"LOOK
OUT THERE'S A SNAKE! SWEETPEA CRIED. “I SEE IT,
IT ISN’T A COTTONMOUTH. IT’S ONLY A FISH SNAKE.
IT WON’T BOTHER US IF WE DON’T BOTHER HIM.” I
SAID. “BUT I DON’T LIKE SNAKES OF ANY KIND, THEY
MAKE MY SKIN CRAWL.” WAS SWEETPEA’S ANSWER.
SWEETPEA SPLASHED UP A LITTLE CLOSER BEHIND ME.
“DON’T CROWD ME AND BE QUITE, YOU’RE SCARING THE
FROGS.” “THERE’S ONE NOW, AND I’M GOING TO GET TO
HIM BEFORE THAT SNAKE DOES.” I DREW MY 22 RUGER
FROM IT’S HOLSTER AND TOOK CAREFUL AIM. “CRACK,”
WENT THE LITTLE PISTOL AND THE FROG WAS KNOCKED
OVER BACKWARD. SWEETPEA WADDED OVER AND PICKED IT
UP AND PUT IT IN THE TOE SACK HE WAS CARRYING.
SWEETPEA, MY HUNTING AND FISHING BUDDY, AND ME HAD
GONE TO THE SABINE RIVER BOTTOM FROG HUNTING. IT
WAS LATE SUMMER AND THE BAR DITCHES WERE DOWN LOW
SO WE JUST WADDED THROUGH THEM SO WE COULD HUNT
BOTH BANKS AT THE SAME TIME. THE WATER WAS ONLY
ABOUT KNEE DEEP. I HAD PUT MY HEADLIGHT ON AND
CLIPPED THE DAD LANTERN BATTERY TO MY BELT. I HAD
STRAPPED ON A HOLSTER WITH MY RUGER 22 CAL. PISTOL
AND I WAS READY TO GO. SWEETPEA FOLLOWED ALONG
BEHIND ME CARRYING A TOE SACK TO CARRY THE FROGS
IN.
NOW IF
YOU HAVE NEVER EATEN FROG LEGS YOU JUST DON’T KNOW
WHAT YOUR MISSING. THEY ARE ALL WHITE MEAT AND
HAVE A TASTE ALL THEIR OWN. A BIG BULLFROG WILL
HAVE LEGS BIGGER THEN A CHICKEN LEG. THE
BULLFROGS AT THIS TIME OF YEAR WERE BIG, AND THERE
WERE A LOT OF THEM.
A LOT
OF FOLKS DON’T KNOW HOW TO CLEAN FROG LEGS. OH,
IT IS EASY TO SKIN THEM BUT YOU BETTER KNOW WHAT
ELSE TO DO TO THEM WHEN YOU CLEAN THEM OR YOUR
GOING TO BE IN FOR A BIG SURPRISE WHEN YOU COOK
THEM. THE FIRST TIME SWEETPEA CLEANED FROG LEGS
AND ASKED HIS MOTHER TO COOK THEM FOR HIM WAS AN
EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS.
THIS
WAS BEFORE SWEETPEA STARTED GOING FROG HUNTING
WITH ME. HE HAD KILLED TWO BIG BULLFROGS AND
SKINNED THEM. HE ASKED HIS MOTHER TO FRY THEM FOR
HIM. SHE HAD A PAN OF GREASE ON THE STOVE AND HAD
ROLLED THE LEGS IN FLOUR. WHEN THE GREASE GOT HOT
SHE PLACED THE FROG LEGS IN THE PAN, AND THEY
JUMPED OUT OF THE PAN ONTO THE FLOOR. SHE
SCREAMED AND RAN BACKWARD!
NOW YOU
SAY YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT. I DON’T BLAME YOU
BECAUSE IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YOU WOULDN’T
BELIEVE IT. BUT YOU SEE, IF YOU DON’T PULL THE
NERVE OUT OF THE LEG BEFORE YOU PUT IT IN THE HOT
GREASE IT WILL MAKE THE LEG CONTRACT SO HARD THAT
IT CAN JUMP RIGHT OUT OF THE FRYING PAN. WELL
AFTER THAT I TOLD SWEETPEA HOW TO REMOVE THE NERVE
WHEN HE CLEANED HIS FROGS, BUT HIS MOTHER NEVER
WOULD TRY TO COOK ANY MORE FROG LEGS. AS FAR AS I
KNOW SHE STILL HASN’T TO THIS DAY, AND THAT WAS 45
YEARS AGO. BUT THAT’S A WHOLE NOTHER STORY FOR A
DIFFERENT TIME.
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