Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1865-08-19

Iaffs.
A letter dated at Jaffa [Palestine),
Jane 20, describes visitation Of locusts
as foIloMssv
= In the month Of April last we twice
observed large dark clouds, resembling
smoke, moving to and frosas if swayedI
by the wind. One morning these clouds
came do IN and proved to be l0eusts, So
great in number that the whole land was
covered with them. The grain at that
time was full in ear and nearly ripea but
the loeusss did not touch 1T or an aother
vegetation. Soon after, however, 1t was
observed that they buried themselves In
the soil and there deposited their IN
Vulnerable eggs. The Arabs and peas
ants saw the approaching mischief, and
went through the land IN thousands dig
cling for these eggs; they succeeded to
a certain degree, and destroyed incredl-
bic numbers with water: aud fire, but AL
their efforts had very little effect.
About the middle of May small black.
Creatures, at. q distance resembling
large ants, were observed accommodating
in large heaps throughout the country,
and a few days after they bad been thus
seen, they began to leap, and manifest
ed the coming calamity and invasion of
tne fearfir; army, as described SO en-
phaticalIy in Joel ii. 3 The people now
began to sweep them together and bury
or burn them In bitches dag for the
purpose. But all to little or no effect,
and as they grew little larger the ex--
tent of their multitudes began to be
seen, and the coming catastrophe could
not be mistaken. The roads were cow
cred with them, all marching In regular
lines. like armies of soldiers, with their
leaders in front, and all the opposition
of man to arrest their progress was In
vain, 49,
= They first consumed the plantations
around RanicL, Is LYDIA and all the
smaller villages near them, and then, en-
tering the towns and villages, consumed
the yictuals, &c., in the market and
streets, by degrees forcing themselves
into the houses and covering the walls
outside as we'll as inside 1t seems that
everything which is moistened by their
| saliva is poisoned, for the cattle that
feed on the remnants which are left all
die. / myself saw fifty oxen dead in
| the villages of Delta, Daggon and Zaff-
arish, that had fed on the remnant OF
durrah Indian corn left by the locusts,
and the night before last twenty more
| died from the same cause. ~, 1 at
About two weeks ago they we're seen
1 to a fearful extent all around Jatfa, but
still without wings. The town for sew
] eral days appeared forsaken, all shops
| were shut, all business suspended. Al
most all the inhabitants had gone out
to destroy and drive away the invading
army /; they made tremendous bitches,
and buried and burned countless myr-
lads, but, as before, all in vain, for the
more they destroyed the more seemed
to arise from hiding places, and as they
grew in size so they seemed to grow IN
multitude, and towards the east from
here they covered the ground for miles
i and miles to height of several inches.
As their wings are still too small to
enable them to fly and to visit the seve-
1 raj hundred gardens within the culti-
waited part of the district of Jaffa, they
have hitherto confined their destrue-
tions to the outer gardens, of which
about fifty have been completely laid
waste, every green leaf, vegetable, tree,
and even the bark of young trees, de-
voured, and these beautiful gardens
look like birch tree forest,in winter. s
| Our garden was one of the first at
tackled. For several days we saw the
destructive host advancing; all our farm
servants, as well as several hired laborers,
were employed to keep them off,. to
drive them away, or bury them, but we
found them as Joel describes them,
chapter ii. /, YER. q: 'They shall not
break their ranks. Who can doubt
the Word of God when we have these
leyidenees before our eyes? True, our
men broke their ranks for moment,
but no sooner had they passed the men
than they closed again. and marched
forward through hedges and bitches, as
if united by some mysterious power,
causing them to open before man and
to close again as soon as they had pass
ed him. lt efedto = - -
On the 14th instant they forced their
way into the garden, defying all human
efforts to prevent them, and in less than
a day the whole garden to the extent OF
i eight acres, was covered with them, and
the trees, to thu. number of three thou
sand, as well as every other green leaf,
| with the exception of the palm trees
and the prickly pear hedges, were strip
ped.
whether eating or drinking, reading
or writing, or lying awake in bed, flor
! it is impossible TO sleep one hears the
noise from without, like the noise OF
armed boots or of the running of many
waters, and within they keep dropping
on and about you. At meals 1 am kept
busy driving them away while / drive
half dozen away from the bread, as
many will jump into the sugar basin, or
even into my cup of tea, &c, and when
undressing they leap oat of our very
! clothes without our having known that
they were there. ~ .4 ~,
News has just reached us from Nab
lous /; the olive trees ip those mountains
have all been stripped, and near the riy-
er Ondge the soil is SO thickly covered
with these creatures that many of the
animals led there to drink refuse to pass
| on.
Another letter CT alater date says that
they are in nowise decreasing, rather
the opposite. Every native inhabitant
has been ordered by government to
bring fifteen pound weight of locusts
daily, and those who do not are fined
FL sterling each time. ~ - =
California Gossip.
lsan Francisco Cor. Of the Chicago Times.l
SLIP BETWEEN THE CUP AND THE LIP,
Recently there was fashionable we'd
Il 4 Al n