Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1881-09-10

His heAd 10 not only SOHO. put ieVel.
He can take care Of himself fully as
we'll as the calf in the pasture or the
boy in the old skiff. Those who catch
him realize this more than those who
eat him. If you make up your mind
that a frog is as suspicious as a wolf,
as wild as . deer aud as shrewd as q
fox you won't over-estimate the case
q bit. Most of the frogs r caught
for this market by men. One or two
boys shAve some fame as successful
frog-catchers, bntfit has been demon
strated that the average boy lacks the
necessary qualifications to make the
business OF n profit to him. We
| know of one old fisherman and hun
ter, who has followed the frog catch
ing business for the last twelve years,
and he has sometimes made it pay as
high as $15 per. week. While there
is only one way of killing a goose
there r several ways of killing p
frog Frog-hunting would be great
Observation-Disclosures if the Jumpers would
take q seat on log and permit a man
to walk up 1and crack 'em over the
head wlthaAsclubsihntsthe frog is ut
rterly opposed to any such proceeding.
His ~esgle.eye detects the enemy afar
"o6, aud the approach must be eau
.tiOus. The outfit consists of a frog
spear, . hook and line, q fish-pole
with q pointed iron in the end, aud
sometimes q small shotgun is taken
along. First discover your frog. He
msy be sitting on . log ten feet from
shore. He feels quite safe at that
distance and Will probably wait for
Developments. The hook aud line
a be used here. The line is stout
aud the hook big enough to hold a
twentY-pound bass. The idea is to
fish,f for the frog without bait. A care
full hand will man1nyre the line un.>
til the, hook is under the frog's throat,
and then q sudden jerk takes him. off
his, medAtative 9roost and gives him
into theEpower OF. his enemy. The
spear, sswhlchis provided with q long
handle, car sometimes be used
though q frog will dedgesa sudden
thrust as quick asA pickerel.s If the
shotgun is. used it is with q light
charge Of powder and very fine shot,
and the head is the point aimed at.
Some Of the froggers work. the banks
and are pHOyfded with boats, shut
success adependsaas good deal on cir
cumstances.o "A good hunter has been
known to bag 200 frogs per day, but
three or four dozeu legs are called a
fair days catch. tAsfrog will probably
live ten or ffteeu-years if steering |
clear Of accidslts.i They r not
worth catching until they are.atwo
years old. slda Are not prime until
they reach the age of i've. A frog
sees his palmyidays from five to ten.
After that be settles
doYRe4b .Aslifs Of case aud content
I'D the days come-and go and
leavoSnim no sorrow. Frogs have
been caughtlin the st. Clair marches
Weighing as high as seven pounds and
having legs alm0stalike drumsticks.
One was caught at the head Of Belle |
Isle two yef re- ago which kicked the
beam At nine. and one weighing only
half . pound less WAS. on exhibition
at the Central Market last spring.
Frog.hunters say. that, the game they
pursue is4 weather bureau in himself.
to pea dry 1peifK he sgeEs certain other
localities: IL the day is TO be cool
and cloudy his altitude betrays it. If
it is to. 6e hot aud sultry the frog re.
maine below. Dhringa thunder-sterm
hei is ION deck"ato witness the die
play. aud is4then off his guard. TO such
degree that he. is often killed with
afclub. His nataral.euemiesi are man,
several, spseiss Of birds, three or four
species OF fsh and one or two kinds
OF animals, and the ,fact-that he man.
ages to dodge all for years is proof
ehSpgts thai skBs lack Of brains has
been more than made good by his
legs. LIT