by the end of 1882, riley's finances began improving dramatically, thanks largely to the income from his performances. during 1883 he began writing his "boone county" poems under the pseudonym "benjamin f. johnson of boone". they were almost entirely written in dialect and emphasized topics of rural life during the early nineteenth century, often employing nostalgia and the simplicity of country life as elements. "the old swimmin'-hole" and "when the frost is on the punkin'" were the most popular and helped earn the entire series critical acclaim. the topics were popular with readers, reminding many of them of their childhood. merrill, meigs & company (later renamed bobbs-merrill company) approached riley to compile the poems into a book. riley agreed and his first book was published in august 1883, titled "the old swimmin'-hole and 'leven more poems". the book's popularity necessitated a second printing before the end of the year. during this period riley determined that his most popular poems were those on topics of rural life, and he began to use that as a common theme throughout his future work.