﻿614 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  that 
  of 
  the 
  race 
  that 
  visited 
  us 
  in 
  1874 
  by 
  fourfold. 
  Now 
  they 
  are 
  eating 
  every 
  green 
  

   thing 
  — 
  the 
  leaves 
  from 
  the 
  trees, 
  the 
  grass 
  in 
  the 
  ravines, 
  the 
  forest-trees 
  along 
  the 
  

   Loup 
  and 
  Wood 
  Rivers, 
  corn, 
  potatoes, 
  tomatoes, 
  everything. 
  Our 
  corn-fields 
  to-day 
  

   present 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  so 
  many 
  acres 
  of 
  naked 
  bean-poles. 
  They 
  have 
  covered 
  the 
  

   city 
  of 
  Kearney 
  all 
  over 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  houses 
  ; 
  on 
  the 
  sidewalks 
  ; 
  they 
  even 
  inspect 
  the 
  fine 
  

   store-rooms 
  of 
  our 
  dry-goods 
  and 
  grocery 
  men 
  ; 
  in 
  fact 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  believe 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  

   equare 
  inch 
  of 
  territory 
  in 
  Buffalo 
  County 
  that 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  searched 
  by 
  these 
  maraud- 
  

   ers. 
  The 
  first 
  indication 
  of 
  their 
  approach 
  was 
  on 
  Friday, 
  July 
  28. 
  Almost 
  from 
  the 
  

   first 
  we 
  saw 
  they 
  were 
  an 
  entirely 
  new 
  generation. 
  They 
  had 
  huge 
  appetites, 
  and 
  at 
  

   once 
  proceeded 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  sweetest 
  and 
  tenderest 
  ears 
  of 
  corn 
  in 
  our 
  fields. 
  They 
  

   poked 
  their 
  noses 
  head 
  downward, 
  tail 
  upward, 
  into 
  the 
  very 
  heart 
  of 
  our 
  small 
  cab- 
  

   bages. 
  They 
  almost 
  dug 
  up 
  our 
  onions 
  by 
  the 
  roots. 
  They 
  ate 
  up 
  our 
  melon-vines 
  

   and 
  then 
  partook 
  greedily 
  of 
  the 
  unripe 
  fruit. 
  The 
  wind 
  remained 
  in 
  the 
  south 
  from 
  

   July 
  28 
  till 
  August 
  5, 
  when 
  about 
  noon 
  it 
  suddenly 
  changed 
  to 
  north-northeast. 
  In 
  less 
  

   than 
  twenty 
  minutes, 
  every 
  hopper 
  of 
  this 
  advanced 
  guard 
  wended 
  their 
  way 
  south- 
  

   ward. 
  How 
  happy 
  we 
  were 
  ! 
  Vain 
  delusion. 
  At 
  4 
  p. 
  m. 
  the 
  east, 
  the 
  north, 
  the 
  west, 
  

   presented 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  dense 
  clouds 
  of 
  smoke, 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  burning 
  prairies. 
  We 
  

   saw 
  it 
  full 
  20 
  miles 
  away. 
  We 
  gazed 
  in 
  wonder. 
  The 
  clouds 
  approached, 
  the 
  air 
  

   swarmed 
  with 
  hoppers. 
  We 
  could 
  hear 
  the 
  sound 
  of 
  their 
  wings. 
  They 
  were 
  so 
  close 
  

   together, 
  so 
  dense, 
  that 
  they 
  darkened 
  the 
  sun 
  similar 
  to 
  an 
  eclipse 
  at 
  midday. 
  The 
  

   first 
  cloud 
  passed. 
  At 
  5 
  p. 
  m. 
  another, 
  more 
  dense, 
  more 
  terrible, 
  more 
  numerous 
  

   passed 
  over 
  head, 
  leaving 
  a 
  few 
  stragglers 
  to 
  search 
  for 
  something 
  to 
  stay 
  their 
  stom- 
  

