Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1875-08-24
Squirt Of 5fffcrsotl.
CharlestoWn, Jefferson County, West Va.
TUESDAY MORNING, AUGUST p, 1915.
sUFFERINGS IN MISSOURI.

a patron of the Spirit has sent us copy
of the West Union Cohio) Scion. from which
We copy the following extract from a letter
written from johnson county, Mo-, by the
wife of Mr.. Henry Ridenour, formerly of this
county The Shewalters, Smallwoods, and
quite number of other families formerly of
this county, live in Johnson county, which
has been the scene of such devastation, and
our friend suggests the present query if aid
should not be rendered them Mrs Ri
denou1 says: e '
Never before in my life have felt want
of capacity to express my feelings, as do at
this present moment, my heart is full of grief
and dependency, for the fate of our suffering
people of Kansas and Missouri from grass
hoppers. For the last two or three years our
crops have been cut short by chintz bugs and
draught, and particularly last summer we suf>
fered greatly from the dry season, little or
nothing raised, consequently during last win-
ter and spring there was no feed in the coun>
try, and many persons lost their hogs. horses,
cattle, and even chickens. They estimateth
loss of fine horses at one thousand or fifteen
hundred head, died of starvation in this county,
and this is not all, of course, many were left
without horses to work with and destitete of
provisions, money and credit, as those that
had plenty would not even let seed corn go
without money, but all this did not stop them.
Early in the spring many mortgaged their
household plunder to get provisions and seed
corn, and by the dint of industry managed to
plant q considerable amount of everything.
During the month of April and May our
hopes were lifted to the skies at the prospect
hnf b.,o,
thrifty until about the last of May and the
first of June. And then, Oh, then, in few
short days from Kansas into Missouri, directly
East, that immense army invaded our State,
eating up fields of wheat, oats, fax, corn,
grass of all kinds, stripping gardens meadows
and everything that grew, even barking the
trees, eating the buds of all kind, also fruit
of every description, entering the houses aud
eating clothing to pieces, leaving the fields as
bare as the big road. My old friend, perhaps
you will think this exaggeratiou, but it is
nevertheless true to the letter In the grass
hopper regions it looks like mid winter. The
hoppers were so numerous that they stopped
the cars close to this place, all this | can SUBJ
stantiate by several of the most respectable
citizens of this county, who were eye witnesses
to the great fact. Appeals were made, by the
suffering people, to the Governor, and he im>
mcdiately issued Proclamation to all person
to meet on Thursday the Sd day of juno in
humiliation and prayer to Almighty God for
deIiverauce from the mighty plague that
threatened our people with terrible famine,
which was strictly observed by all donom-'
nations in all the cities, towns, counties and
townships throughout the State, and again my
husband and son were farming about four
miles welt of this place. We had 40 acres
of wheat, 40 acres of fax, oats, corn and all
other crops in proportion, promising an abun-
dant yield, until the first of June, which were
all taken, and now the fields arc perfectly bare.
My son and son<in>law have left the State to
hunt some locality to move their families TO-,
and God only knows whether we will all meet
again in this world or not. The streets are
alive with people that were but short time
since rich aud comfortable, moving out of the
State to new homes some of them not knowing
where they are going. There has been somo
provisions shipped in for the sufferers, but in
many neighborhoods, the amount is so small
it does but little good. The hoppers are still
at work and Matching, have taken up the fourth
planting of corn, and it is now nearly the 1st
of July and people are still planting. Many
are too poor to get away. Tell my friends, in
Ohio, at one timo conld not have believed
that our once beautiful State would have re-
fused support TO her enterprising population.
Famine in now staring us in the face; while
our sister States are blessed with plenty.
Eg The Baltimore Sun says the Balti>
more & Ohio Railroad Company have nearly
completed the purchase for 100000 of the
Winnns and Patapsco farm of 600 acres near
the Relay House, and will use it to increase