The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-16
FROG HUNTING.
where the B~atrachian Il Found and
How Ii II Captured.
Chicago Record.

where they will do him the most good.
Boys. dogs and men complete the list OF the
frogs destroyers- The reason for the cap
ture Of the solemn-voiced croakers Is that
their hind legs. or saddles" as they are
called, are particularly delicious 10 eat.
Frogs legs are found on the bill Of fare in
every irst-class restaurant. and they would
tempt the appetite Of the most confirmed
anchorite. Broiled frog-saddles are much
more delicate and toothsome than the most
carefully selected spring chicken.
Frogs are found in the marshes and lakes
and in ponds and wet, Doggy meadows.
Sometimes they are caught on a hook by
fishing for then with a piece of red flannel,
which seems to excite their wrath when ii
is waved before their noses. The adage re-
garding "a red rag to a bull' seems to hold
good in the case of a bullfrog. But the two
most common ways by which the hunters
take the frogs for the market are by spear
ing and shooting. Spearing frogs is an art,
and is practiced in the marshes and around
the shallow shores of the lakes. where frogs
are plentiful. The hunter must necessarily
be a lightweight man, or a boy. consider
ing the craft he employs in the business.
This is a canoe. or the smallest or lightest
possible duck boat, pointed at both ends,
and able to run smoothly in a few inches
of water. A double-bladed paddle is dipped
into the water from side to side, and the
little boat glides over the water as smoothly
as a water bug.
TIL hunter sits in the center Of the boat
and conducts operations from the right side.
He has a small box in front of him and q
short sharp-bladed knife lying on the box.
This knife is used to cut OF the saddles as
the frogs are brought into the boat. The
spear used by the hunter is very light and
with a shaft fully eighteen feet long. At
one end of the shaft is fixed the spear, which
has three small barbs, each with an arrow
shaped head, which prevents the frog from
slipping off when transfxed. The shaft or
pole of the spear Is usually OF pine. some
times of cane, and is absolutely straight
and symmetrical. 1t is balanced with the
myers and thumb of the left hand and pro-
PEELED by the fingers and thumb of the right
hand. The spear slides along the balance
guides of the left hand without leaving the
hand and can be drawn back readily by that
hand after the throw Is made. The boat is
sent nGiselessly along the shallow stretches
of water by light tips of the paddle. and as
the hunter Dears where the frog lis floating
In the water he stops the boat with a turn
of the paddle. The spear is then raised,
adjusted and literally sighted at the frog.
me stupid quarry Is meanwhile looking
ali eyes at the hunter. Nothing but the
top of his head showing above the water
denotes :. that a frog is floating there The
olfa lux re AloA
with a "whish" as it slides along the fin
gers and thumb of the lett hand. 1t strikes
the water with a sound Of CHUCK" trans
nxlng the frogs body, and is then brought
PACK quickly by the left and right hands
until the frog is just over the box in the
boat, A swift stroke of the knife. and the
saddle is severed and is in the box. The
hunter may have seen two or three frogs
quite close together, and If he IS an adept
Sfter t aeo sPear NE Wit gln harvest s5S;z then all: one
The best of tools and the lightest of boats
Is required and the hunter must nave years
light spear with accuracy and comparative
silence. Splashing will spoil everything.
frogs are not speared executing while they
PICK up fve or six dozen frogs In a day
easily when they are at all numerous.
SIKH with spear and paddle and a knowl-
edge where the best places are for the game
are requisites for success. A "~cracka1acS"
with the spear will get a frog ninety-nine
times out of a hundred. The frogs lie about
in of a very light boat does not seem to
alarm them. Frog legs are sold in the mar.
ket according to size and by the dozen.
requires skill with the rifle and patience in
stalking. The bullfrog on the bank is quite
another party from the bullfrog in the pool,
attempt to cultivate his acquaintance. When
alarmed he will launch out into space and
give down into The water with a more or
size. He is morbidly alert to approaching
footsteps, and Is willing to vacate a nice
COO, spot spot on h the edge OF a pond or lake at
preaching. So that stalking him success
fully requires a keen eye and some knowl-
edge OF the willy frog. Just as his stupidity
In the water is apparent. so Is his sagacity
on land patent to his fees. Sometimes there
will be a dozen frogs squatted along one lit
tie stretch beside a pond, and usually as
after another, with hollow "plunks" until
the shore Is bare.
trick, and to do this from the bank requires
a cautious approach. They should be shot
through the head. as they are extremely
tenacious Of life, and often jump into the
water and sink If shot through the body.
The best way to get them with a rifle is to
shoot them from the water. wading along
and shooting them as they sit on the bank
A 22-caliber rifle is amply large enough for
this kind of shooting, and short 22s or even
the half-size bulleted caps can be used. A
man should have rubber knee-boo.s Or hip
boots for this kind Of wadine and must move
slowly in the water. keeping a sharp look
out for his game. In the spring and summer
days frog shooting is a sport which will af-
ford considerable amusement, besides giving
practice with the rife and loafns around in
the midst Of pleasant surroundings.
At the lakes edge the kingfisher patrols,
now Gathering along over the bullrushes and
now perching on a dead limb q a stake in
of shadows to the ripples and an occasional
splash tells where a black bass leaped for
a rowing dragon ny. Ine surface Oh the lake,
alternately smoothed and ruined by the
winds and fecked by the sun and shade,
is an ever-changing picture. framed by the
massive hills. The creak of the row-iock
announces a passing boat and a lazy buzz
zard draws ink circles high up in the blue.
The sun shines in drowsy meadows where
katydids cling to the grasses, and down
in the woods the spirit Of slumber folds
idle hands and dreams the long day
through.
If you want frogs for bait-and what more
tempting bait can be offered to a big
mouthed bass?-you must take them alive.
This will require a small linen sack and
Meadow frogs are your game now, and you
will find them in little Doggy, damp spots
on the hillside, or deep in the woods in
grassy ''sloughs'' that lie in the timber.
There you will find the meadow frogs ready
to be caught. They can jump about seven
requires an eye for distance and some prac-
tice. 1t is pretty good fun surrounding a
lusty meadow frog in tall grass and trying
to grab him between jumps.
| These frogs make excellent bait for the
plymouth bass, and il the linen sack is kept
| days. The bullfrog is not good bait. being
too large to be engulfed and too heavy to
cast successfully when at his full growth.
| 1t is a pity to shoot and spear the true
bullfrogs, for their somber believing in the
| evening is one Of the oldest sounds In
light are woven in with the %afterglow of the
| west the bullfrogs sound their sonorous
| chords, which reverberate along and over
| the reeds and rushes, far-reaching down the
| night. Long ago, they say, when Pan was
driven from the marshes, he called the frogs
TO him. They were his favorites.
unaD Suooru~r