party, which stood for white supremacy. Democrats put on burgoos. Did Republicans? Were burgoos associated with a particular wing or faction of Democrats?