River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1875-06-25
The Grasshopper Plague in Nebraska.
brownsville, Neb., Correspondence Chicago
Tribune

The GrasshOpper Plague in Nebra Ska.
brownsville, Neb., Correspondence Chicago
Tribune
All along the river bottom the ground
is bare and barren as if swept by a fire,
and on ascending the bluffs | found the
trees stripped of their leaves and the
points of the limbs white as bone. Not
spear of grass was visible in any of the
yards, nor was flower or shrub to be
seen anywhere. The grass il eaten into
the very earth, and it is brown and
parched as if dried by a
fire. The people here prided themselves
on their beautifully-laid out and we'll
kept grounds, and few weeks ago the
yards were green as an emerald
and the trees covered with luxuri-
ant foliage. Flowers bloomed every
where, and the houses nestled among the
green trees. All is now barren waste.
Thousands on thousands Of grasshoppers
crawled about the streets, covered the
fences, and lined the sidewalks Some of
them were so small and young they could
not get out of the way, ard were crushed
to death beneath the feet Of the passers-
by and under tho wheels of wagons and
carriages. Others were large and strong,
and flew away by hundreds, only to be re-
placed by new hundreds apparently de-
scending from the sky. The stencil from
dead grasshoppers at one time became so
great that the people feared disease and
cleaned the town Of their carcasses. They
crawled everywhere, lighted on my
clothes, and even in my face. IF the
plaques of Egypt were any worse than
these, then the Egyptians ought yet to be
remembered with pity and sympathy
by all civilized nations. 1t is useless for
me to attempt to describe it to you; it
must be seen and endured to be under
stood, and | assure you never fully re-
allied until to-day what the grasshopper
plague was. Countless millions have been
passing overhead al day, high in the air,
! but the people seem to care very little
whether they descend or not, as all is
taken, and think the farmers would
rather delight to see the disappointment
OF the countless millions who could come
down only to find that their ravenous
predecessors had eaten up all there was
for even grasshopper's supper.
To-day rode out to Gov. Furna's
place, about two miles from the city. lie
had beautiful farm, well stocked,
hedged, and the best nursery in the
county, containing 100 acres in fruit,
and not tree escaped.
Twenty acres of peach-erchard on which
few days ago hung 5000 bushels of
peaches, is completely ruined. Not a
| peach remains, and the trees are leafiess
as II in mid-winter. Many Of them are
badly eaten, and will die. The appe.or-
chards ate still worse, and soft wood Of
this years growth being eaten, and the
bark stripped from the limbs. They
look white as picked bones, and many of
them are already dying. The nursery
plants are eaten down to the ground. The
Governors loss is over $4,000, and il
will take him five or ten years to
replace his fine orchards. Millions
Of grasshoppers were still at
work on the trees eating the bark
and soft wood. They rose in swarrs
around us at every step Of the horses,
and we could distinctly hear the whirring
noise of their wings. witnessed grass
hopper-rse, as it is called. Thousands
commenced going up into the air and
circlng about. | could liken it to nothing
but bees swarming. They filed the air
in countless millions and then struck off
northwest. In the corn they were still at
work. Not spear was to be seen above
the earth, bat on going to the hills |
found them sticking in the ground eating
the roots. Some had burrowed over an
inch deep in search OF the green plants. |
rode over mile and saw not living
3 cen thing but little milkweed and
.r-e sumach bushes. and here and there
patch of prairie-grass All the tame
grass seemed TO bo taken.