They were quite optimistic they would have a pretty good harvest and they knew there would be thousands coming that year, so they had to grow enough to take care of themselves plus enough for two or three thousand more. They counted heavily on the first harvest.
Some accounts say the ground was just about covered black.
And one woman said that everywhere she walked she would squish as many crickets as would be under her feet. They got out their shovels and tried to mash them, they dug ditches and tried to drown them. They drove them into ditches and set fire to them. They were desperately trying to preserve as many of the crops as they could. They were grateful to see that when a horde of seagulls came over, they were not eating crops but eating the crickets.