Machwerk
R.W. Aristoquakes
Teil 31 - 33
- Im Elysium -
Die nächste
Erzählerin, Aphrodite
Berichtete was
einst ein Brite,
Als sie in
Windham einmal war
Ihr erzählt
hatte. Ganz offenbar
Beruhte die
Begebenheit
Auf der Wahrheit,
denn die Obrigkeit
War in Windham
zweifelsfrei
Auf der Straße
mit dabei
Als die Frösche
ausquartiert,
Nachts sind durch
die Stadt marschiert.
The Frogs of Windham
The quaint New England
town of Windham, Connecticut,
lies about 30 miles east of Hartford.
Founded in 1692, Windham
is known for its historic buildings, several Revolutionary War-era army camps
and the old mills that once fueled a thriving textiles industry. But Windham has a darker
secret in its past — a bizarre massacre.
The year was 1754.
Windham was a prosperous town, but it was also gripped in fear. Diseases had
recently struck, killing many residents. Meanwhile the French and Indian War
was in full swing, and rumors of the terrible atrocities committed in battle
were making their way to the town. Many of Windham's men were off fighting the war, and
the people who remained lived in constant fear of a possible attack.
On a hot, foggy night
in June, those fears came to a head. As recounted in a book published in 1857, "It was past the midnight hour, and the inhabitants were buried
in profound sleep, when the outcry commenced. There were heard shouts and
cries, and such a variety of mingled sounds, which seemed to fill the heavens,
that soon roused the people from their slumbers and thoroughly alarmed the
town."
Thinking the town was
under attack, residents rushed in terror from their homes, many of them
half-naked, carrying their children to what they hoped might be safety. The
horrible cries continued through the night. "The outcry was loud and very
extraordinary, the noises seemed to fill the heavens, and are described as
thunderlike," recounted one family.
But no attack ever
came. Still, the men in town remained vigilant all night long, standing guard
with pitchforks, hatchets and muskets. Many fired their weapons into the
darkness, hoping to strike whatever creature had produced those fearsome cries.
As the sun began to
rise, the sounds finally began to fade. Townspeople began to investigate, and
they came upon a grisly sight in a nearby pond. There lay the bodies of
hundreds, if not thousands of dead frogs, all felled in mysterious
circumstances.
The true cause of the
frogs' death was not clear then, and it has never been discovered. One theory
suggests a drought, but the pond was known to be both full and fresh. Some
people thought there must have been a disease, or an earthquake, or a burst of
electricity. Another theory suggests the frogs found themselves in the middle
of some sort of war for territory. No matter the cause, the unusual event
quickly gained a name: The Battle
of the Frogs.
Although nearly
forgotten today, the Battle of the Frogs became
a legend in Windham,
where it was celebrated in poems and songs for decades, like this little ditty
called "Lawyers and Bull-Frogs":
'Twas of a fright happened one night,
Caused by the bull-frog nation,
In all our generation.
***
wird
fortgesetzt
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