A black person from there, Helen Johnson, took it first to California and taught the song to 'Billy' Birch [a performer with the San Francisco Minstrels troupe].

Delehanty and Hengler had theirs, too, and used to sing it as an encore with Bryant’s Minstrels, slipping on old dresses over their heads in the interim of the score.

It was a howling success from the start, and ‘Dan’ Bryant had printed the next day at the Herald office twenty thousand notices, which he gave to the company and others to scatter about the town wherever they went.

Horse shoes with a fly on them were put in odd and conspicuous places, even on the telegraph wires, and in no time the public was crazy over the act and 'business was great.'

[4] According to Bishop's account, he wrote "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me" during the Civil War while assigned to command a company of black soldiers.

Sung by Cool Burgess and Rollin Howard, melody by Frank Campbell, words by Billy Reeves, arr.