TX Rebel,
The military would not have been using lever action rifles, but those of the bolt action design. It could possibly be representative of the report, open, and close of the bolt.
However, a "Hullabaloo" would seem to be closely linked to the report of a field gun, much like the "Spirit of '02". The "caneck, caneck" indicative of the breech thrown open (spent case ejection) and closed (after loading a fresh shell). Then, the "Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck" sequence begins again.
Never mind the mule being blind, just load the god dammned wagon.