Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-08-30

CT Elderkin, too," shrieked the hideous voices in unison. Colonel Dyer and Squire Elderkin had been particularly active against the French. The whole village jumped to the conclusion that the French and Indians were anxious to cap ture these two leaders. As the outland- ish shrieks seemed to increase in volume, and to grow nearer and nearer, the last doubt that the savages were upon them passed from every mind.
 Colonel Dyer hurried to the village green when the alarm was given, and the changing church bell soon called the villagers together. Squire Elderkin,
 badly frightened, promptly responded, well armed with a trusty fintlock. Very soon the ablebodied men of the town were in line, and Colonel Dyer was unan- imously chosen commander.
 The old feud that a few hours before divided neighbor from neighbor was for gotten. All united like brothers to de fend their common homes.
 Orders were immediately given to ad- vance. and the Windham villagers marched up the hill to the east to check the enemy. The shout for "Colo-nel Dyer and El-der-kin, too, steadily grew stronger and stronger, and the gallant colonel was reported to have shown un- usual caution on this occasion, while Squire Elderkin, who had never had military experience, implored the colonel to halt his command on the hill and wait until daybreak before he proceeded, as everything seemed to indicate over whelming odds in favor of the enemy. The last half of the night was one of Tha villa -h.N hoI laff behind waited to hear the roar of battle, but as the hours dragged their tedious length along without the discharge of a single piece all gave way to the fear that some great horror was impending. The night, however, finally wore away; the east began to grow gray, and the light was slowly creeping over the hills when the Clamor for Colonel Dyer and Elder kin, too" began to subside. Daylight quelled the hideous sounds.
 The morning brought strange story to the little army and the panic stricken villagers.
 A mile and half to the west of the village was large millpond, which fur nished water for power to grind the grain for the surrounding country. The miller reported that he had been awak- ened by the outlandish noises in early evening and on going to the pond found the frogs in n great state of COmmotion, but owing to the intense darkness noth- ing could be seen. In the morning many dead frogs were found upon the shore.
 No wounds were visible; no marks of violence could be seen; no cause for the | strange commotion could be found. | Some argued that there had been a bat tie, but there was never any evidence to support this theory. Others advanced the idea that some mysterious, malarial | contagion, some deadly epidemic had broken out and caused the cries of dis \ tress which had driven terror to the hearts of the the Windham villagers. This theory, too, has been laughed at, l and the truth is that the cause of the great disturbance has always been a dark, impenetrable mystery.
 The state of mind of the townspeople l the next morning can better be imagined | than described. All seemed sick with l humiliation at the ludicrous ending of | their frantic fright of the evening before | Squire Elderkin was particularly norti- fled and is reported to have suffered a s two weeks sickness and confinement to | his chamber, during which he was said I to have frequently stated that he had | much rather have lost his scalp than to | have been the victim of such huge joke | It was wonderful how the story of the | Windham frogs sought out and found every little nook and corner of the Coun- N try. There were no railroads, no telc- | graphs or newspapers in those days. | The stageCoaCh was the only means of
 intercommunication. Yet the story.
 greatly exaggerated and elaborately
 dressed up by the imagination. was told
 in almost every tavern in the land. | The Windham wits had been famous
 for years. Those who had suffered at
 their hands now eagerly seized the op- portunity to pay back old scores with
 usurious interest. Ballads were written,
 songs weFe composed and sung, and ev-
 cry chance for 9practical joke was util-
 ized. Colonel Dyer was a delegate to the
 first congress held in New York. Dur
 ing his journey to that city some waS
 tied an immense frog to the rear of his l carriage. His arrival is said to have
 been greeted with shouts and laughter, I and the joke became the talk of the city.
 On one occasion Squire Elderkin was
 said to have been making very learned
 and eloquent plea. when some buffoon 
 raised the shout of "Colonel Dyer and
 Elderkin, too." in the long drawn tones
 which the frogs had made famous The
 judge lost his gravity. the jury laughed,
 and the audience shouted in the most
 boisterous manner. The squire, famous
 for his self possession. lost his temper,
 which greatly added to the amusement
 of the onlookers.
 The humiliation of the Windhamites,
 however, soon passed away, and they
 regained their native shrewdness. Colo
 nel Dyer was the first to turn the tide.
 He adopted the bullfrog as coat of
 arms. He had a metal frog made for a
 door knocker and in various other ways
 showed his disposition to accept the sit
 uation good naturedly. The squire soon
 saw this was the better way and felt
 very kindly toward the colonel for his
 tact in stemming the current of popular persecution. He ever after accepted any
 mention of the frog story with smile ' and aDDqrant uoOd Oafura a1tbourb fl