WINDHAM BULL-FROG SONG

Willimantic [CT]: Printed at the Journal Office, 1850. Broadside, 10.5" x 17.5". Text and illustrations printed within an ornamental border. Beneath caption title are woodcut illustrations of two frogs seated on rocks, followed by a historical "Introduction," and the words to the song in three columns. A few small fox spots, Very Good.

The Introduction describes a dark dismal night in July of 1756. The inhabitants of Windham were awakened by a loud noise which seemed to be yells of "infuriated Indians." They also thought they heard the names of Col. Dyer and Elderkin shouted out, "two eminent lawyers, and this increased their general terror." Several townspeople thought something supernatural was happening; they dropped to their knees to pray, while some braver individuals took guns and went to face the attacking foes. By morning the noises had died down. Finding no Indians, the brave men headed home.
It was later discovered that the mill-pond outside the village had become nearly dry, causing the large number of bullfrogs to fight "a pitched battle on the sides of the ditch" for what little water remained. This was the great battle that had caused the frightening noises which the townspeople mistook for Indians. The melee resulted in the death of "several thousand" frogs. "Now Lawyers, Parsons, Bullfrogs, all/ I bid you each farewell;/ And unto you I loudly call/ A better tale to tell."
OCLC records several different printings of this broadside poem. Brown University suggests an 1840 publication date and attributes authorship to one William L. Weaver [1816-1867]; the New York Public Library weighs in with a suggested publication date of the 1850s and an attribution to Stephen and Ebenezer Tilden.
OCLC 22989345 [1- Brown], 44404878 [1- NYPL] as of June 2023. Other printings also issued.