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Health & Fitness

The Celebrated Jumping Dog of Montville

Montville's 1879 version of a Mark Twain short story.

Renowned author Mark Twain wrote a short story titled, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”  In the story there was a dog named Andrew Jackson who won every bet his master wagered. Finally, Andrew Jackson lost and being so proud, literally died of embarrassment.

I found the following article published in the 1879 edition of The New Haven Evening Register.  Although it is not about the history of Montville, sometimes a simple tale can just make you smile.

DEATH ON FROGS

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"Montville has a dog that associates with toads.  Some time ago he became an adept in discovering their haunts, and when they hopped he would hop, and whey they were at rest he rested.  He showed every symptom of delight over the fact that he could leap father than the toad could, not recognizing the disparity in length of body and limbs in his favor.  One day he nosed out a bull-frog in the wet grass that proved to be the prince of tremendous leapers, and trying his jumping powers with it he was defeated.  Astonished, he looked at the frog as he leaped away, but before it had got off the premises, as if in a fit of jealousy, he ran after it and killed it.  He still noses out toads, and playfully touches them with his feet to make them jump with him, but from the day he was beaten by the frog at leaping he has insisted on killing every frog he meets on his travels."

The dog in the Montville story continued to jump with the frogs yet, when he lost, just ate the evidence hiding his defeat.   He was a clever dog, but made many unhappy endings for any winning frog.

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