Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1853-08-05
CURIOUS and SCIENTIFIC.
The Army OF Worms.


extraordinary calamity, or such one as
this country never experienced before
or since, hey ond what | shall here spec
ify. 1t was an army OF worms which
extended from Lancaster, N. H., to
Nor,hfield, Mass. They began the Lat
ter part of July, ITO, and continued
their ravages till September. The in
habitan,s denominated them the "North
ern Army" as they seemed TO advance
from the rorth or northwest, and to
pass east and south, although 1 did NOT
learn that they ever passed the high
land between the Connec .icut and the
Merrimac rivers. They were altogether
innumerable for multitude. DR.. Burton.
OF Thetford, W.T., told me he had seen
pastures so covered that he could no,
put down his finger in single spot,
without placing il upon worm. lie
said he had seen more than ten bushels
in a heap. They were unlike any thing
the present generation had ever seen.
There was a stripe upon the back like
velvet; on either side yellow stripe
from end to end and the rest OF his
BODY vas brown. They were sometimes
seen no. larger than pin but in their
maturity they were sometimes seen as
long as a mans finger and proportion
ateiy in circumference.
They filled the houses of the inhabi-
tan,s. and entered their kneading troughs,
as did the frogs of Egypt. They would
90 up the sides of The houses, and cover
i. in such a compact column, that moth.
ing Of the boards or shingles could be
seen. They did not take hold of the
pumpkin vines, peas, potatoes, or fax !;
but wheat and corn disappeared before
them as by magic. They would climb
the stalks of wheat, cut them on
lust below the head, and almost as
soon as the head had fallen 10 the
ground, i. was dev voured. To preve ut this
the men would "draw the ropes, as
they termed it, that is, two men would
take a rope, one at each end, and pulling
from each other till it was nearly straigh-
tened, they would then pass through
wheat. fields, brush off the worms from
the stalks, and in perpetual action thea
retarded the destruction OF their wheat,
but il was doomed finally to extinction.
There were fields OF corn on the
meadows, in Haserhill and Newbury,
VT, standing so thick, large and tall
that in some instances it was difficult
to see man standing more than one
rod in the field from the outermost row.
But in ten days from the first appear
ance of the "Nor,hern Army" nothing
remained of this corn but the bare stalks.
Every expedien, was resorted 70 oy the
inhabitants to protect their fields OF corn,
in vain. They dug trenches foot and
a half deep, hoping this might prove a
defence but the bitches were soon
filled. and the millions that were IN the
rear went over on the backs OF their iel-
lows in the trench, and took possession
of the interdicted food.
About the FIRST OF September, the
worms suddenly disappeared, and where
thew terminated their earthly career is
unknown. for not The carcass OF worm
could be seen. In just eleven years at
terward, in 1881, the same kind OF .
worm made its appearance again. and
the fears Of the people were much ex'
cited, but they were comparatively few
in number, and none of the KIND nave
ever been seen since.
This visitation, which destroyed the
principal grains for that year, was ie!t
severely by all the settlements ior II
no, only cut off their bread-siuffs, but
deprived them Of the means Of making
their pork to great degree. and reduced
the quantity Of fodder for their cattle
The settlements of Haverhill and New
bury did not feel this calamity quite So
much as those infant settlements In
the towns north and south OF them
They had been longer in their settle
ments, had some old stock Of provisions
and had the means to procure supplies
from Charlestown, or by the way OF
Charles,own. Jonathan Tyler, OF rier-
mont, related to me that the settlements
in that town were lef; without the means
of subsistence from their own farms. !.
HIS father drew hay on hand-sled
upon the ice from tina great ox-bow In
ewbury, to supply his COW the ioiiow'
ing winter. And had il not been iof
two sources open for their support iney
must have deserted the town. One was
the extraordinary crop Of pumpkins IN
Hayerhill anc New bury. The corn be
ing cut off. and the pumpkins remaining
untouched by the worms. they grew as
tonishly, and seemed to cover tho whole
ground where the corn had stood, and
the yield was the largest ever seen.
The people OF Haverhill and Newbury
gave the settlers of Piermont the Privi.
lege of carrying off gratis as many pump
kins as they would. They went up.
made kind of raft. and transported
them by water to Piermont.
Another source of support was open
to them by the immense number Of pig
cons which Providence sent them i'm.
n sdiately on the disappearing Of the
"Northsin Army" Nothing could ex-
cesd their number. unless il was ths
worms that had preceded them. The
Tylers Of Pisrmont, David, Daniel an0
| Jonathan, commenced taking pigeons Oh
the meadow west OF Haverhill corner
and in the space of ten days, they hao
taken more than four hundred dozen
They carried them TO Piermont. and made
"bee" for picking pigeons. and two
or three times week the people o
Havsrhill were invited down 10 Mr.
Tyler's to pick pigeons. Those "h.
went had the bodies OF all they Pickeo
r