The daily Argus., 1874-08-24
A LETTER FROM THE GRAssHOPPER
COUNTRY.
The Struggles, sufferings and Wants Of Pho.
neer Settlers.

Ano ctruggles, SunerlnBs anu wants OF Pic
neer Settlers.
The following letter is from soldier ir
the late war who went from Mercer coun
ty, this State. 1t is written to his brother
in.law, George Dennis, of this place. Mr.
Dennis was also soldier from Tazwel
county. this State. in the Sd Ills. Cavalry
in the late war. He is now at work at hi.
trade Ia plasterer) in this city. Mobiles
county, Minnesota, is in the southwest cor.
ner of that State, directly north of Sioux
City, Iowa, and near the Dakota line:
LITTLE Rock, Mobiles Co, Mimi. !
/ Aug. 8, 1874.
| Dear Brother and Sister. Yours of the
7th has just come to hand, and | feel that
| must answer it now, as you sent stamp
for return letter. / am in close place
my house is not finished it has no floor,
nor is it battened, and the windows are
nailed up with boards. We have worn out
all our clothes, both bed and wearing ap.
parel. An army of locusts Tor low cusses)
lit down upon US on the 18th of July and
left on the 10Th, going south, and taking
our crops with them. | had seventeen
| nSASo Va WI OLA Va SOu COLI, bWCuly
of wheat, one OF potatoes, and one of beans.
am now cutting what wheat can, hoping
to be able to save seed for one more trial,
for ! don't like to give it up. | have u
good claim, if the 'hoppers will let it alone.
| never saw so handsome a country as this
| None OF US have been sick since we came
here. But have spent all my means to
get here and make our little improvements
Last year l raised few potatoes, but this
year the 'hoppers have taken them ALL
They have eaten the potatoes, beans, cab
bages, turnips / had three acres of turnips)
clean down into the ground. Nothing es-
capped them. They took the leaves off the
trees, and even the bark from the apple
trees. They completely covered the ground.
When dog would run in among them and
scare them up you could not see the dog
four rods away They bent the young trees
and corn nearly to the ground. Sunday
morning, when they took their flight. it
looked like great dark cloud,-we could
barely see the sun, though it was 10 o.
clock in the morning and the sun shining
bright. On my corn fields the stalks looked
like cane field stripped and topped for
| the sugar mill.
1t is pretty tough, after working hard
for the last two years to raise something
and get start, to have all our hopes blast
ed in few hours, Nearly every one out
here we're soldiers in the late war, hut we
have found an enemy here that, as yet, we
cannot conquer. do not know whether
congress will do anything for the "boys in
blue" out here or not, There is one thing
certain-without aid from some quarter
starvation stares US in the face. TO leave
here we cannot, for we have no money To
sell off what little stock we have will make
us beggars, for we can get little or nothing
for it-not enough to take us to our old
homes again. And then, it there, what
are we to do? We can only be the slaves
and drudges Of society for the balance of
our lives, for we forfeit our homesteads,
aud we would not have the means to re-
turn here if we did not forfeit them; nor
would we have teams tot farm them there
fore others would get the benefit of what
we have done. No, there Is no other way
to an independent living for us and our
families but to fight it out on this line,
hoping for aid from some quarter (the
Lord only knows where 1t is to come FROM
to enable us to live and try to make crop
next year We live in the hope of crop
next year, for the 'hoppers have deposited
no eggs here this season. They have left
us for the third time on Wednesday-but
left no sand the last years deposit has
all hatched out and gone south wthou:
leaving any eggs here-so we live in hope,
and think that when all this region shall
be under cultivation they will not make
quite so clean thing of it as they have
done this year in our small fields. They
go for our growing crops more than for the
grass. / have saved ten tons of hay for
my little stock.
This is the last piece of paper | have
and as it is nearly full shall have to close,
though | want to say great deal more.
Ii you think proper you may give this let
ter to THE Rock ISLAND ARGUS to use
such portions of it Us the editor may see
fit, in order to let the public at large know
our condition here, for we must have aid
from some quarter, or starve, or beggar
ourselves by leaving.
wish, Brother George, that you would
save me all the garden seed that you
can and send it to me, In fact, every
person who can should save everything in
the way of seed and send to their acquant-
| ances among the pioneer settlers for distri-
button among their neighbors. 1t will cost
but little, as postage now on such packages
only cent an ounce. hope newspapers
will make this request of their readers,
for it will do much good if attended to.
Hoping that those who are rich in this
worlds goods will devise some way to aid
the frontier settlers in this their hour of
need, we remain, as ever, yours in friend
ship, love and truth.
SYLVESTER JACKSON.