   achs. 
  We 
  thought 
  by 
  this 
  time, 
  surely 
  the 
  army 
  had 
  passed, 
  but 
  about 
  6 
  p. 
  m. 
  another 
  

   writhing, 
  moving 
  mass 
  was 
  seen 
  approaching. 
  On 
  its 
  arrival 
  just 
  over 
  our 
  heads, 
  

   down 
  they 
  came, 
  like 
  huge 
  flakes 
  of 
  snow, 
  so 
  thick 
  that 
  the 
  ground 
  was 
  in 
  many 
  

   places 
  invisible. 
  Here 
  they 
  remained 
  till 
  the 
  next 
  morning, 
  scattered 
  over 
  the 
  prairies. 
  

   About 
  9 
  a. 
  m. 
  they 
  began 
  gathering 
  in 
  endless 
  swarms 
  into 
  our 
  corn-fields, 
  and 
  by 
  1 
  p. 
  

   m, 
  every 
  leaf, 
  ear, 
  and 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  the 
  stalks, 
  were 
  eaten, 
  digested, 
  and 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   army 
  on 
  their 
  way 
  southwest 
  to 
  hunt 
  for 
  and 
  despoil 
  new 
  fields. 
  About 
  this 
  time 
  the 
  

   wind 
  changed 
  to 
  southeast, 
  then 
  veered 
  to 
  the 
  south, 
  and 
  from 
  that 
  time 
  until 
  this 
  

   writing 
  (Tuesday 
  evening, 
  Augusjt 
  8) 
  the 
  hoppers 
  are 
  with 
  us 
  supping, 
  as 
  a 
  last 
  resort, 
  

   on 
  purslane, 
  tumble-weeds, 
  and 
  even 
  thistles. 
  They 
  will 
  undoubtedly 
  remain 
  in 
  this 
  

   section 
  until 
  the 
  wind 
  changes 
  again 
  into 
  the 
  north. 
  So 
  much 
  for 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  

   and 
  destruction 
  caused 
  by 
  these 
  foes 
  of 
  the 
  agriculturist. 
  We 
  see 
  our 
  entire 
  season's 
  

   work, 
  except 
  one-third 
  of 
  the 
  crop 
  of 
  wheat, 
  melt 
  away 
  almost 
  in 
  a 
  moment, 
  and 
  we 
  

   are 
  helpless. 
  

  

  The 
  query 
  in 
  my 
  mind, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  minds 
  of 
  many 
  of 
  my 
  suffering 
  neighbors, 
  

   is 
  where 
  these 
  hoppers 
  come 
  from. 
  In 
  carefully 
  watching 
  their 
  progress 
  two 
  years 
  

   ago, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  this 
  season, 
  I 
  am 
  satisfied 
  in 
  my 
  own 
  mind 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  slope 
  of 
  coun- 
  

   try 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  or 
  noirthwest 
  of 
  Minnesota, 
  in 
  the 
  British 
  possessions, 
  where 
  these 
  in- 
  

   sects 
  are 
  indigenous 
  ; 
  that 
  in 
  extremely 
  dry 
  seasons, 
  like 
  the 
  present, 
  the 
  eggs 
  depos- 
  

   ited 
  last 
  fall 
  hatch 
  in 
  such 
  endless 
  quantities 
  that 
  the 
  locusts 
  are 
  forced 
  to 
  migrate 
  ; 
  

   while 
  in 
  extremely 
  wet 
  springs, 
  with 
  heavy 
  falls 
  of 
  snow 
  or 
  late 
  frosts, 
  in 
  the 
  terri- 
  

   tory 
  where 
  they 
  originate, 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  infant 
  progeny 
  are 
  destroyed. 
  In 
  July, 
  1874 
  

   vast 
  numbers, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  remembered, 
  descended 
  and 
  spread 
  over 
  almost 
  the 
  entire 
  ter- 
  

   ritory 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  Missouri 
  River. 
  They 
  deposited 
  egg.s 
  in 
  Kansas 
  and 
  Missouri, 
  and 
  

