Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1894-03-07
4 FIight Of Locmsts.

q flight OF locusts. We were Sitting on
the hill with our hacks turned TO the west
wind, which was softly blowing from the
Mediterranean. The horses we're picket
ed close by, grazing the sweet mountain
grass. The Arabs of our caravan were
cooking "pillaw" little distance Off
Around US were laid out the wherewith-
ais of light lunch, among which was an
open marmalade jar. / was thinking OF
Ahab, and wondering how he could put
up with Elijah, especially when, on this
very spot, the prophet. said to the king,
"As the Lord liveih, in this place where
dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall
dogs lick thy blood-even thine'-when
suddenly, right into the marmalade, there
dropped what I took for large grass
hopper. 1t was yellow and green, with
long jumping legs and big head, and
while | was taking it out of the jar two
others fell into a plate of soup, and hall
dozen more of the same kind upon a
dish of salad.
At the same moment my horse stamp
ed violently, and | saw more of these
grasshoppers pelting his hooks and
launches. Turning round 10 fiud whence
this insect shower came, witnessed what
was to me an extraordinary spectacle,
though common enough, OF course, IN the
East A large cloud. denser in It's lower
than its upper part, filled an eighth part
of the western hemicycle. The remoter
portion of it was as thick, as brown and
brumous as London fog.
The nearer side opened suddenly up
into millions and billions, and trilli.ns
and sextilions of the same green and yel-
low insects, pelling in close winged crowd
quite as lhickly as fakes of SLOW upon
all the hilsides far aud near. You could
not stand a moment against The aggres'
sive aud offensive rain of these buzzlng
creatures. The horses even swung them
selves round and stood with lowered
crests, taking the storm upon their backs
and fanks.
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 pock-
cts filled with the repulsive swarm, which
in two minutes had so peppered the whole
scene round about that its color and
character were entirely altered. Every
little creature of lheinterminable flight Oh
alighliug veered himself round head 10
wind on the earth, just as II he bad drop
ped anchor and swung 10 the breeze
and it was curious to notice that the geD-
eral tint of the ground OF their countless
bodies was brown if you looked TO wind
ward, and green if you gazed 10 leeward.
Blu, very quickly The only green to be
seen round about was the hue afforded b.,
this sudden invasion. Even while We
prepared to yield up the spot 10 them
and pack our lunch baskets for departurt
they had cleared off grass leaves and
every verdanl 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 as
sumed a barren aud winlry aspect. th'
Syrian peasants passing along The roads
were beating their breasts and cursing tb'
i'll fortune Of this plague. Some OF them
none the less, gathered up clothiul 0
the noxious things; for the locust is dis
tinctly edible.
Half in wrath and revenge, and hal
for a novelty in diet, the Arabs TO tbl
, day eat lew OF them, roasting them II
wire nets or in earlhen vessels over
slow fire till the wings and legs drop oi
and the locust becomes crisp, in whic
, stale il tastes, as / am able to say from
personal experiment, something like al
unsalted prawn. But il seemed as if ha'
all Syria and The globe itself taken I
living ON locust, they would hardly hay
made sensible mark upon the exiraor
binary number that driited that day owe
.,,- Lnnda - Inndnn DniLI TeLenrnnh