The Opelousas courier., 1891-09-26
HUNTING THE BULL FROG
METHODS OF CAPTURING THIS
EPICUREAN DELICACY.
Professional Fro.gers Use a Bulls
Eye Lantern and IL Bag-Prepar-
ing the Catch for Market.

Eye Lantern and u Bag-FFepaP-
ing the Catch for Market.
Every evening just as Old Sol sinks
behind the hills of Virginia and the sun
set gun booms forth the close of another
day there is a class of men who are just
beginning their days work, or more
properly speaking, their nights work.
And it is a peculiar kind of labor. They
are frog hunters and earn quite a re-
spectacle livelihood by hunting frogs for
the restaurant and hotels.
Almost every one is familiar with the,
unmusical cry Of the frog, but few are,
they who know one when they see it..
Many people in speaking of frogs con-
found tbgh with toads. Now while fsogs
and toaB are closely related, they have
little i'll common except appearance. The
frogs legs are much larger than the
toads and his voice is also superior.
There are a great many frogs eaten in
Washington.
Not many years ago frogs legs, as al
delicacy, were unknown, but that time
has passed away and now frogs legs on
toast is considered a great d~elicacy all the
world over. There are lots of frogs
about Washington. The many swamps
about the city fairly swarm with the agile
rroakers, and the river, particularly the
Eastern branch, is noted not only as be-;
ing one of the best breeding places for
frogs but of furnishing the very tinesti
species. Frogs come from swamps in all
ioanl;A,o, Ms I,4WH %hn a1froa{a arI 1uafoT !
coupled with the abundance of food
which is found in the Potomac River
greatly enhances the value of frogs which
are caught about here. There are a great
many ways of hunting frogs.
One way is by shooting them. This is
mostly practiced by boys, who, armed
with a parlor rife, wade cautiously
through the marshes and shoot the un-'
suspecting troggies as they sit in some
shady nook watching for flies. It takes
sharp eyes and a good marksman, how
ever, to hunt successfully in this man
ner. Another way, and by far the n
which furnishes the most sport, is by
fishing for them, or better still, casting
for them. A good trout fisherman armed.
with a light bamboo rod and a gaudy-i
colored fly can find plenty of sport by
casting among the reeds and grasses,
Rlong the edge of a marsh. On the other
side OF the bridge the other day a Star.
reporter was greatly amused at seeing a
small colored boy with a long switch to.
which was attached a line and a piece Of
red flannel on the end with a hook con
cealed in it catching frogs as fast as he
r9uld put in. While his attention was
diverted to a passing train a frog snapped
at his line and was in turn gobbied up by
asnapping turtle, which later, finding
himself caught, swan to the bottom and
refused to be moved by the lone fisher
man, who thought he had a sturgeon.
The modus operandi of catching frogs
in the most approved manner-that is,
with bulls eye and sack-seems simple
enough to uninitiated, but is quite the
reverse in actual practice. A few nights
since Il Star reporter accompanied a
couple Of the most experienced frog
hunters on one of their nightly excur-
sions. Arriving at a point on the East
ern branch everything was found to be
in readiness for the trip. A froggers'
boat is not in itself peculiar and not I'M
like hundreds of other boats used for
various urposes on the river. A light
skif propelled by a broad paddle or a
pushing pole makes good progress. The
outfit is simple enough. Several bags,
a light hardwood stick and a bulls-eye
lantern of the most approved pattern,
with the strongest possible reflector, is
all that is needed. It was nearly ten
o'clock when the boat pushed off, the
Star reporter in the bow with a lantern
and the hunter behind furnishing the
motive power. It was a warm, murkJ
evening, with plenty of malaria in the
wind.
The trip to the hunting ground wa
uneYentful. Soon the boat was moving
through the still waters of the Eastern
branch, hugging the shore closely, and
the music of the game sounded from
nearly every direction. The old hunter
spoke in whispers, but his voice SOUNDED
strangely loud on the still air. But tn
frogs sang on unmindful of it all. !
was Il grand concert with never a diseofd
not even i jar. The deep bass voice Q
the old patriarch and the treble of tn
Young female, coupled with the musica
tenor Of the young and juicy male
mingled with the quarrelsome tone Q
Did Mrs. Frog and the almost patheti
tome of the very small youngster, who's
voice was not unlike the cry of an infant
furnished a unique chorus. The boa
skirted the banks. and at the comman'
OF the old hunter the slide of the bulls
eye lantern was thrown and the Ugh
flashed out.
It was dazzling in its brightness, an
for d moment the frogs, squatting abou
on the waunkapin leaves, ceased the
croaking and winked helplesslY at til
light, unable even 10 drop into th
9 water. This was the hunters chance
J and as the boat glided past them 9Th
light still shining IN their eyes, he seize
] the frogs one after another BY the mar
Of the neck with his right hand an
j transferred them to- a bag which he bel
& open. The work was done quickly, an
+ i'd d short time half d dozen frogs, WI
/ BY this time had thoroughly come out
their dazed condition, were making Wis
orous efforts to escape. The huntin
continued IN the same way until thre
dozen and a half large frogs were adde
I to the stock in trade. This, at Il
wholesale price Of eighty cents per dozel
made the trip quite profitable. a larg
number Of the hunters have men to pr