Donnerstag, 29. Januar 2015

Im Elysium

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,
As strange an one as ever was known
In all our generation.



***

wird fortgesetzt

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Bei dem hier unter dem Pseudonym R.W. Aristoquakes virtuell zur Veröffentlichung gebrachten, mehr als einhundertfünfzigtausend Doppelverszeilen umfassenden und mit über 15.000 Zeichnungen versehenen Epos handelt es sich um die umfangreichste Nacherzählung des Homer zugeschriebenen Kriegsberichtes, die jemals niedergeschrieben wurde und nach Auffassung des Autors, um das wichtigste literarische Werk der Neuzeit überhaupt.

Unter dem oben abgedruckten Titel veröffentlicht der noch unbekannte Schriftsteller an dieser Stelle in den nächsten fünf Jahren sein als Fortsetzungeerzählung entstandenes Mammutmachwerk über den antiken Tierkrieg und dessen Folgen für die Menschheit.

Das über zweitausend Jahre alte homerische Epillion, das im Original nur etwa 300 Verszeilen umfasst, wurde von R.W. A., der zehn Jahre lang daran gearbeitet hat, zu einem Mammutwerk aufgebläht, das die Batrachomyomachia mit der Ilias und der Bibel verbindet.

Diese Verknüpfung der drei wichtigsten Werke der abendländischen Literatur, die in etwa zur gleichen Zeit entstanden sind, dient dem Autor dazu, seine religionsgeschichtliche These zu untermauern, in der er den Frosch als Ursprungsgottheit darstellt und behauptet, dass die Götter der Neuzeit nichts anderes sind als die konsequente Weiterentwicklung der ägyptischen Froschgötter.