Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1901 — Rats Butchered The Frogs. [ARTICLE]

Rats Butchered The Frogs.

County Recorder Bruce Porter came down town Saturday morning in distress of mind literally too great for his powers of utterance. He and postmaster Meyer had organized a corner on green frogs, and had bought up the whole stock around Lee, the great center of the frog catching industry these days. They bought 225 of the long legged leapers and Bruce put them in his cellar, in bags against the time when he expected to start for the Kankakee very early this week, on a fishing expedition, the frogs being the great disideratum for bait now, and very scarce and hard to get. But rats are numerous around Bruce’s neighborhood, and they gnawed holes in his frog sacks, and let the frogs out and then proceeded to turn the whole cellar into a frog abbatoir Of the whole 225 frogs only 100 were left to tell the tale. Bruce ordered more frogs and succeeded in getting them in time for a belated start for the river, this morning. Mr. Meyers will follow as soon as his nerves recover from the shock he experienced at the news of the frog slaughter