Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1884-03-01

4 DESCRIPTION OF now II % none.
The Queer MANS ~ Wbfeh 1Omo PssDls
Goeaiaa l'ealhooAs

- e
The Queer M4ans ~ wsteh ssme Pss,is
- $1,000
[FromtfA PhfAde.pi.ia preszL1
Among the people who inhap;t the
tower sectihn Of the city. commonly
known n the Neck are . class who
obtain their livelihood by what can be
picked up in the Mash" Many of
these can be found in Smoky Hollow"
and Frogtown's populatDn is almost en-
tirely composed Of TIM class. During
nost Of the year they gain their susie
II by what they call "frogeing," and
are known as '4frogger." The frog
hunter outfit consists Of a canvas suit
an oh hat, > PR Of long boots. q luge
lag maI u Aae coarse nlsternI, aud
dip net mash ted astrong iron In me
securely fastened TO polefrom Six TO
feet in length. The bitches and
marshes~altyan md IN bullfr1G md tbs
frog hurtsr df1dgo Ae4ppplsof stag
nant water for them. They fud leadys
sale for their game" to a Wholesale
house ON Market street, the pice Vary
ing from thirty to fifty cents a dozen,
according to the size. The people en-
gagged in this business generally live as
near their hunting grounds as possible,
sand the row of little boat houses On the
Delaware, below the salt works, on the
old Point House road, is peopied by
them. The hunters make trips twice a
week to tie city, to dispose OF their
frogs and obtaintheir little stores. Their
mode Of life is primitive in the extreme,
and they are generally quiet, ~inoffensive,
and hospitable.
A reporter called at the cabin Of
George W. White, the Oldest frog hunt
er living in the Neck His cabin is stu
ated about the centresM>a row Of boat
houses on the Delaware banks, near the
spot formerly occupied hy the Point
I House, and consists Of one room. Mr..
White received the reporter pleasantly
( aud said Eyes, I'm a frogger. Frog
cling Int what it used:to be when l was
younger. I've followed this business for
2 twenty-seven years, and ali my family
were froggers before me. Ny father fol-
lowed it for nearly forty years, but he's
dead now, aud I'm tue Oldest f1og hunter
living. Twenty years ago it WAS no IN
common thing for me to catch from
i thirty TO forty dozen frogs in a single
day, but now I'm satisfied if l get from
eigEt~to twelve dozen a day. When
first went into this business with my
father frogs were only worth from six to
7 ten cents q dozen, but then they were
|, more plentiful, and dollar went mich
further than now, but T guess l make a:
I much on the whole as we used to-. There
| were a great many moro hunting them
7 too, in those days, and often the marke'
would be glutted for several days. Now
I they have either all died off or gone on
[ Of the business entirely, and but few
1 young men engaged in it except for fun
ut is no easy task to tramp all da,
through the mud and water, with
heavy rake or net on your shoulder an,
a bag full of kicking frogs on your back
AID most people prefer an easier metho'
of making a living. But it's a trade
tho same as any mechanical work; i
takes brains and muscle both, and
above all. q rugged constitution. TIL
marsh is as full of malaria as an egg i
Of meat, AMI no one not born IN tn
Neck could live here a year / start on
shortly after daylight in the mornln.
with my bag and rake, and go to som
4 point in the mash n dbegin operations
/ work the ditch toward the cabin az
get somewhere near it by noon Then
put my frogs in a barrel and cover thel
4 with ditch grass. After dinner | 60 0
-{~e gain, this time somewhat further, az
dredge the bitches until near dark, whe
| return home and after supper clea
and hunch he game"
"How do vou know whore the froe
t~.-sre:" was asked.