Jackson County, Minnesota - The Gbasshoppee Scouege - 1873-1877, 1910

The Gbasshoppee Scouege - 1873-1877

NOW come the dark days of Jackson county history - the grasshopper days. For several years, beginning with 1873, grasshoppers, or Rocky Mountain locusts, swept down upon the country in countless millions, devouring the cultivated crops and bringing disaster to nearly every citizen. The people of Jackson county, in common with those of all southwestern Minnesota, suflEered as few pioneer settlers in iany countr}- ever suffered. Adversity followed adversity. The frowns of fortune overwhelmed those who had come with such high hopes in the preceding years and cast them into the slough of despond. The picture cannot be painted too dark.

The country became bankrupt. Immigration ceased; migration began. All who could mortgaged their property and many left the county. Some got into such straighted circumstances that they were actually without the means to pay their railway fare out of the coimtry. It was impossible to make a living from the farm, and many sought work during the summer seasons in their old homes in the east; others attempted to earn a livelihood by trapping. In time land became valueless; it could not be sold or mortgaged.^

Before taking up the story of the first grasshopper invasion, let us consider a few other events that occurred during 18)3, and look at the countr\' as it was before the devastation came.

The population had increased to perhaps between 3,000 and 4,000 people, and every part of the county was settled. All except four townships were organized. A line of railroad was operated through the county, and many stage lines carried "mail and passengers to and from all the neighboring communities.^ Two villages, Jackson and Heron Lake, were enjoying prosperous times and a healthy growth as a result of the immigration and the development of their trade territories. The fer-

He has written: "Many a time have I seen a farmer who came to Jackson full of hope, who had taken a homestead, acquired title and seemed ready to enjoy prosperity, sell as fine a hundred and sixty acres of Innd as the sun ever shown upon for a broken down team and wagon and enough money to get back beyond the hoppers."

In August. 1873. seven stage lines were opernted from the village of Jackso-.-.. as follows: AVlndom (dally). B. W. Ashley, contractor; St. James (twice a week), William Barnes, contractor; Winnebago City (three times a week;, Tom George, contractor; Blue Earth CMty (three times a week), O. S. Farr, contractor; Estherville (weekly), Welch Ashley, contractor; Spencer (daily). L. E. Holcomb. contractor; Worthington (twice a week). William Greer, contractor. All of these linas had been in operation a year or two before this date and some of them longer.

tility and value of the farming lands had been proven by excellent crops. The prospects seemed good for Jackson county continuing its onward march to prosperitv.

Ewington township was organized in the spring of the year. A petition was circulated in March> and on the 28th of that month the board of countv comraissioners passed a resolution declaring the township organized under the name of Ewington, in honor of the Ewing family, the township's first settlers.^ The first town meeting was held at the home of Nancy Ewing on April 15, when the township's first officers were chosen. They were as follows: G. B. Perr}', chairman; E. K. Dunn and Orsemus Famham, supervisors; T. C. Ewing, clerk and treasurer; Frank Grim, assessor; W. F. Ewing, justice of the peace ; Thomas Fitzgerald, constable. Early day land patents were granted to the following in Ewington township:

""Along In March Fllmore Ewing came to our house In town with a petition to have the township organized, naming it after the family, who were the first settlers - and the honor was not misplaced, for they were a very worthy family. Intelligent, neighborly, hospitable, and we have always been sorry they could not havp abld*»d where their early residence created so favorable an Impression and their unfortunate deoarture kindled so many regrets." - J. A. Spaftord m Jackson Republic, March 1, 1895.

The winter of 1872-73 will long be remembered as the longest and severest that this country has ever experienced. It began on the 12th day of November with a blizzard that continued for three days, during which time snow fell to a great depth, probably not less than two feet, but which was so blown about and drifted by the wind that in some places there were drifts of twenty feet or more. The newly constructed railway was hopelessly blockaded, and remained so until the following spring. From the time winter so set in there was little let up in the severity of the weather. One storm followed another, and when not storming the weather was cold and severe, while the deep snows, almost constantly di'ifting, made travel difficult and sometimes dangerous. . During that long winter the inhabitants of this part of the state were practically shut out from the world. At times there were no mails for three weeks at a stretch. Many people suffered for want of necessary food, clothing and fuel. The sufferings and horrors of tliat long and dreadful winter will never be effaced from the memories of those who experienced them.

The ill-fated year 1873 began with the most violent winter storm in the history of the state from the time of its first settlement to the present date. For three days, beginning January 7, the blizzard raged, extending over the whole northwest. The temperature was about eighteen deg^rees below zero during the whole period of the storm. The air was filled with snow as fine as flour. Through every crevice, keyhole and nailhole the fine snow penetrated, puffing into the house like steam. Seventy human lives were lost in the storm in Minnesota, but by a miraculous turn of fate none of these was in Jackson countv. It was the onlv county in the vicinity that escaped without loss of life.

