﻿EAVAGES 
  OF 
  LOCUSTS 
  IN 
  RUSSIA. 
  [63] 
  

  

  employed 
  Jewish 
  population 
  that 
  the 
  civic 
  authorities 
  are 
  no 
  longer 
  

   able 
  to 
  support 
  them, 
  and 
  the 
  Government 
  has, 
  therefore, 
  resolved 
  to 
  

   found 
  more 
  agricultural 
  colonies 
  in 
  the 
  various 
  provinces 
  for 
  the 
  recep- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  this 
  superiiuous 
  Hebrew 
  proletariat, 
  those 
  created 
  several 
  years 
  

   ago 
  having 
  of 
  late 
  shown 
  signs 
  of 
  prosperity 
  — 
  a 
  remarkable 
  truth, 
  I 
  

   may 
  take 
  the 
  liberty 
  to 
  add, 
  in 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  in 
  no 
  country 
  what- 
  

   soever 
  where 
  they 
  settte 
  do 
  the 
  gifted 
  descendants 
  of 
  Jacob 
  show 
  any- 
  

   thiug 
  but 
  the 
  most 
  deep-rooted 
  aversion 
  from 
  manual 
  labor." 
  — 
  [Berlin 
  

   Corr. 
  London 
  Times, 
  1879.] 
  

  

  " 
  During 
  April 
  a 
  shower 
  of 
  these 
  pests 
  fell 
  upon 
  the 
  province 
  of 
  Cau- 
  

   casus, 
  Kussia, 
  utterly 
  destroying 
  vineyards 
  and 
  fruit 
  gardens. 
  The 
  vil- 
  

   lage 
  streets 
  were 
  blockaded 
  by 
  them 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  shops 
  were 
  shut 
  up 
  and 
  

   all 
  traffic 
  closed, 
  while 
  the 
  water-courses 
  were 
  choked 
  by 
  the 
  swarming 
  

   pests." 
  — 
  [English 
  paper.] 
  

  

  " 
  The 
  Georgian 
  town 
  of 
  Jelizawetpol, 
  near 
  Tiflis, 
  has 
  suffered 
  a 
  plague 
  

   of 
  locusts 
  almost 
  as 
  bad 
  as 
  that 
  which 
  afflicted 
  Egypt 
  in 
  the 
  days 
  of 
  

   Moses. 
  On 
  the 
  20th 
  of 
  April, 
  the 
  insects 
  invaded 
  the 
  town 
  in 
  such 
  

   numbers 
  that 
  the 
  merchants 
  had 
  to 
  shut 
  up 
  their 
  shops, 
  and 
  walking 
  

   about 
  the 
  streets 
  was 
  exceedingly 
  difficult. 
  The 
  Russian 
  authorities 
  

   ordered 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  to 
  make 
  a 
  united 
  elfort 
  to 
  kill 
  the 
  pests, 
  but 
  the 
  

   generous 
  people 
  refused, 
  believing 
  it 
  a 
  sin 
  to 
  destroy 
  a 
  locust, 
  until 
  the 
  

   authorities 
  threatened 
  to 
  punish 
  every 
  householder 
  who 
  failed 
  to 
  deliver 
  

   daily 
  a 
  given 
  weight 
  of 
  dead 
  insects. 
  The 
  canals 
  were 
  filled 
  with 
  lo- 
  

   custs, 
  so 
  that 
  water 
  for 
  drinking 
  and 
  washing 
  could 
  only 
  be 
  obtained 
  by 
  

   straining. 
  The 
  houses 
  swarmed 
  with 
  the 
  creatures, 
  and 
  many 
  families 
  

   went 
  a 
  week 
  without 
  bread 
  because 
  their 
  ovens 
  were 
  literally 
  filled 
  

   with 
  them. 
  They 
  tried 
  in 
  vain 
  to 
  drive 
  the 
  locusts 
  away 
  by 
  lighting 
  

   holy 
  candles 
  and 
  burning 
  incense. 
  The 
  Armenian 
  priests 
  regarded 
  the 
  

