Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-07-08
More About the Grasshopper.

An Omaha correspondent of the Chicago
yr;b,,ge writes to that paper as follows,
nnder date of June %:
was astoniShed to read, among your
od;torial notes of yesterday, that "it is
curious fact that, while the grasshoppers
can,e from the southwest last year they are
departing to the northwest this year," etc,
~ 10 that effect Now the fact is that
those insects did not come from the New
Neyico plains last summer, as every citi-
zen of Nebraska and Dakota well knows,
hut they did come, on the contrary, from
tba north and northwest, straight from the
Pritish Possessions The following extract
rom a newspaper hints at the true version
of his habits:
:. The first thing in this connection that
we are bound to notice is, that the grass
homer moves in obedience to no ascer
tainable regular rule; no general law. He
i probably native to the region north of
Salt Lake. and thus far has visited Ne
braska only at intervals of several years
What brings him here at all? He gets on
we'll enough for several years at time
without visiting us. Besides there are Il
thousand miles of good grass between us
and his native seat, and there are all the
forests and glades of the mountains, of the
uninhabited Yellowstone Valley the
mains of all British America and the
whole Pacific slope. Why, then, does he
occasionally come into Ncbraskag Why
does he 90 southeast to Missouri, instead
of due east to. Illinois and Ohio? And
more strangely still, why does he pass over
Nebraska without lighting, as he did three
wears ago, and disappear forever, so that
no man can tell WHITTIER he has gomez
II IS a fact, whether curious or other
wise. that the progcnitors Of this identical
Missouri flock" (as it is called here, ow-
inc to the circumstance that it mainly
Matched out in that State this spring. de-
yastated. or rather pastured in, West-C Cen
1ra British America three summers since,
lis progeny visiting Northern Dakota and
Minnesota two years ago; the third gener-
alton descending upon Nebraska last sum
mer. destroying it, and depositing its eggs
in Missouri. the southeast corner of Ne
braska and the eastern part of Kansas last
autumn This spring the offspring Fourth
generation) laid waste the region last
above alluded to until about the middle of
June when they arose and flew in a direc
ton precisely opposite to their course last
year-northwest The column was 100
miles east to west, extending from Central
Nebraska to point somewhere between
Council Bluffs and Des Moines, in Iowa.
They began to cross the Platte in count
less millions on June IA ia few small
swarms had previously gone northl,
and had not entire Y finished their
passage over that NEer until June
p, seven days later. They travel at
speed of about II miles an hour, or nearly
1870 miles flight per day, average. Their
vanguard is now 800 or / 900 miles north
northwest Of Omaha, and still advancing.
Would it not be useful to follow this re-
treating host into its northern Businesses
and track its movements for few years in
that vast wilderness, where it has former
ly pursued its devious wanderings, unher-
aided and unknown, except as it occasion
ally energies into the haunts OF civilization,
and is recognized in the newspaper-w world
Tor IA few years, only to disappear again
soon and be forgotten?
In 1867 or 1868 swarm fully as large
as this one visited this section from the
British regions probably by the same sue
cessive steps,, disappearing the next year
in the direction from which it came; but
was little talked of East as the country was
fhen SparSplV settled