The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1853-08-18
DAVENPORT. SCOTT CO. IOWA; THURSDAY AUGUST Is.
The Army of Worms.

In the summer of 1910, the whole section
of country was visited by an extraordinary
calamity, or such q one as this country new
|er experienced before or since, beyond what
shall here specify. 1t is an army oi
worms which extended from Lancaster, N.
H., to Mortified, Mass. They began the
latter part of July, ITO, and continued their
ravages till September. The inhabitants
denominated them the "Northern Army" as
they seemed to advance from the north or
northwest, and to pass east and south, al
though did not learn that they ever passed
the highland between the Connecticut and
the Merrimac rivers. They were alto
gether innumerable for multitude DR..
Burton, OF Thetford, VT, told me that he
had seen pastures so covered that he could
not put down his finger in single spot,
without placing it upon worm. He said
he had seen more than ten bushels in heap.
They were unlike any thing the present
generation had ever seen. There was a
stripe upon the back like velvet; on either
side stripe from end to end; and the rest
of his body was brown. They were some
times seen not larger than a pin; but in
their maturity they were sometimes seen us
long as mans finger and proportionately in
circumference.
They filled the houses of the inhabitants,
and entered their kneading-troughs, as did
the frogs of Egypt. They would 60 up the
sides of the houses, and cover it in such a
compact column, that nothing of the boards
or shingles could be seen. They did not
take hold of the pumpkin-vnes, peas, pota-
toes, or flax; but wheat and corn disappeared
before them as by magic. They would
climb the stalks of wheat, cut them off just
below the head, and almost as soon as the
head had fallen to the ground, it was de-
voured. To prevent this the men would
"draw the ropes" as they termed it, that is,
two men would take rope, one at each end
and pulling from each other till it was near
ly Strengthened, they would then pass through
wheat fields, brush off the worms from the
stalks, and in perpetual action they retard-
ed the destruction of their wheat, but it was
doomed finally to extinction.
There were fields of corn on the meadows,
in Haverhill and Newberry. Vt, standing
so thick, large and tall. that in some nstan-
ces it was difficult to see a man standing
more than one rod in the field from the out
ernest row. But in ten days from the first
appearance of the "Northern Army moth
ing remained of this corn but the bare stalks.
Every expedient was resorted to by the in
habitants to protect their fields of corn, in
vain. They dug trenches a foot and half
deep, hoping this might prove defence;
but the bitches were soon filled, and the
millions that were in the rear went over on
the backs of their fellows in the trench,
and took possession of the interdicted
food.
About the first of September, the worms
suddenly disappeared, and where they termi-
mated their earthly career is unknown, for
not the carcass of a worm could be seen. In
just eleven years afterwards, in 1871, the
same kind of a worm made it's appearance
again, and the fears of the people were much
excited, but they were comparatively few III
number, and none of the kind have ever
been seen since.-Pouars' History.