The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-09-07

I'VE will have Kernel Dyer. And
El-der-kin too. We will have Kernel
Dyer. And El-dcr-kin too. Kernel Dy-
err ElaerEin, 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
sure these two leaders. AS the outland-
bh 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 tt 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 fiintlock. Very
500 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 Colonel
Dyer and El-der-kin, too" steadily grew
stronger and stronger, and the gallant
colonel was reported to have shown I'M
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
terror. The villagers who had been left
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 vas 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 a strange story
to the little army and the panic stricken
villagers.
y mile and q half to the west of the
village was a 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 a great state of commotion,
but owing to the intense darkness moth
ing could be seen. In the morning many
dead frogs were found upon the shore.
No wounds We're visible; no marks of
violence could be seen; no cause for the
strange commotion could be found.
Some argued that there had been q 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,
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
the next morning car better be imagined
than described. All seemed sick with
humiliation at the ludicrous ending of
their frantic fright of the evening before.
Squire Elderkin was particularly morti-
fed and is reported to have suffered a
two weeks sickness and confinement to
his chamber, during which he was said
to have frequently stated that he had
much rather have lost his scalp than to
have been the victim of such a huge joke.
1t was wonderful how the story of the
Windham frogs sought out and found
every little nook and corner of the coun-
try. There were no railroads, no tele-
graphs OF newspapers in those DAYS.
The s~tagecoach was the only means of
intercommunication. Yet the story,
greatly exaggerated and deliberately
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-
p~ortunity to pay back old scores with
usurious interest. Ballads were written,
songs We're composed and sung, and ev-
cry chance for apractical joke was util-
lied. Colonel Dyer was q delegate to the
first congress held in New York. Dur
ing his journey to that city some wag
tied an immense frog to the rear of his
carriage. His arrival Is said to have
been greeted with shouts and laughter,
and the joke became the talk of the city.
On n occasion Squire Elderkin was
said to have been making a 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, 0 passed away, and they
regained their native shrewdness. Colo