The forenoon of Tuesday, January 7, was mild and pleasant: the sky was clear and there was no wind. It seemed as tliough a "January thaw'' was imminent. The pleasant weather had induced many farmers to start to town on business or to the neighboring farm houses with their families to visit. A little after noon a change was apparent. The sky lost its crystal clearness and became a trifle hazy. Toward two o'clock a white wall was seen bearing down from the northwest. The front of the storm was distinct and almost as clearly defined as a great sheet. In a few minutes a gale, moving at the rate of thirty or forty miles an hour, was sweeping the country; a full-fledged blizzaid had supplanted the bright sunshine in a few moments. The air was so completely filled with flying snow that it was impossible to see objects a short distance awav.

The storm began with such fury that nearly all who were in the villages or at neighbors' homes abandoned the idea of reaching their own firesides and found shelter with friends or at the hotels. Even some who were caught away from home in the villages, only a few blocks away, did not attempt to brave the dangers of getting home. All Tuesday night, Wednesday and Wednesday night the storm raged with unabated furv. Xot until Thursday was there any perceptible let-up, and not until Fridav was the storm over. Sev- -eral Jackson county residents were caught on the prairie in the storm, but there was not a single case of severe freezing. Some were obliged to spend two or three days in deserted claim shanties, but all were found alive after the storm.

Anders R. Kilcn, of Belmont township, had a narrow escape. He was returning home from Heron Lake when the storm struck, and when about three miles from his house he took refuge in a board claim shanty. The furniture of the shanty consisted of a coffee pot partly filled with screenings, a plow, a hammer and a liitle hav. From Tuesdav afternoon until Frii^ay morning Mr. Kilen battled for his life in the lonely cabin. He tried to kindle a fire by striking sparks from the plow with the hammer, but the plow was too hard and he was unsuccessful, so he kept from freezing by physical exercise, spending three days pacing back and forth within the narrow confines of the cabin. He utilized the hay to fill the cracks in the shanty and to make hay ropes, with which to bind his benumbed limbs. He ate the screenings and used snow for dessert. When the storm broke he found his way home, not much the worse for his experience.

A large acreage of small grain and com was sown in the spring of 1873, and the grain grew luxuriantly during the spring months. Everybody was enthusiastic over the prospects - a state of mind which was soon to be turned to gloom.

The first grasshopper invasion of Jackson county was on Saturday, June 14, 1873. People noticed something floating through the air from west to east, at a great height and apparently drifting with the wind. At first sight it was taken to be the fluff that comes from cot ton wood trees, but before long a few scattering objects began coming to the earth from the floating clouds, and they were found to be grasshoppers - forerunners of a scourge that for several years devastated this part of the eountrv and resulted in the retardation of the county's progress for many vears.

The flight kept up for several days, and then the pests took their departure. A great many came down and feasted on the growing crops and deposited their eggs in the ground.* Great damage was done to the crops, but not so great as in later years, and a light harvest was gathered.^ The storv of the invasion was told bv the

*Egjrs were deposited preferablv In soUd ground and to a depth of froTi one-half Inch to oie inch. The tail of the female grasshopper Is a hard. bonv. cone-shaned substance, and this was f»nsilv bored into the solid ground and the eggs deposited.

Our curiosity is satiated. We have always had a desire to see one of those "clouds" of grasshoppers, of which we have read from time to time. They have been here for a week in countless millions and yet Ve have failed to discern any diminution of strength of the sun's rays. To be sure there were plenty of them in the air, but were only visible in a small radius around the sun. As a matter of course, some of the timid settlers want to sell and get away, taking it for granted that their crops will all be eaten off and a famine ensue. Many fields of wheat and barley were mercilessly gobbled bv the hoppers, at least to judge from appearance, but careful examination shows that the injury is comparatively slight. The pests have taken their departure and the fields are making rapid progress in gaining the growth the crops lost.

A farmer residing in the northern pan of the county told of the ravages of the pests in his neighborhood and the attempts to protect the grain :

The all engrossing subject in this vicinity at present is the grasshopper question. They made their appearance here last Saturday afternoon and immediately began their aggressive movements. Next day they ate five or six acres of my wheat. Their numbers rapidly increased, the air Feeming to be full of them. They resembled large flakes of snow in a snow storm, and they soon took possession of all the grain fields in the neighborhood. Breaking teams had a general lioliday; men traveled their fields, not knowing what to do, so sudden and unexpected was the general onslaught. A few with small fields and large families marshaled all their available forces, who, with long poles and switches, walked their fields a few rods apart and thus tried to chase off the invade^fs, but their numbers increased so fast that the ceaseless efforts proved of little avail. A few of the more despondent are offering their claims for sale at ruinous figures and starting in search of some region where grasshoppers are unknown. But it is really encouraging to see how cheerful and courageous the great majority are. The earlier sown oats, eo far as I have heard, are as yet comparatively safe.

