2? 
The winter of 18i)0-M)l. was milder than thai of <\ year before, and 
less snow fell in the valleys and on the prairie, while just as much or 
probably more fell in the mountains. Spring was slow in coming, and 
when it came heavy rains set in with the result of flooding much of the 
prairie. These rains continued through May, June, and pretty well 
into July. The eggs left by the locusts the previous year began hatch- 
ing in due time, and of course the little hoppers to feed. Simulta- 
neously with their hatching and eating they began moving slowly to- 
ward the lower end of the valley. Whether all of these were inspired 
alike with the desire to forsake the region of their debut into tin- world 
I do not know, but, judging from what little information on this point 
that I was able to obtain, this desire seemed to be almost unanimous. 
Be this as it may, perhaps a description of the general lay of the coun- 
try will better explain what followed later in the season. 
Camas Prairie is composed of the valleys of the Malade River and 
its tributaries, which form a basin-like region lying back of the great 
Snake River Plain and separated from it by a low range of volcanic 
mountains. This basin averages about 10 to 12 miles in width and is 
perhaps between 50 and 60 miles in length. The trend of the valley is 
from west to east, and its lower end is about 1,200 feet lower than the 
head. At Soldier, which is near the middle, the elevation above sea 
level is about 5,300 feet. The Malade River, which is the main stream 
of the prairie, runs along quite near its southern border, and most of 
its tributaries enter from the north, where they have their sources 
among the high mountains. Most of these streams flow in a south- 
easterly direction across the prairie after leaving the mountains and 
before entering the Malade. 
As before stated, the young locusts, just as soon as they hatched, 
began moving down the valley. Comiugto these different side streams 
they were unable to cross and hence were obliged to stop. Soon their 
increasing numbers from daily reinforcements devoured what vegeta- 
tion there was at hand and they perished from starvation. So say 
some of those with whom I talked about this feature of the subject 
under treatment. Others claimed that the little 'hoppers were smit- 
ten by disease and perished by the millions from that cause: but, 
whether from starvation or on account of disease, myriads of them 
died and were washed away by the waters of the swollen streams and 
piled upon the banks in great heaps from which, as the heat of sum- 
mer increased, a stench arose that was very disagreeable to say the 
least, if not actually dangerous to the health of the inhabitants. Even 
as late as the 10th of September remnants of these heaps of dead 
locusts were visible along the banks of Soldier ('reek and the Malade 
River. Notwithstanding the great numbers of these insects that per 
ished during the early part of the season when the country was flooded 
with water, there were still enough of them left to do more injury t<> 
the grain and grasses than was done in the valley the year before. Some 
