Early use of "phatt" (1873)

[Sam Clements]

Using Newspaperarchive, we find:

3 June, 1955  _Bennington(VT) Evening Banner_  8/5

(This article is referring to Copies of "Josh Billings' Farmer's Alliminax."  One was 1873, one was 1878.

<<Here is a sample of what she found in the 1873 copy:
   
    Joel Briggs a peddlar was, 
    A peddlar of renown,
   He delt in tin ware and sl(?)ich,
   And druv frum town to town.

   "Once his hoss had been a nag,
    A troiting nag at that,
    But now he was a pelter,
   An enny thing but phatt.>>

Now--I have a question.  What's the dialect that 'Josh Bilings' stuff represents?  Black?  Poor white?  I'm sure that I could find it, but others here surely know the answer, and it's getting late.  

Sam Clements