The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-07-16
THE GRASSHOPPER PLAGUE.
The Devastation of the West and the Des-
titution OF the People.


l have just returned from Independ-
ence, Jackson county, Missouri, where
1 have been staying since May of 1874.
jackson county is one of the western
counties, bordering on Kansas, and has
been one of the most infested with grass
hoppers. L find here that the general
public have no conception of the devas-
tations and total destruction caused by
these ravagers. The reports by telegraph
are thought to be highly colored and ex'
aggerations. The truth is, no descrip-
ton can give an idea of that stricken
country. III had been told what have
seen, should have received it with sew
eral grains of allowance. About the
third week in April the grasshoppers be-
gan to hatch and continued Matching
until the last of May. Then the work of
destruction began. The wheat, corn and
grass were eaten off to the ground the
young and tender vegetables disappeared
like snow wreaths before this all-devour-
ing army The grapes, leaves and ten
A drills, the strawberries, buds, blossoms,
and the plants themselves the turf,
shrubbery, and all kinds of small fruits,
shared alike the same fate, until by the
1st of June the lawns, shrubbery, veget-
W
titute and barren rs in January. Imagine
the month of roses without any roses.
l did not see single flower, with the ex-
ception of some III the early spring, that
had bloomed outside n greenhouse before
l Left Missouri. This barren waste eX-
tends, in Missouri, from the Kansas Dor
der along the line of the Missouri Pacific
road rs far east as Warrensburg. Tins
whole country would, under ordinary
circumstances, be perfect garden spot,
every acre being under cultivation. In
the entire distance from Kansas City to
Warrensburg L failed TO see growing
crop of any kind Probably one-half
the acreage had been planted in corn, but
not solitary stalk was to be seen. In
the orchards the trees We're stripped of
their leaves, and large numbers were
girdled, the bark being eaten off clean III
large patches. On the roads the under
growth was stripped of both leaves and
bark, and some of the large grasshoppers
were working on the foliage III the
tops of the forest trees. Usage orange
hedges were completely denuded of bark
and leaves, the once trim and beautiful
barriers presenting the appearance of
only q tangled chcUdur az, friSc of dry,
thorny brush, which will never grow
again. The only sign of vegetable life
was an occasional, solitary stalk of milk
weed, which the grasshopper Will not
touch. Want and suffering must follow
such state OF things. OF course, peo
pie of MEANS and those in moderate cir
cumstances, can get along, and, to Ger
tain extent, relieve others, but small
farmers, and all depending on the pro-
ducts of the soil for support, are i'll n
most pitiable condition. | have heard
of strong men begging, with tears in
their eyes for few pounds of flour and
bacon for their starving little ones. n
whole family, consisting of father,
mother, and three children, died for
want of food to keep body and soul to-
gether. They lived on the Blue river,
between Independence and Kansas City.
1t is but justice to say that the neighbors
and citizens were not aware Of
the facts of the case, and were not,
therefore, responsible for the terrible
death which overlook these poor pill
grims on their journey TO the better
land. This is, we believe, the first case
of the kind which has TRANSFERRED in
jackson county, but, from present indi-
cations, the future twelve months will
make many graves marked with the in
scription, Starved to death" Think
of it, you who daily sit down to beauti
fully spread tables, and then, if you can,
refuse to give to these poor suffering
ones. Ii you could but see what L have
seen, of the restitution of the people,
you would not hesitate i'll this matter,
but would gladly help the old and in
firm, the crippled, the widows and or
/.
daily ascending to heaven. L am i'll re-
ceipt Of a letter from a friend residing
about five miles from Independence, Ill
which it is stated that the restitution i'll
the country among the poorer classes Is
simply fearful that many families have
nothing but corn meal and water as a
means of subsistence, and some others
have nothing but bran and water and
that if assistance is not rendered soon,
murder and robbery will be the order OF
the day. Stock of all kinds 'are dying
off daily. One of their horses had died
the night before he had been turned
out TO pick up living from what he
could find. Spectators are going
around the country buying up horses
and cattle at about one-third their origi-
nal value.
One evening there was taken from the
Court House yard i'll Independence tif-
teen barrels of grasshoppers, each bar
Y rel weighing over 200 pounds. This
went the rounds of the papers, and it
was amusing to see the comments it oc-
asioned. They did not hesitate to state
tnat if it was not fish story it was very
large grasshopper story; and yet this is
q fact, to my certain knowledge, for l
was there at the time. / have seen the
fences, the bodies of trees, the shrubbery
every spear of grass and the sides of the
houses covered with them. Every fence
lust looked as if swarm of bees had
settled on it, They got into the wells
and cisterns, and tainted the water until
it was vile. Open springs were COM
pletely choked up and SO polluted that
stock would not drink of the water.
They invaded the houses, and ate cloth
wing and carpets. If an outside door
should happen to be left open for only a
few minutes perfect stream of the dis