Long John is “rigged up” in combination underwear, also known as long johns. Mummers usually borrowed underwear that was too large so they could stuff it with pillows in an effort to disguise their identity. Long John has his foot on a salt fish bucket which was likely used as a noisemaker. Mummers often carried a stick and a bucket or pot to beat like a drum. “With his underwear stuffed and his trapdoor undone,” is a line from The Mummer’s Song (1983) by Simani. The song and video describes the visit by the Mummers to a typical Newfoundland outport home and can be viewed at
