The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-06-29
FLIGHT OF locusIs.
They Eat UP Eve-y Green Thing ana
Leave the Earth Desert.

Leave the Earth Desert
An army of locusts is y wonderful
and an interesting sight to the travel
or who does not own a yard of soil
and Is a mere onlooker at their fright
full devastation. 1t Is Attila and his
innumerable horses rushing over the
vegetable world To-day the wide
plains are shining green with dense
foliage; tomorrow nothing but brown
twigs and bare branches. when the
legions move off on their combined
mission. As they arrive the dense
dark clouds moving up from tho
horizon. and often obscuring the suns
rays. proclaim the approach of the
widely-dreaded scourge. The alarmed
villagers congregate on the expected
line of march. beating drums and
brass pots. shouting and lighting bon
fires and making all kinds of hideous
noises. On one occasion. in South
Africa. j drove of the enemy from
friends garden by making four heaps
Of damp rubbish-one at each corner
lin preparation, and then. lighting
them at the proper moment. we dis
persed the advance guard. our col
umns of thick smoke being carried by
the wind upon the main body. which
altered its route. Horses and oxen,
their heads and nostrils tormented by
the ctnging limbs of the swarms,
were bolting away to the woods.
kicking and plunging In their hasty
flight. A kissing. cracking sound
arose on all sides; the whole air
seemed 10 be occupied by the
falling and flying imps of plis-
chief The "locust birds (a
kind OF crane) lowered in small
parties on their fanks. and subsisted
on "A very small percentage of the in
sect hosts. In desert localities. the
hungry pests actually pitched on bones,
mating. sticks. etc. and failing in a
meal attacked and devoured each
other. On another occasion i drove
for miles along q sandy tract the
wheels of the vehicle crushing z
myriads Of the newly-hatched insects.
all crawling and creeping. with mi
gratory instinct, toward the cultivated
tracts. Ia India. locust visits are
further betwer but far more for
midable. owing to the overwhelming
masses Sometimes a series of clubs,
composed of their flights. cover sever
nj miles simultaneously. Fortunately
there are several birds and beasts in
quest of their bodies. and have even
seen them salted; dried. and sold in
the markets. l have often inspected
a dish of curried locust, but could not
bring a sufficient amount of curiosity
to bear on the tasting experiment,
though a prawny odor went mp with
the steam The fishes are great de-
vourers of these winged visitors, for
they fall into lakes and rivers during
changes of wind and weather Be-
sides fires made of green rubbish at top,
/ found gunpowder explosions very
useful in soaring them away from the
vicinity of my garden. When several
successive hordes aiighted on my grass
land loaded nav gun with dust shot,
and. STOPPING low on the ground. dis
charged the contents of both barre's
into their midst Having done so
several times. l enjoyed the welcome
sight of seeing them rising into the
air and going elsewhere. 1 have no
doubt small cannon on such oc-
casions heavily loaded with sharp sand
would hasten their fight-EngliSh
Mechanic