Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-04-04
THE FLIGHT OF THE LoCUsTs.
They Eat Up Every Green Thing and L. ave
tho Earth . Desert.
Hnpiish Mechanic

The English Mechanic.
An army of Of locusts is wondt rfu,
and an interesting sight to the traveller
who does not own yard of soil and is 8
mere onlooker st their frightful devas.a-
ton. It Ia Attls and his innumerable
horses rushing over the vegetable world
To dsv the wide plains are shining green
with dense foliage; tomorrow nothing
but brown twigs and bare branches, when
the legions move e on their combined
mission. As they arrive the dense, d.Ik
clouds moving up from the horizon, and
often obscuring the suns rays, proclaim
the approach of the widely dreaded
scourge. The alarmed villagers congre-
gate on the expected line OF march, beat
Ing drums and brass pots, shouting snd
lighting bonfres and MASKING ST kinds of
hideous noises. On one occasion, in
S )uth Africa, drove off the enemy from
friends garden by making four hesps
of dump rubbish, one at each corner, In
preparation, and then, lighting them at
the proper moment, we dispersed the ad-
vance guard, our columns of thick smu ke
being carried by the wind upon the main
body, which altered its route. Horses
snd oxen, their heads and nostrfls
tormented by the clinging limbs of the
swarms, we're boltirg away to the woods,
kicking and pluugng in their hasty q ght.
A Kissing, cracking sound arose on all
sides; the whole sir seemed to be occu-
pied by the falling and f ing imps OF mis-.
chief. The "locust birds" Is kind Of
crane lowered in small parties on their
tanks, and subsisted on very small per-
centage of the Insect hosts. In desert
localities, the hungry pests actually
pitched on bones, mating, sticks, ETC.,
and, failing in 3 meal, httacked and de-
voured each other. On another oc-
CASTOR, l drove for miles along
sandy tract, the wheels Of
the vehicle crushing myrisds Of the
newly Matched insects, all crawling and
creeping with migrat tory instinct, toward
the cultivated tracts. Ia India, locust
visits are further between, but far more
formidable. owing to the overwhelming
masses. Sometimes a series Of clouds,
composed Of their flights, cover several
miles simultaneously. Fortunately there
are several birds sud beasts in quest Of
their bodies, and l have even seen them
sailed, dried and sold in the markets.
have often inspected dish of c1tried To-
Gust, but could not bring sufficient
amount of curiosity to bear on the tastir {
experiment, though a- prawny
odor went up with the steam, The
fishes are great devourers OF
these winged visitors, for they fall
into lakes and rivers during changes Of
wind and weather. Besides 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 alighted
on my grass land l loaded my gun with
dust shot, and, STOPPING low on the
ground, discharged the contents of both
barrels into their midst. Having done so
several times, 1 enjoyed the welcome
sight of seeing them rising into the air
and going elsewhere. l have no doubt q
small cannon on such occasions heavily
loaded with sharp sand would hasten
their fight.