The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-15
THE PLAGUE or GRAssHoPPERs.
The Pest In the Argentine Republic
Recalls the Nebraska Plague.

Apropos of the sending of Prof. Brumer
| to the Argentine Republic in South Amer
lea from the University of Nebraska for
| the purpose of eXterminatinS the grass
hoppers there am reminded of a trip
| took to Nebraska when the pests were de-
| strOying everything in the shape of vege-
| tation, and of my own experience in try
ing to help save promising field OF cab
| bages.
1t was in 1871 know 1t was that year
! because a cousins husband who went TO
Nebraska for his health died that summer,
and l was delegated to visit the grief
| stricken widow, help her sell out her pos
| sessions and bring her back to Illinois and
| civilization. 1 had heard of the grasshop-
per scourge as something remote which
took on the features of a fairy tale, and
/ was not prepared TO meet them in clouds
or find them in possession of the state.
| But no sooner had we reached Omaha
than l read at the telegraph Office this
announcement, which was sent to New
| York newspaper:
Omaha, Neb., June 10, 1S75.-Grasshop-
| pers In immense swarms have appeared at
| Plattsmouth, Neb., and are devouring ev-
! erything before them. They are moving
! northward. Numerous clouds of them
made their appearance over this place
about II a. m. to-day, but none have
| alighted
The next morning when I arose they
| had alighted. The street was swarmiug
! with them, and when l boarded the little
| train which ran from Omaha to Blair-I
thing that was the terminus then-the bell
| rope was weighted down so with them
clinging TO it that the hell tolled contin-
! ually as for funeral oortegec and the
| conductor would put his head in every
| minute and cry: stop ringing that bell"
| until some one took him aside and eX-
| planned that 1t was the grasshoppers At
the end OF the railroad stage awaited
passengers who were going to places be-
yond the last station. My destination
was Decatur, and my fellow travellers
were DR.. Painter the Indian agent, his
daughter and some friends. They were
| going to the Indian reservations on the
bluffs, short distance from the village
AS we rode along in the four-horse stage
| tne BraSShoppers filled the body of the
coach, filled our laps and obscured the
| hght. 1t was storm of the light-winged
| insects, and far beyond our ability to
Keep off, either by force or strategy ,-.,
recalled time when one grasshopper
was burden. It was IN a country church
| whose doors opened into a corn field Said
insect was walking, long-legged and lin
| Der, up the back of a man who sat di-
| rectly before me, and / amused myself
| with watching it's antics and thinking how
| surprised the deacon would feel when it
reached the back of his neck. But it never
| did. When on a line with nv vision II
took backward jump and fetched me one
on my nose. and the suddenness of the
| attack led to an exclamation on nv part
| which aroused the congregation.
But the Nebraska hoppers were smaller
ana less given to gymnastic exercises, so
| we endured them, thankful that they did
not hnd us good enough to eat -
The fact that they were coming preceJ-
ed US, and on our arrival at Decatur we
! found the population out Of doors, inter-
ested in making smudges,,dwhichi made
them suffer, but had no effect on the hop
pers. At my relatives l was asked 10
assist in carrying out comfortabes, which
we spread over large patch of cabbages
which had not begun to head but were
very promising. At supper / remarked
that 1t was fortunate that all the win
| dows were fitted with screens of strong
new mosquito netting, and we congratu-
lated ourselves on keeping out the swarm
| ing lntruders. l slept well the first part
of the night, with rife by my bed TO
protect me from Indian prowlers-left out
| from the reservation over highland TO-
ward morning / though by stealthy
| sounds that reached me that they had
entered the house, the strongest fasten-
| ing to any door being a button But If AZ
first 1 was afraid the Indians had come.
/ was afterward sorry they had not, for
| the invaders had eaten every scrap of the
netting from the windows, so that in the
daylight it hung in black shreds and
gone under the quilts on the cabbage
patch, and devoured every green leaf and
stalk. Why they left the quilts can only
be accounted for on the supposition that
cotton batting disagreed with them
Just at that time Thomas Nast-I am
sure 1t was he-furnished a New York
illustrated paper with a cartoon, a grass
hopper bearing on its back an Indian,
with this legend beneath:
Go west young man, go west! Extra In
~ On aN
For this season only Hurry uni Hur.
ry up!
The intelligence Or scent of the red
legged grasshopper enables 1t to select
its food while on the wing In the air
where, by some process of signaling
known only to itself, it gathers a great
| army of its kind TO descend with rnassed
force on the field beneath when a forty
five acre field of corn will only afford
them single meal ...If.
Last year the grasshopper reports sent
to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln
caused apprehension of an invasion this
year, as great quantities Of eggs had been
| deposited in the soil over a large area OF
country and those eggs are expected Il
furnish an army Of active "locusts," as
they are technically named.
Farmers call them choppers" but the
college entomologist talks knowingly OF
IN. Atlantis" Packard" and "Camnula
Pellucida."
In Utah they have what they cali q
rope cure" for the pest, and every man
woman and child takes part In the per.
Torrance. II consists of drawing roDes
held taut by persons at each end fnaeross
and back over the fields Of grain. SO thai
Mr.. Grasshopper shall not md any room
for the sole OF his foot, and they keep this
see-saw up until he Is starved out.
No doubt the agricultural college viii
find way to meet another visitation wifi
some DISCRIMINATING process when the mi
gratory locust will migrate to a cline
where he will disturb no more, whittier
fofbears of his Tx have gone.
And the army worm and Hesslan ny,
And the dreadful canker worm shall die
NEARLY ALI MILLIONAIREs.