The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-05-18
FROGS.

y. BARNARD D6CEStdIy'
Frogs.
The Providence Journal has a New
port correspondence who has been OBJ
servantly wooing the frogs to sit for
their portraits to his graphic pen.
His pictures are too numerous to be
all copied; but q specimen or two
from his delicious gallery must be
given to our readers. Here they are:
The bark of dog can be heard at
distance of eighteen hundred yards;
the voice of man at thousand yards,
and the croak of frog at nine hun
dred. Taking the difference in size
into consid Grafton, the frog has alto
gether the best lungs. The dog sell
dom barks at night except when the
moon shines. The frog is not so par
ticular, and his notes may be termed
par excellence, "the voice of the
night" They are certainly peculiar.
The gnat huns In A, the owl boots In
B, the house fly buzzes In ESQ mu-
sicians say, / have no ear for music,
and cannot speak of my own knowl-
edge, but if this be so, then the notes
Of the frog must be G sharp-that of
the American bull frog, the giant frog
| of the Southern sWamps, foot and a
\ half from tip to tip, excepted. his
croak is indescribable. In only one
instance have | seen it set to words,
and then it was skillfully done by
Neal in his Charcoal Sketches"
L can make shoe, Jimmy Drew, as well
And better too, Jimmy Drew. and better
10000. 90.
/ quote from memory, perhaps mac
curately, for have not seen a copy
of that work in eight and thirty or for
ty years; but cannot have gone far
astray. The frogs were too much for
Tim, who had to quit spot where his
prosecutors reminded him so often Of
his name and trade.
Graphic tales, like that of Tim
Drew, led me to an intimate acquain-
lance with frogs, and in time | learned
to set up the skeleton of many burly
bull task that frequently employed
my idle hours In school boy days. It
was easily performed, and in this way.
The first thing, as Mrs. Glass said Of
the hare, was to catch the frog. A
blow would bring him down, but that
would also break his bones, and so be
was taken alive. An urchin's jack.
knite let out the current of his life.
He dies hard, but there is an end to
all things, even to the gesticulation
/ of a frog-if you do not attach him TO
q galvanic battery. Now gently
straighten his distorted limbs, swathe
him tenderly In a rag, and put him
over the fire to boil till his snowy flesh
is ready to drop from the bone. This
done, and it cannot be over done, draw
out the bones, wipe them dry, set up
the feet, then the legs, following with
the other parts, and uniting them all
at the joints with glue. Throw little
action into the figure as the work pro-
crosses, with the head stretched for
ward; raise one arm, holding a scythe
of lath (the blade over his back, clasp
| the other hand round little wooden
hour glass. and you have pretty good
figure of old Father Time-a little out
Of proportion in the lower limbs, and
with, perhaps, head little too fat
to be taken for Caucasian; but for
| all that, quite human enough to arrest
attention, and give some coloring to a
belief In the development of the hu-
man species, from the tadpolc to the
ape and gorilla, and thence by easy
stages to the perfected being in the
| Godlike form of mana theory that
has found some confirmation In the
alleged discovery in Africa of a race
of small men with tails, apparently a
cross between q man and monkey,
but, no doubt, one of our own species
"a chrysalis, so to speak, to be devel-
oped In time, and to be recognized
hereafter as the genus homo. What
field of conjecture is thus opened to
usI But dare not pause to survey
it, for might 60 on, step by step, to
be left, at last, in doubt whether
Macaulay's New Zealander has yet to
have his day Of pastime as 8 tadpole,
or has already Saken up his line of
march for London bridge.
A frog is not overburdened with
brains, and it is greatly to his credit
that he invariably does his best to pro.
teot the little that has fallen to his
lot. IF cornered, and one makes a
feint of striking him with cane, he
will cringe, draw down his head, blinks
his eyes, and puts up both his fore
legs, like hands, to defend his oceiput
repeating the action eve ry time blow
is expected. As a general thing his
life is calm and serene. He is an
early riser, and is equally addicted to
staying out late o nights" making
up for the loss Of rest BY basking il
the noontide sun, and preparing fol
the nocturnal concert, in which all his
relatives take a part. He 10 very cir,
cumspeot, is not toady, and one new
err hears of frog under a harrow
: Always well dressed in rather brigh
colors, and having the appearance o.
one fresh from the bath, he is the
: most gallant fellow in the world at the
Z proper season; and were it not fol-
cruel boys, rapacious pixies, anC
D snakes in the grass" the pleasures
e Of his summer life would compensate
5 in part for death-like sleep durinl
/ the winter solstice