The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-03-25
DENSE FLIGHT OF LoOUsTs.
The Remarkable Scene Witnessed by
Noted Orientalist in Syria.

Inc remarkable Scene Witnessed Dy
Noted Orientalist in Syria.
We were sitting on the hills with our
backs turned TO the west wind, which
was softly blowing from the Mediterra-
mean, says Sir Edwin Arnold in the Lon
don Telegraph. The horses were pick
eted close by, grazing the sweet mountain
grass. The Arabs of our caravan were
cooking ''pillaw" a little distance of.
Around US were laid out the where
withals of light lunch, among which
was an open marmalade jar. | was
thinking Of Ahab, and wondering how he
could put up so long with Elijah, especially
when, on this very spot, the prophet said
to the king "As the Lord liveth, in this
place where dogs licked the blood of Ma
both shall dogs lick thy bloOd-eyen
thine"-when suddenly right into the
marmalade there dropped what ! took
for large grasshopper. 1t was yellow
and green, with long jumping legs
and big head, and while 1 was
taking 1t out of the Jar two others fell
into plate of soup, and half dozen
more Of the same kind upon a dish of
salad. At the same moment my horse
stamped Violently, and | saw more of
these grasshOppers pelting his hooks and
launches Turning round 10 find whence
this insect shower came, ! witnessed
~ ldb was W me an EXTRAORDINARY spec
taCle, though common enough of course,
in the east. a large cloud, denser in its
lower than its upper part, filed an
eighth part of the western hemicycle.
The remoter portion of ii was as thick, as
brown and brumous as London fog. The
nearer side opened suddenly up into mil
lions and billions and trilliOns and sextil-
lions Of the same green and yellow in
sects pelting in a close-winged crowd
pa 10 loo Nfe rTa1r
all the hillsides far and near. You could
not stand moment against the aggres-
slye and offensive rain Of these buzZing
creatures. The horses even swung them
selves round and stood with lowered
crests, taking the storm upon their backs
and Hanks.
You had to turn up the collar of your
coat to keep them out of your neck and
button the front not to have your pockets
filled with the repulsive swarm, which in
two minutes had so peppered the whole
scene round about that its color and char
acter were entirely altered. Every little
creature of the interminabIe flight on
| alighting veered himself round head to
wind on the earth. just as if he had
dropped anchor and swung to the breeze;
and it was curious to notice that the gen
eral tint of the ground of their countless
bodies was brown if you looked to wind
ward and green If you gazed to leeward.
But very quickly the only green to be
| seen. round about was the hue afforded by
this sudden invasion. Even while we
prepared to yield up the spot to them and
pack our lunch baskets for departure
| they had cleared of grass and leaves
and every verdant thing around
and when they arose again from
the soil, or from any clump of
trees, in hungry throng, the place they
| quilted had already assumed a barren
and wintry aspect. The Syrian peasants
passing along the roads were beating
| their breasts and cursing the i'll fortune
| of the plague. Some of them, none the
! less, gathered up clothful of the noxious
| things for the locust is distinctly edible
| Half in wrath and revenge, and half for
novelty in diet, the Arabs to this day eat
a few of them, roasting them in wire nets
! or in earthern vessels over a slow fire till
/ the wings and legs drop off and the locust
| becomes crisp in which state it tastes, as
! I am able to say from personal experience,
| something like an unsalted prawn. But
! it seemed as if had all Syria and the
| globe itself taken to living on locusts,
| they would have hardly made a sensible
! mark upon the extraordinary number
that drifted that day over our heads.