   plague 
  as 
  a 
  visitation 
  of 
  God, 
  and 
  brought 
  from 
  a 
  neighboring 
  town 
  the 
  

   bones 
  of 
  Jacob, 
  which 
  they 
  carried 
  through 
  the 
  streets 
  of 
  the 
  afflicted 
  

   city 
  in 
  procession, 
  fairly 
  wading 
  through 
  masses 
  of 
  dead 
  and 
  living 
  

   locusts 
  as 
  they 
  m 
  arched 
  along 
  with 
  the 
  relics 
  of 
  the 
  patriarch. 
  The 
  ener- 
  

   getic 
  measures 
  taken 
  by 
  the 
  police 
  finally 
  abated 
  the 
  evil, 
  but 
  not 
  until 
  

   the 
  gardens, 
  orchards, 
  and 
  vineyards 
  had 
  been 
  stripped 
  bare 
  and, 
  the 
  

   people 
  had 
  suffered 
  for 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  week." 
  — 
  [New 
  York 
  Tribune, 
  1870.] 
  

  

  "A 
  detachment 
  of 
  Russian 
  troops, 
  bound 
  for 
  General 
  Lazaroff's 
  expedi- 
  

   tion 
  against 
  the 
  Turcomans, 
  met 
  with 
  a 
  curious 
  misadventure 
  near 
  the 
  

   Georgian 
  town 
  of 
  Elizavetopol. 
  At 
  a 
  few 
  versts 
  from 
  the 
  town 
  the 
  

   soldiers 
  encountered 
  the 
  wing 
  of 
  an 
  army 
  of 
  locusts, 
  reputed 
  to 
  be 
  

   twenty 
  miles 
  in 
  length 
  and 
  broad 
  in 
  proportion. 
  The 
  officer 
  in 
  charge 
  

   did 
  not 
  like 
  to 
  turn 
  back, 
  repelled 
  by 
  mere 
  insects, 
  and, 
  pushing 
  on, 
  

   soon 
  became 
  surrounded 
  by 
  the 
  locusts. 
  These 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  mis- 
  

   taken 
  the 
  soldiers 
  for 
  trees 
  and 
  swarmed 
  by 
  thousands 
  around 
  them, 
  

   *^ 
  crawling 
  over 
  their 
  bodies, 
  lodging 
  themselves 
  inside 
  their 
  helmets, 
  

   penetrating 
  their 
  clothes 
  and 
  their 
  kua^)sacks, 
  filling 
  the 
  barrels 
  of 
  their 
  

   rifles, 
  and 
  striving 
  to 
  force 
  themselves 
  into 
  the 
  unfortunate 
  men's 
  ears 
  

   and 
  noses." 
  The 
  commander 
  gave 
  the 
  order 
  for 
  the 
  troops 
  to 
  push 
  

   on 
  double-quick 
  for 
  Elizavetopol, 
  but 
  the 
  road 
  was 
  so 
  blocked 
  with 
  

   locusts 
  that 
  the 
  soldiers 
  grew 
  frightened, 
  and, 
  after 
  wavering 
  a 
  few 
  min- 
  

   utes, 
  a 
  regular 
  stampede 
  took 
  place. 
  

  

  "Led 
  by 
  a 
  non-commissioned 
  officer 
  of 
  keen 
  vision, 
  who 
  had 
  observed 
  a 
  

   few 
  huts 
  a 
  short 
  distance 
  from 
  the 
  road, 
  the 
  troops 
  dashed 
  across 
  the 
  

   fields, 
  " 
  slipping 
  about 
  over 
  the 
  crushed 
  and 
  greasy 
  bodies 
  of 
  the 
  locusts 
  

   as 
  though 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  on 
  ice." 
  The 
  huts 
  were 
  soon 
  reached, 
  and 
  the 
  

   officers 
  rushed 
  inside, 
  but 
  the 
  refuge 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  of 
  little 
  value, 
  as 
  the 
  

  

  