Cicada, Harvest-Fly, "Locust" 285 



her graces were many, but it is all due to the fact 

 that this dance happened in the midst of the seven- 

 teen-year-locust season! The locusts flew through 

 the ball-room and banged against the men's faces, 

 the ladies knocked them about with their fans, using 

 the latter after the manner tennis players use 

 their racquets. The red- winged bugs were under 

 foot and made the floor more slippery than did the 

 wax with which it w^as covered, and ever and anon 

 some lady would give a shriek as she suddenly and 

 frantically clutched at her bosom, then she would 

 be hustled into the dressing room by the colored 

 mammy who presided there, and the offending 

 locust removed. 



But tliis was in Kentucky, not only in Ken- 

 tucky, but in the good old days in Kentucky, and 

 no swarm of seventeen-year locusts was ever 

 hatched that was numerous enough and annoying 

 enough to spoil the fun or seriously interfere with 

 the merriment of a Kentucky picnic dance at that 

 time and place. 



The seventeen-year locust, that is, the females, 

 have a sort of ovapositor (egg layer) (Fig. 269) 

 equipped with two so-called saws which are really 

 more like rasp-files. One is on each side, as you 



