The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-04-13
COLONEL BUNKER.
He Tells About His Experience With
His BulIfrog Bill.

/ native state. sab, said Colonel Bunker
as he finished his cocktail and sat the
! glass down in loving and reluctant
manner@"as a member OF the senate.
/ [ introduced q bill that a certain por-
/ ton of our people received with undue
levity and had to be brought to see the
+ serious side OF things
LET me say, sub, that there are bull
I frogs in nv state-heaps of bulIfrOgs-
! There are bullfrogs in the rivers. IN the
bayous and in the ponds. There are
bullfrOgs that squeak and pipe, and
others that rumble and roar. A. hum
/ dred years ago, perhaps, some negro
/ discovered If he pushed the pith out
of an alder stock and made a whistle
and piped on it alongside of pond
every bullfrog in that pond would
| come to the surface and begin to
squeak or below. Things came to such
a pass, subj that the negro race spent
half its time piping to the frogs, and
the frogs spent all their time listening
and believing.
1T got to be a worse pest than the
gallinippers. There was a roaring go
ing on all over the river counties and
the white folks found It almost 1mpOS-
sible to sleep. I had endured the nuis-
ance for three years before going to
the senate, and 7 knew what 1 was do
| ing when 1 introduced that bill. 1t
was entitled: a Bill to Regulate the
Believing of Bullfrogs in Certain Sec
tions of this State, and sBunker's Bull
frogs became a by-Word within tWen-
ty-four hours.
THE bill. sub, struck at the evil on
both sides at once. It made it a mis-
demeanor for any colored person to
whistle or pipe on a whistle of any de-
scription within a quarter of a mile OF
any waters Inhabited by bullfrogs. If
any whistling was done between sun
set and sunrise it was double offence.
It further authorized the clerks of GER
tain counties to pay a bounty of five
cents each for every bullfrog destroyed.
The old seekers who could below to
be heard a mile away against the wind
were to be paid for at the rate OF
dime a piece.
Senators became uproarious and
representatives hilarious over my bill
Editors all over the state turned to
burlesque. I was cartooned and lam
pooned, but went right along biding
my time. Three weeks after the IN
PRODUCTION of my bill I entered the gov
ernor's office one day to find a striking
Bunker was represented as Gliding a
negro and a bullfrog. and underneath
the picture were the lines:
The colonel Is a warrior bold.
And most a gallant fellow;
But men must cease to whistle. and
The bullfrogs cease to below
when I turned from reading the
poetry the governor had a grin on his
face There may have been a smile on
mine as I asked:
49,
poetry, governor?
q Your bill is joke. of course he
replied.
q Far from it, sub 1t was intro
duced in all seriousness, and I hope it
may pass. Indeed, sub, the object of
my call this mawning is to personally
interest you in the matter
Interest myself in bullfrogs, col
oneI Aren't you carrying the joke too
faro
Il turned back to the cartoon and the
poetry and while I was reading the
latter again the governor laughed and
slapped his leg. Then I turned to him
with
Governor. didn't you take fencing
lessons while in Paris 2
81 did, sub.
. You have practieed in both the
French and italian schools
I have
- am glad to hear it. as I under
stand that you are no shot with the pis-
toll How will sunrise in the mawning
suit your convenience, governor?
- Is 1t a challenger he asked, as the
laughter went out Of his face.
If you can take me seriously sub
And because of the darkies and
bullfrogs?'
friend to Colonel Taylor, who will act
for me?'
He rose and bowed stif1y. and I saw
that he was game. The details were
arranged within the next hour, but we
kept them so quiet that nothing leaked
out The meeting took place at the
hour named and on a summers mawn-
ing and I was first on the ground, as
had always been my habit The gov
ernor had the right of weapons and
had brought a pair of rapiers. AS he
offered me my choice he said:
Colonel Bunker. do understand
that you did not introduce your bull
frog bill as a joke ??
~ i ,@k srfy1 Il -5I7e - ~ Jat r
ties of the wah. sub, and I was not sent
to the senate to begin Joking
But the provisions Of your bill
could never be enforced
Perhaps not
And it would be declared uncon-
stitutional as class legislation.
% That is possible, sub, but I do not
understand that we are here to discuss
the merits or dement's of the bill
But don't like duel over darkies
and bullfrOgs.
" Then let it be over something else
sub. Tt strikes me, sub, it strikes me,
now that I come to look al you closely
that you are a liar. sub.
That will do, he said as he turned
and walked away, and a minute later
we were engaged with the steel l am
a left-handed fencer, sub. and it both
cred the governor from the start, as it
had bothered other men. I had no
cause to seek his life. but It wouldn't
do to let him off with a whole skin. I
played with him for five minutes and
then Dinked him in the shoulder and
the second declared honoh satisfied.
He took his punishment like a man.
sub. He realized that could have fin
ished him off but spared him, and I
think he was grateful. He took me by
the hand and said that he had been
mistaken in my motives, and later on
4 he asked for all the particulars and
gave me to understand that he favored
/ the bill. Had it passed I think he
would have promptly signed it, but 1t
/ was killed in the house during my tenn
/ porary absence from the capital.
/ THE moral effect was far reaching.
/ however. The darlzies and the frogs
/ heard of the bill and took warning, and
j for the last five years not a colored
man has dared to whistle near a frog
pond. The buIfrogs have understood
/ as well that something was doing, and
| they have shut off at least haff their