   JD 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1875, 
  caused 
  wide 
  destruction 
  in 
  the 
  southeast 
  pert 
  of 
  this 
  State, 
  the 
  

   northeast 
  part 
  of 
  Kansas 
  and 
  the 
  northwest 
  part 
  of 
  Missouri. 
  This 
  progeny 
  seems 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  annihilated 
  — 
  various 
  influences 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1875 
  causing 
  them 
  

   to 
  be 
  without 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  propagating 
  their 
  species. 
  Now 
  this 
  season 
  (1876), 
  if 
  I 
  

   am 
  not 
  mistaken, 
  an 
  entire 
  new 
  generation 
  can 
  be 
  traced 
  from 
  the 
  Red 
  River 
  coun- 
  

   try 
  of 
  the 
  north, 
  through 
  Western 
  Minnesota, 
  Southwestern 
  Dakota, 
  thus 
  far 
  into 
  

   Western 
  Nebraska. 
  If 
  I 
  am 
  correct 
  in 
  these 
  observations, 
  then, 
  whenever 
  our 
  springs 
  

   are 
  dry, 
  with 
  but 
  little 
  snow 
  or 
  rain 
  during 
  the 
  winter, 
  followed 
  by 
  dry 
  weather 
  in 
  June 
  

   and 
  July, 
  we 
  may 
  expect 
  grasshoppers 
  in 
  just 
  such 
  endless 
  quantities 
  as 
  we 
  have 
  

   seen 
  twice 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  four 
  years. 
  Whenever 
  the 
  winter, 
  spring, 
  and 
  summer 
  are 
  

   just 
  the 
  opposite 
  of 
  the 
  foregoing, 
  then 
  we 
  will 
  be 
  comparatively 
  free 
  from 
  these 
  pests 
  

   and 
  our 
  crops 
  plenteous. 
  I 
  am 
  satisfied 
  in 
  my 
  own 
  mind 
  on 
  the 
  above 
  points 
  ; 
  and 
  I 
  

   believe 
  further 
  that 
  the 
  territory 
  wherein 
  these 
  insects 
  are 
  indigenous, 
  is 
  not 
  so 
  large 
  

   as 
  to 
  be 
  beyond 
  the 
  control 
  of 
  a 
  power, 
  with 
  a 
  purse 
  long 
  enough 
  to 
  procure 
  the 
  neces- 
  

   sary 
  labor, 
  to 
  work 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  young 
  locusts 
  and 
  eggs 
  before 
  they 
  can 
  make 
  

   such 
  descents 
  upon 
  us. 
  Only 
  the 
  strong 
  arm 
  of 
  Government, 
  however, 
  can 
  wield 
  this 
  

   power 
  ; 
  and 
  sooner 
  or 
  later 
  it 
  must 
  intervene, 
  or 
  this 
  entire 
  western 
  territory, 
  with 
  its 
  

   riches 
  lying 
  beneath 
  the 
  grassy 
  sod, 
  must 
  be 
  abandoned 
  for 
  all 
  agricultural 
  purposes. 
  

  

  Our 
  corn, 
  potatoes, 
  and 
  all 
  our 
  vegetable 
  crops 
  have 
  already 
  disappeared. 
  Many 
  of 
  

   our 
  wheat-fields 
  were 
  not 
  cut 
  at 
  all 
  ; 
  others 
  yield 
  all 
  the 
  way 
  from 
  two 
  to 
  twenty 
  bushels 
  

   per 
  acre, 
  according 
  to 
  location. 
  There 
  is 
  as 
  a 
  general 
  thing 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Platte 
  River 
  

   a 
  very 
  large 
  crop 
  of 
  small 
  grain, 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  harvested, 
  while 
  the 
  corn, 
  potatoes, 
  

   and 
  vegetables 
  are 
  fine 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  last 
  season. 
  North 
  of 
  the 
  Platte, 
  throughout 
  a 
  

   portion 
  of 
  Hall 
  County, 
  all 
  of 
  Buffalo 
  and 
  Dawson 
  Counties, 
  the 
  drought 
  has 
  been 
  

  

  