Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-13
WITH BULL'S-EYE AND SACK.
A Night Trip with Frog-Hunters on the
Eastern Branch.

row THE WASHINGTON MARKET rs SUPPLIED
WHERE THE GAME ABoUSDs-A rRoe-HuSrER's
| OUTFLOW TEE oANK rs sKcrRKp-PRr-
PAarxs Fnoes' Lses FOR THE TABLE
Every one Is familiar with the unmusical cry
Of the bullfrog. few among the many are
acquainted with the delicate flavor of his hind
most extremities. and Q select number know
the art Of hunting him and enjoy the sport as
only an enthusiast can. But all the hunters do
not go into it for sport alone and TO supply their
tables. Il is not generally known that there is
in this city nearly a score of people who earn
their living, and quite a comfortable living.
too, by hunting frogs for the restaurants and
hotels. There are a great many frogs eaten
here. and the taste for them is spreading rap
idly among all classes. tits within the memory
of even middle-aged men when in this country
frog legs were not considered edible. but that
time has passed away, and now nearly every
one looks upon them as a most delicious, though
costly, delicacy of the well-kept table.
FROGS ABOUT WASHINGTON.
The country about Washington is exceedingly
productive of frogs. The many swsmps about
the city fairly swarm with the agile croakers.
and the river, particularly the Eastern branch.
is one OF the greatest known breeding places of
the best species. 1t is here that the hunter
mostly goes in search of his game, and any
| night the lanterns of a score of boats may be
seen twinkling brightly as the crafts glide
silently, padded by an experienced frogger.
along the banks of the slow-moying stream.
Generally two people go on these excursions,
working together and dividing the ''ketch."
HOW IT Is DONE.
The modus operandi of catching a frog seems
simple enough when it is described, but it is
| quite the reverse when the uninitiated first
tries his hand.
STAR reporter accompanied q couple Of the
| most experienced and successful hunters on
| the river on their evening trip one night this
| week and saw how il is done. large majority
of the froggers rendezvous at the foot of 9TH
street, which is the great gathering place of all
the fishing craft sailing the waters OF the Poto-
mac. A frogger's boat is not in itself peculiar;
| 1t Is not unlike hundreds of other boats used
for various purposes on the river. A light canoe
or sklff. propelled by broad double paddle or
shoying-pole, IT, in the hands of a skillful
boatman, makes good progress. The frogger's
outfit is also simple-Only lot of bags, light.
hardwood stick, and bull's-eye lantern of the
most approved pattern. This is all. if the rub
Der coats Of the men and bottle of bait that
| is stored carefully away under the stern-sheets,
are excepted.
| THE START.
It was a warm, dark, murky evening when
the boat was pushed away from the wharf out
into the muddy waters. The stars twinkled
/ fully, and the moon was not to show itself until
after midnight The trip to the hunting
grounds of Mr. Frog was uneventful, and soon
the boat was moving easily through the still
waters OF the Eastern branch, hugging the
shore closely. while the music Of the game
| sounded from nearly every direction. The
hunters spoke in whispers, but their voices
sounded strangely loud on the still air.
And the frogs sang on, unmindful of il all. IL
was grand concert, with never discord,
never jar, the deep bass of the old patriarch.
the shrill treble of the young female. the mu-
steal tenor of the young and juicy male, min
gled with the quarrelsome note of old Mrs.
Frog, and the almost pathetic tone of the
very small youngster, whose voice is not unlike
the cry of an infant.
| BLGINSISa WORK.
The boat skirted the banks and suddenly the
light of the bulrs-eye flashed out and
the nights work was commenced.
The lantern was attached to the
bow OF the boat and its rays flashed far
over the waters and amid the tangled shrub
berry. 1t was dazzling In its brightness and for
a moment the frogs squatting about in the
wannkapin leaves ceased their croaking and
| winked helplessly at the light, unable even to
drop into the water This was the hunters
| opportunity and he seized the frogs, one
after another, by the nape Of the neck with his
right hand. With his left he held the bag and
| threw then one after another. into it The
| OF nest, and in a very short time half a dozen
| frogs were writing in the bottom of the sack
| When no more were within reach the bag was
closed, the lantern slide shut tight and the boat
glided in to fresher fields. Everything had be-
come very quiet in that neighborhood. Now
| and then the first experience was gone through
| with, varied several times by the use of the
stick. The lantern was flashed and the man in
the bow, instead Of using his hand, banged the
stick down now and again, whack! whacki
whack! upon the nose of his frogship who
| would Immediately drop into the water. turn
ing up his white stomach, dead. By the time
| the moon rose there were over TWENTY-FIVE
pounds aboard, SO the boat was turned home
ward.
| OTHER WAYS.
There are several other modes of hunting
frogs for the market. The boys do a good
business shooting them with air rifles, going to
the swamps lying along the river shore 1t
takes quick eye and a steady hand for this
sort of thing, but they generally succeed in
bringing back dozen or two from their trips
There are numerous other methods, with hook
fly, stick or net, but they are used infrequently
| The gun and lantern are by far the most
popular. :
| FROGS AND ToADs.
Many people in speaking of frogs confound
them with toads. While they are closely re-
lated, they have little in common except ap-
| pearauce. The frog has superior legs greatly
| developed by constant practice His voice too,
| is superior to his humber brother The voice,
| too, varies greatly even in the same animal
and 1t is difficult to ascertain ones distance for
| it is great ventriloquist, and il Is almost i'm
| possible to initiate the notes.
HOW TO COOK THEM.
| Nearly every cook has his own method of
preparing frogs for the table, and the taste
varies with the cooking. The most popular
way is the simplest. The legs are first cleaned,
| the skin being taken of, and then after being
| thoroughly washed in sailed water they are out
in a cool place for at least twenty-four hours.
Then batter is made of iour-water vinegar.
salt and pepper and the legs dipped in then
| immediately transferred to q well-heated pan.
where they are allowed to fry until they be-
| come OF a rich brown color Served with
parsley and other herbs they make a most de-
| icious dish.
Up to within few years ago only the legs of
the frog were eaten, but the animal having be-
| come very scarce in Europe, the experiment
was tried OF eating the entire frog and It was dis
| covered that the delicious flavor of the legs was
also found in the other portions. These were
| used mostly for making kind of broth that is
much liked by epicures. For invalids there is
| nothing to compare with il, staying as it does.
in the stomach when the most delicate food
| fails.
| M0RGANATIH EADDUannc