New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-08-30


Orders were Immediately given to nd
vance, and the indham villagers
marched up the hill to the east tocheck
the enemy. The shout for ,olo-nel
Dyer and El-der-kin, too, z steadily grew
stronger and astronger, and the gallant
colonel was reported to have shown mn
usual caution on this occasion, while
Squire Elderkin. who had never had
military experience, imp ored tie: colonel
& to halt his command on the hill and
wait until day break before he proceeded,
as everything seemed to indicate over
whelming odds ii favor. Of the enemy.
The last half of the night was one Of
terror. The villagers who had been laft
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 cla,nor for Colonel Dyer and Elder
kin, too, s. began to subside Daylight
quelied the .hideous sounds.
The nj n'ning brough a strange story
to the little army and the panic stricken
villagers.
a mile and a half to the west Of The
village was q large mill pond, which fur
nished water for power to- grind the
grain fol-. the surrounding country The
miller reported that he had been awak-
ened by the outlandish noises III early
evening and on going to the pond found
the frogs in a great state Of commot ion,
but owing to the intense darkness moth
ing could be seen. In the morning many
dead frogs were found upon the shore.
No wounds were visible; no marks Of
;iolence could be seen; no cause for the
strange connection 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 Gisturb ance has always been q
dark, impenetrable mystery.
The state Of mind Of the Ftownspeople
the next morning can better beimagined
than described. All seemed sick with
humiliation at the ludicrons ending Of
their frantic ,fright Of the evening before.
Squire Elderkin was part cularly 1norti-
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 q huge Joke.
It was wonde rful how the story OF the
Windham frogs sought out and found
every little nook and cornersof the coun-
tty. There were no RAILROADS, no tele-
graphs or newspapers ii those days.
The stagecoach was tho only means Of
INSTRUMENTATION. Yet the story.
greatly exaggerated and deliberately
dressed up by the imaginati lion, was told
in almost every tavern il the land.
The Windham wits had been famous
for years. Those who had suffered at
their hands now eagerly seized the ops
portunity to pay back old scores with
usurious interest. Ballads were written,
songs were composed and sung, and ey-
cry chance for q prac tical joke was :uttil-
lied. Colonel Dyer was q delegate to the
first congress held ID New York. Dur
ing his journey to that city some wag
tied an immense frog to the rearof his
carriage. His arrival is said to have
o<oa
and the joke became the talk Of the city.
On one occasion Squire Elderkin was
said to have been making q very learned
and eloquent plea, when some buffoon,
raised the shout Of g Colonel DYER and
SElderkin, too, = in the long drawn tones
which the frogs had made famous. The
Judge lost his gravity, the jury laughed,
and the audience shouted ii Che most
boisterons manner. he squire, famous
for his self possession, lost his temper,
which greatly added 70 the amusement
sof the on1ookers.
The humiliation Of the Windhanites,
however, soon passed away, and they
regained their nat shreyvdn Colo
mel Dyer was the first % stnrn the tide.
He adopted the bull frog IS . coat Ut
arms. He had metal frog made Tor II
door knocker and ia Various other ways ways.
showed his disposition to accept Tie lit
uation good naturally The squii
saw this was the better way and tell
very kindly toward the colonel fors his
tact in steIn1ningt the cnr 0 ponsular
Persecution. HeeYer 6 tef accepted my nv
Of the frog EtfJl ~