SHORT STUDIES OF BATRACHIANS. 321 



ten with great leaps into the water. They are very ex- 

 pert at hopping. A full-grown bull-frog takes near three 

 yards at one hop. I have often been told the following 

 story by the old Swedes, which happened here at the 

 time when the Indians lived with the Swedes. It is well 

 known that the Indians are excellent runners ; I have 

 seen them, at Governor Johnson's, equal the best horse in 

 its swiftest course, and almost pass it. Therefore, in 

 order to try how well the bull-frogs could leap, some of the 

 Swedes laid a wager with a young Indian that he could 

 not overtake the frog, provided it had two leaps before- 

 hand. They carried a bull-frog, which they had caught 

 in a pond, upon a field, and burnt his hips ; the fire and 

 the Indian, who endeavored to be closely up with the 

 frog, had such an effect upon the animal that it made its 

 long hops across the field as fast as it could. The Indian 

 began to pursue the frog with all his might at the proper 

 time : the noise he made in running frightened the poor 

 frog ; probably it was afraid of being tortured with fire 

 again, and therefore it redoubled its leaps, and by that 

 means it reached the pond before the Indian overtook it. 



"In some years they are more numerous than in 

 others; nobody could tell whether the snakes had ever 

 ventured to eat them, though they eat all the lesser kinds 

 of frogs. The women are no friends to these frogs, be- 

 cause they kill and eat young ducklings and goslings ; 

 sometimes they carry off chickens that come too near the 

 ponds. I have not observed that they bite when they 

 are held in the hands, though they have little teeth ; 

 when they are beaten they cry out almost like children. 

 I was told that some eat the thighs of the hind legs, and 

 that they are very palatable." 



If the above is correct in all its parts, then we have 

 few, if any, such bull-frogs as Kalm saw in 1749. The 



