At the start of the music, typically a fast dance song in 2/4 or 4/4 time, the dancers (who were already seated in a semicircle) stood and began clapping and slapping themselves in time ("patting Juba").
It was written by Dan Emmett in 1861 as a sequel to the immensely popular walkaround "Dixie".
Ben and Lew Snowden were only small children when Dan Emmett and Bryant's Minstrels first performed the now-famous walkaround in New York City.
In April 2010, Oregon Public Broadcasting sponsored a benefit event at Oaks Amusement Park called "Cookies with Cookie Monster", featuring a walkaround plush Cookie Monster.