FOREST AND STREAM 
September, 1919 
4.^0 
CATCHING BULLFROGS 
THE ADVENTURE OF STALKING THIS LITTLE DENIZEN 
OF THE MUD-FRINGED POOLS AND QUIET STREAMS 
By JAMES MILTON BENNETT 
REVEILLE LEATHER LEGGINGS 
FOR ALL OUTDOOR USES 
In Styles and Leathers 
For the Motorist, Sports- 
man, Equestrian, Police and 
Others. 
Dealers should get our cat- 
alog, buy and make satis- 
fied customers. 
If not carried hy your deal- 
er, write direct to 
REVEILLE LEGGING CO. 
LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS 
OUBTLESS most out- 
door people do not 
admire a stream 
with muddy banks 
but prefer a rocky, 
broken shore where 
there are signs of 
game fish. But the 
creek with mud bot- 
tom and mud banks 
is not without its 
merits. Here is 
where the bullfrog 
spends his spring and summer vacation, 
sitting on his cold cushion of mud by 
night, demonstrating his baritone skill 
but keeping almost altogether quiet by 
day. 
He is only semi-aquatic. If the day is 
cool he stays in a hole in the ground, 
sometimes several yards from the water. 
Neither is he likely to come out at night 
if the weather has suddenly turned 
chilly. One cannot blame him for being 
particular about the weather, for those 
acquainted with him know that all he 
wears is a thin silk suit, which, by the 
way, includes a white vest, all of which 
makes the little creature appear quite 
fashionable. 
Spring or early summer is the time to 
grease the skillet, smack the lips, get in 
the stream and procure the menu of an 
odd but very delicious meal which many 
people have never enjoyed. The calen- 
dar must be consulted, for late in the 
season this queer mammal slides into 
his deep den in the ground which is fre- 
quently under the roots of large stumps 
or trees. 
Who is not fond of night music? To 
the nature lover the night music along 
a mud-fringed stream, though not very 
harmonious, has an agreeable melody 
and is wonderfully resonant. 
As soon as darkness has securely set- 
tled over the water, the frogs, big and 
little, and usually in amazingly large 
numbers, come out of their hiding. They 
find comfortable seats and all face the 
stream in readiness to take a dive in 
case of danger. Then the music begins. 
They have but two words and one tune. 
In deep, rolling, watery tones they sing, 
“Knee-deep! knee-deep! knee-deep!” ac- 
centing “deep,” with a little more than 
a secondary accent on “knee.” They 
surely have more than every variety of 
bass known to the artists of music. First 
bass, second bass, bass of every quality, 
except an inferior voice which is seldom 
heard, rolls out over the quiet stream in 
enchanting waves. 
To bag this coveted meat numerous 
methods are employed. Boys who are 
having their early experiences about the 
water and sportsmen who do not care 
for night hunting or even to get their 
feet wet, creep along the bank by day 
with long poles, short lines and tiny 
iiooks with red fragments of cloth as 
bait. When they discover a frog the 
bait is carefully lowered near the frog’s 
nose. He quickly leaps with open mouth 
almost always making himself an easy 
catch. 
Others hunt by day with a small bor6 
rifle. 
These methods are good sport but not 
so thrilling as the methods used by night 
and the number of catches is far less. 
Netting the frog by night with a sort 
of double net is practised by some frog 
hunters and the scheme is no doubt a 
good one, but it is difficult for one man 
to handle the device and carry a light 
at the same time. 
If one desires to try this sport he 
should equip himself with a strong four- 
tang gig having a light, straight bamboo 
staff about ten feet long. This he may 
invert when feeling his way along in the 
water to safeguard himself as to the 
depth of the water, perhaps saving him- 
self a cold plunge out of sight and the 
possible loss of his hat. 
Upon approaching, the gig should be 
slowly directed toward the frog until 
it is within ten or twelve inches of him, 
when a sudden thrust should be made 
taking care to aim straight. 
The hunter should never wear boots 
as they All with water and make walking 
sluggish, but thick soled shoes and heavy 
wool socks securely fastened. If he de- 
sires to save himself much discomfort 
from chill, even if the night is quite 
warm, a wool suit and wool shirt are 
necessary. 
A large, clear light is an indispensable 
asset. Some prefer a carbide equipment 
but an electric lantern filled with a 
strong battery is perhaps better as it is 
not so likely to be extinguished and is 
less burdensome in carrying. 
The darker the night and the clearer 
the water, the brighter the prospects for 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 490) 
Preparing a delicious meal 
