The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-09-19

From Thursdays Daily.
"Who killed cock robin?' has been
changed to what killed the grass
hoppers?"
Recent inquiry from a Pennsyl
vania woman regarding the virtues
of prayer as demonstrated in Mime
sofa during the grasshopper scourge
of 1874-77 has thrown old inhabitants
into controversy says The st. Paul
Dispatch.
When the question was raised, a
number of early st. Paul citizens vol
unteered the information that after
the day of prayer, June II, 1877, set
aside by Governor John S. Pillsbury,
sudden unreasonable cold snap
killed the insects.
G. w. Buck, SO Sherburne avenue,
the oldest engineer in the service of
the Great Northern railway, however,
declares phenomenal return of sum-
mer weather in February, 1878, was
the undoing of the grain-eating bugs.
February Like June.
'In that February" said Buck, "the
weather became so warm that men
went about the cities in their shirt
sleeves. Farmers plowed their fields
and planted grains and trees and
grasses came out. At the end of the
previous summer the ground was full
of the eggs OF the grasshoppers. The
warm spell Matched them and the
land seemed literally covered with
little hoppers about half an inch
long. ~"
with the coming of March, the
winter returned and the hoppers and
eggs were killed left ST. Paul then
and did not return until late summer.
There were no hoppers in sight then.
During the, four years of the scourge
it was no uncommon thing to have
trains stalled when the engine driv-
ers refused to catch on the tracks
covered with grasshoppers."
Then came a letter from Rev.
David Morgan of st. Paul, of which
tits is part:
Hundreds Converted. .fn
Editor Dispatch: During til e
e.aSshopper seourge l was. residing
d Lake Crystal in Blue Earth county
where for three years the crops had
been destroyed. The winter Of 1876
witnessed a great deal of distress.
great religious revival spread over
that country Hundreds were con-
verted and united with the churches.
We all welcomed the appointing of
a day of prayer.
ION the morning of June II, l
! was surprised to see a stream of
teams arriving in town all loaded
with families and later. to see the
church crowded to the door. All
business even the saloons, were
closed and the most serious service
, Of prayer l ever have attended was
held From the meeting scores went
, to SOW grain who before refustd to do
so, but such was the feeling at the
close of the meeting that God would
deliver us from the scourge. n
Saw Insects Die. t
/ cat the close of the service a
number of the people went to fence
back of the church, led by the skep-
teal to witness the Matching of the
grasshoppers by the thousands! A
Dr. Burns who had examined the live
grasshoppers claimed they were as
healthy as the previous ones and he
had no hope. =
THAT night it turned cold and
most of the hoppers were killed. But
in a few days millions more of grass
hoppers were Matched and the road
side was alive with them and as
lively as I ever saw them. Yet
for some reason they never matured.
During July several times great
clouds of grasshoppers descended
upon the grain but to die at once,
and a good harvest was. gathered.
The only ones who were left without
a crop were the people who did not
believe in prayer and did not SOW
the seed"
T.F9.