Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-02-05
O,BoRNE CRY, OsBoRNE Co. Has, }
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O,BoRNE CRY, OSBORNE Co. Has,
December 30, ls7i.
NJ L. h. Redington
DEAR SIR.-Ths grasshoppers swarned
| from the canons Of the Rocky Mountains in
the summer OF 1874. and rayaged the coun-
try west of the Missouri River. A. 10
their numbers Will state tins fact Ny son
and went into l. corn field. where they
were no thicker than in every corn field,
AMI. counting the number on square yard.
By computation, we found q million to the
acre On the wild grass Of the prairie they
were perhaps half as thick While their
ravages were very injurious and indeed
calamitous. over wide extent Of country,
the blow fell with crushing effect upon the
frontier The men who had sold their pos
sessions 10 the EIst. gathered their little
stores together. and in white covered
wagons. the ''ships Of the prairie had
wended their way slowly hundreds OF miles
to new home: had braved all the hard
ships of frontier life. which no man appre-
cates till he has tried them had built
dug out. broken twenty acres Of ground
and got corn crop in who mad expended
all and were hanging on by the skin Of
their teeth till the corn should come into
the crib: these men in one day saw years
hopes frustrated. Just as the ears were
setting the grssshoppers came. and in
twenty-fOur hours the corn fields were moth
ing but rows of bare poles-everY leaf and
ear deyOured.
The taxable property in Osborne county.
by last Springs assessment. was $500 900
Oar loss by grasshoppers, added to drought,
from which we were already suffering. was
certainly not less than $50 900. Imagine
your city of Lawrence /; Imagine Boston, to
suff5r at one blow a loss equal To three
quarters its taxable property What calls
Tor aid would 20 forth, and what response
hey would meet,
Now, as to oar present condition There
are about 1000 people in TINS county. One
third of them are already reported by CON-
mittees, after careful canvass. TO be out OF
provisions and no means 10 buy with
Another third will be in that condition by
he first dav os March. We need clothing.
Government has issued $40 blankets, $40
pairs shoes and $50 overcoats, to this county,
which was n help, but not hall enough.
Barrels and boxes OF clothing are coming
from the East: and il the supply is not
dried up too soon. We shall do very well for
clothing. We need food; 900 pounds a
dav of h0ur or meal for oar county com
mittee to distribute would still leave US on
short rations Instead OF that we have had
less than 5000 pounds of all kinds of pro-
visions sent into this county up TO New
Years.
A somewhat careful Investigation leads
to the conclusion that if we were shut in by
walls and compelled to liveon what there is
in thesounty every pound of Hour would be
consumed before spring. We need seed.
think the Legislature will provide that. If
i, does not am reminded OF the negro who
had severe master. at the devil does
not get my master. said be, there is no use
in having devil" The very existence of
this people, for the future. depends on get
ting seed in the spring, and II the Legisla
ture does not provide it, we might as well
dispense with the luxury of having Legis-
lature.
For food We must depend upon the gran
aries of the West, and ths pocket books oe
the East Wheat and -four are cheap not
far from US. and few Thousand dollars in
money in each county 30 be used by respon-
sible and trustworthy persln would be Il
wonderful helo
Ssuppose tho frontiers OF Kansas and
Nebraska are affected very much alike As
the settlement of Kansas has been little
more rapid. the amount of destltution is
probably little greater than in our sister
State.
Ii these pioneers ara estimated by the
amount OF their worldly possessions they
would he ranked low. Most Of them are
poor men, There would have been not a
little raggedness and closeness of living if
the grasshoppers had not come. II they
are estimated by their intelligence and their
moral qualities, their rank will be higher.
1t requires courage to come TO n new c0un-
try; 1t requires heroism to endure its pri-
vations without murmuring- But il they |
are estimated by the importance Of their |
work to the country, then their raak will |
be high. No class will receive more con- |
sideration From jamestown in 1907 and |
Plymouth in 1920 to the present moment q |
succession Of hardy soldiers Of civilization |
has carried forward the skirmish line west |
ward, in a desperate hand to hand fight |
with hunger and rags, and sayages and
wild beasts, while the mighty army. the |
countless. millions Of Christian nation |
have followed. and possessed in pence and
plenty, the land which the pioneers had |
prepared ''''' ''si'i 4 D. rs.,... !