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north of the mountains, as well as in a similar region directly to the 

 south of them. Under these circumstances it will be seen that it was 

 very natural to suppose that this place was the source of the evil: the 

 evidence most certainly pointed in that direction. 



If there were a locality in Xorth Dakota where this dangerous locust 

 was breeding every year there would be continual likelihood that swarms 

 would invade that State as well as Minnesota. Therefore the object of 

 the trip was to ascertain whether the suppositions regarding this region 

 were correct, and in case they were found to be, to devise means of 

 removing the evil. 



THE NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. 



Turtle Mountain, as this region is called by residents, is a broken 

 plateau of roughly elliptical outline, between 800 and 900 feet above the 

 level of the surrounding plains, and reaching a height of not more than 

 2,500 feet above sea level. The total area is about 1.500 square miles; 

 the international boundary line passes through in such a manner that 

 two-thirds of this lies within Xorth Dakota, in the counties of Bottineau 

 and Eolette. The surface is covered with a dense and impenetrable ' 

 growth of scrub oak. poplar, balm of gilead, choke cherry, dwarfed elm, 

 and rose and raspberry bushes, intertwined in the most bewildering 

 manner with vetch. There are no coniferous trees. The vegetation is so 

 dense that there are no roads that penetrate far into the interior, so that 

 the inhabitants, except in the winter, when the snow makes it possible to 

 pass over the top of the tangle to reach the opposite side, pass entirely 

 around it. The whole region is dotted with hundreds of small lakes 

 and ponds, from which the seepage through the light, fertile soil makes 

 an almost tropical growth possible. The only open places are glades, 

 where the grasses and sedges grow up in luxuriant abundance to a 

 height of 4 or 5 feet, and which often form a bed of standing water. 

 From an extended and careful survey of the whole region I am able to 

 state that there are absolutely no open places, even measurably free 

 from vegetation, which could be suitable for the hatching of sj)retns. 



From time to time forest fires have swept over the mountains. In 

 1892 the whole territory was burned over, and the smoke was so great 

 that time that it darkened the sky at Winnipeg, over 200 miles away. 

 But within one season the humus formed, which is too light to be used 

 by locusts for the deposition of eggs, gave rise to a dense growth of 

 hawthorn and Solidago, the second season showing numerous shrubs' 

 and small trees covering the ground. 



The country is unsettled, except for a colony of French half-breeds 

 near St. Johns and a small summer resort at Fish Lake, in Eolette 

 County. But wherever the farmers have taken up and cleared the 

 "bush," as the English people there call it, the result is seen in yields 

 of wheat, oats, and potatoes that are marvelous. The only trouble is 

 in the often excessive moisture in the soil, from seepage from the lakes. 



To gain an idea of the Turtle Mountains, imagine that following well- 

 known laws and owing to its considerable elevation, a portion of the 



