﻿OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 75 



<lestroj'ed, as far as heard from. Heinp is badly injured. Fruit trees are suffering from 

 tlie hoppers, as they are cutting off the young Jruit and leaves, even dropping the 

 young twigs to the ground, seemingly, to feed the weaker ones who cannot so readily 

 get up in the trees. 



The St. Joseph Herald^ May 27, reports from Richmond, " that in 

 some localities the locusts have taken the corn and wheat clean, and 

 in other localities there has been little or no damage as yet. Some 

 are planting their gardens and corn over, and think the ' hoppers' will 

 leave the country before they can do damage to the second crop." 



The Richmond Conservator of May 29, says, editorially : 



Our exchanges are filled with accounts of the appearance and depredations of 

 these pests; many of which are exaggerations, especially that report from llichmond, 

 published in the St. Louis Times and Dispatch. The visitation is bad enough, we want 

 it no worse ; but, if accounts are correct, we have but few compared with the numbers 

 in other counties. With but rare exceptions, no one has been seriously injured here. 



St. Clair County. — Correspondence of the St. Louis liepuOUcan 

 of June 3, shows, graphically, how great was the destruction and conse- 

 quent destitution in the larger part of this county: 



At the end of the war not ten buildings remained to mark the place of the once 

 centre of trade. Even the court house was destroyed. The terrible sights of the cruel 

 war are now being outdone by the crudest of sights — starvation. For the past three 

 years the crops of St. Clair county have been a total, or nearly total failure. Last 

 Fall the pangs of hunger stared many a strong man in the face, but with the assist- 

 ance of help from the more fortunate he kept it at a safe distance only to return again 

 with redoubled fury. AVithin the past few weeks cases have come to hand which excel 

 and leave in the shades of night the thrilling scenes of battieand tender feelings gener- 

 ated by the tale of Indian warfare, where the scalping knife plays the most important 

 part. Ten times more preferable would death be under the club of the savage than 

 under the lingering cruel death of starvation. A true statement of events cannot, in 

 fact, be better portrayed than is shown by a circular which is being circulated around 

 the county, calling for a meeting of the citizens to devise some means whereby death 

 can be driven from the door of suffering humanity. The following is a copy : 



"•Friends, you have been instrumental in relieving the most pressing wants of 

 many of your citizens, and I hope you are still willing to aid them a few weeks longer, 

 until they can be able to help themselves. Through the committee here there have 

 been forty-four families aided. There are of that number now. perhaps one-half, who 

 can get through upon their own resources, and the balance will need help. 



'•Friends, I appeal to you in behalf of suffering humanity, to do your duty in this 

 case. If you could but see what I have seen, of the destitution of our people, you 

 would not hesitate in this matter, but would gladly help the old and infirm, the crip- 

 pled, the widows and orphans, whose cries for bread, bread, are a.scendiri'g up to 

 heaven. "VVill you respond to their cries ? I believe you will. May God help each 

 and every one to do his duty in this matter. I hope the good people of Osceola will 

 call a meeting at once, at which time and place the truth may be made known and the 

 required relief given." 



This represents the destitution of but one town out of ten. The picture is unvar- 

 nished and put in as mild a form as possible. We have seen withm the past week fam- 

 ilies which had not a meal of victuals in their house ; families that had nothing 

 to eat save what their neighbors gave them, and what game could be caught 

 in a trap, since last Fall. In one case a family of six died within six days of 

 each other from the want of food to keep body and soul together. But it is but justice 

 to say that the neighbors and citizens were unaware of the facts of the case and were 

 not, therefore, responsible for the terrible death which overtook these poor pilgrims 

 on their journey to the better land. Tliis is, we believe, the first case of the kind which 

 has transpired in this county; but, from present indications, the future four months 

 will make many graves, marked with a simple piece of wood with the inscription, 

 *' Starved to death," painted on it. Our citizens have given, all that had any to give, 

 until nothing is left to give, and now they must in their turn solicit aid from elsewhere. 

 It would be more encouraging if the prospects for a fine harvest were at all flattering, 

 but as the case now is, we do not hope for an excuse for a crop. The grasshoppers 



