Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-10-02
The Grassh0ppcr Plague In Kansas---A More
cheerful View of Affairs.

Cheerful View Of Affairs.
The following are extracts from letter
from R. W. Thacher, Cashier of the First
National Bank, at Ottawa, Kansas. 1t will
be seen that he does not share in the gener-
al opinion that the ravages of the grasshop-
pers in that State have brought the whole
people to the verge of starvation, as the i'm
preston seems to have gone over the coun-
try pretty generally. lie says They
staid with US about ten .ays and left as un-
tremendously aS they came. Their work
was grand fizzle 50 i-f as accomplishing
the amount of damage foretold of them. |
don't think the whole damage done to thi>
country GA miles square) would reach
81 600. They did not act at all as it was
said they would. So far from eating ''eyery
green thing" indiscriminately, as they were
charged with doing, they on the contrary
showed very dainty appctites. and ate only
what Just suited their fancy. | am disgust
ed with the lies the newspaper correspond
ents have told about them, and with the
overdrawn pictures of desolation and de
spair which even a doubtless wel-meanine
Bishop of our own State has written to
Cincinnati paper, and which has been ex-
tensively republished throughout the east
| read it in the Albany Journal, and several
of Us, discussing ii, agreed that such grossly
exaggerated statements put forth as an ap
peal 10 the benevolent Of the east for aims i,
an unpardonable imposition upon charity
| The facts a. to the work Of the grasshoppers
both as derived from my own Observation
and from conversation with residents O
other localities are Just these They stripped
the leaves from the apple and pear trees.
leaving the fruit unframed, and 1t has ripen-
ed all the more beautifully for the absence
of the leaves. Strange as ii may seem, the
trees are now to some extent putting forth
new shoots and leaves. And have actually
one young apple tree in my back yard which
Is now in blossom. They ate the peaches
that were ripe but left the green ones and
the leaves almost entirely untouched. They
did not touch the cherry or plum trees
They ate the tomato leaves but not the fruit.
They destroyed the watermelon vines, fruit
and all. They ate up the rose leaves, YER
benas and honeysuckle, but did not NEEDLE
with the geraniums and other house plants
which were out for the summer. They ate
up the clover whenever found, but as for
destroying the prairie grass and even the
weeds, as some correspondent, say. 1t Is no
such thing.
The cattle are still hcrlcl on the prairies
and are doing we'll My own two cows
were never in better condition, though they
have nothing to eat but the grass they get
on the prairie and their usual mess of bran
at home. Hay Is plenty and worth only
four dollars per ton delivered. Yod ask II
they ate the po,atoe, in the ground. Blcs>
me they did not disturb the potatoes OF
the tops either. The grasshopIcrS have not
proved half a serious calamity a the
drouth, which lasted eleven weeks, and
really the greatest mischief Of all WAS
wrought by the chinch bug, about which the
least remark has been made This miser-
able little pest did very much damage to
the wheat (althuugh the State produced
larger crop of wheat than ever before in it.
history, and it Is only worth zoe TO Il per
buShel now. and when that was harvested
attacked the corn. The corn would have
however escaped their ravaces but that the
drouth coming on they drained it ot the
short supply OF sap. and between bugs and
drouth there was rot left sufficient vitality
to fill the oai,. pom the bottom land.
however, despite the bugs, there was Iro-
duced from half to full crop. one re
liable farmer Of my acquaintance recently
made affidavit thar he had over 81 500 bush
els of corn from his field of seventy acres
His IN was planted in March and got the
start Of chnch bugs, drouth aud grls~hop-
pers, 4 result which early pantin. here
most always secures. The unfortunate
classes among Us are the -hiit.e--, lazy far
merS who spend their time tending grange
meetings. talking politics and CrurinIng al
the hard times. when they ought t1hc plough
ing or planting, and those who have hlt
Just opened up new farm and depend upon
their first summer crop for their iir-t WIN
ter's support. These latter are generally
very poor. They come with NO property
but a team, COOK stove. white covered wa-
on On which many of them live through the
summer while building cabin and getting
their native sod turned over) an Oh rooster
and two or three hens, together with any
where from one 70 ten children from baby
hood up. They "brcak some prairie to
the depth of two and half inches and upon
the upturned sod they plant corn. II it
happens 10 be n wet season they gc; q crop.
bat ordinarily "sod corn" is only expected
TO produce stalks and half grown ears suit
able for fodder. These people. however, get
enough ont Of ii to make little meal, and
with cow : milk. plrs AMI iittlc sorghum
molaSSes aS a substitute for butter they get
through the winter and are happy. Bat
this year they have no sod corn. either full
cared or fit for fodder. and rs consequence
Will have no pork, ana the question may
well lie asked what they are going 90 do
They must of course have ail, and here l.
room enoash for charity. c-recially in uur
western and frontier counties, and 1t needs
no exaggerated fiction TO bald up for them
pitiful story. Oar people are sympathiz-
ing with them already, and devi-ing liberal
means for their -ustenance, and have 40
idea that a single one of them will suffer for
want Of food if he has voice enough - make
his need known. The State A. a whole has
an abundance Of food for all its people. and
this eastern portion which ha- been longest
settled is able and have no douh; will be
found willing to contribltc literally for the
snstenance and fomlo-t Of their less iortu-
nate neghborS.