Grasshoppers were seen in the air again on August 2, but they passed over witliout stopping to feed. At harvest time it was found that those fields which had not been molested yielded abundantly. The hoppers seemed to prefer wheat, and the oats were not badly damaged. Com that had been well put in was ^ fine crop.

Some men have no grain worth cutting, while their neighbors' fields lying alongside have a large yield, and on other farms some pieces or parts are poor and the rest good. As a general rule, those who have high rolling land on their farms have heavy crops, while some whose farms are wet were unable to get their seed put in well in the spring, and, being backward, was nice and tender for the hoppers. Those who have lost their crops must not despair, but rather profit by the experience and give more attention to stock raising.

In addition to the grasshopper devastation, tlic panic, which held the country in its grip in 1873, added to the hard times which followed. The loss of their crops left many* families in destitute circumstances, and there was much suffering. When winter came it was known that some measure for the relief of the destitute must be taken. During the closing days of December mass meetings to discuss the situation were held at Heron Lake and at Jackson.

The Herpn Lake meeting was held December 2G. Dr. R. R. Foster was the chairman and John T. Smith secretary. A committee composed of J. W. Benson, Jolin T. Smith, J. P. Prescott, Jolm Weir and P. Johnson was named to make an investigation as to the needs of the citizens. Ex-Governor Stephen Miller arrived at Heron Lake the next dav and left some funds which he had obtained from the relief committee at St. Papl to relieve the immediate wants of the destitute. On the 29th the committee divided $61 - one-half the amount in the treasury - among ten residents who applied for aid. A Heron Lake citizen, writing on that date, said: ^Today there were ten persons here for aid. Some of them were in actual starving condition. They did not know where the bread to eat was coming from two days hence.'^ of Januar}' the Jackson committee receiv- ' ed 19 sacks of flour and three boxes of ^^^ ^eron Lake committee, composed clothing sent by the citizens of Stillwa- ^^ '^' ^^- Benson, chairman ; J. T. Smith, ier. The supplies were distributed the secretary; John Weir, treasurer; and J. next day. ' ^- I^rescott, reported the division of its Petitions were poured into the legisla- ^^^^^ ^^ ^^"^ amount as follows: Two ture from aU the stricken counties, ask- hundred dollars were spent for garden ing for appropriations. Realizing the grav- ^^^^^> ^^^^ ^^"^ ^^^^ "^^al ^^^ distributity of the situation, the legislature, late ^^ *^ ^^^ different persons ; $G0G.89 was in January, appropriated $5,000 for re- distributed in cash. Major Bailey spent lief in the frontier counties, and in Feb- ^^^ ^'^^^ ^^^^ *^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ «"^ P^^^^- ruarv appropriated $25,000 to be expend- ^^ ^^'^ ^^ reported the distribution of ed for seed grain to be furnished to those *^^^^ »^*^^'^' *^ ^'^^ ^'**^"^ ^^ $111.07 and unable to procure seed. Of the cash ap- ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^"^ $38.93. propriation, $540 . was Jackson county's ^^ *^^^ '^^^^^ P^'*^ ^^ ^^^^h' 1^^-*' *'^^ share. John Weir and J. T. Smith were ^^^^ ^^^^^^ distribution was made. Jacknamed as the parties who should conduct ^^^ county's share was 3,500 bushels, and the distribution in the northern and west- -Letter h. h. siWey. July 9, i874.

there were so many applicants that the average to each person was only seven and one-half bushels, and many had to go without/ Part of the wheat was distributed by the committee at Heron Lake and part by Major H. S. Bailey and Hans Knudson at Windom.

During the harrowing times in the winter of 1873-74, when hundreds of Jackson county citizens were living on charity, the last three townships of the county began township government.

During the fore part of the winter residents of township 103, range 37, petitioned the county commissioners, asking that thev be detached from Heron Lake township and granted a government of their own. The petition was granted January 7, 1874, and the new township was named West Heron Lake, its geographical location suggesting the name. In the latter part of the same month the township was organized with the following (partial) list of officers: Robert Johnson, chairman; John Christie, clerk; Johannes Tollefson, treasurer; Evan Pederson, justice of the peace; Nils Olson, constable.

Owing to the fact that Heron lake divided the township into two parts, those living in the northeast corner - to the east of the lake - were not so closely associated with the people of the rest of the township as they were with those of Heron Lake township, and they petitioned, early in Febioiary, 1874, to be attached to the latter township. No action was taken at that time, but in April, 1875, another petition was presented to the county board, asking for the same legislation. On June 21 the desired action was taken, and the northeast corner of West Heron Lake

'"These are busy days In Heron Lake. The relief committee. Messrs. Benson. Weir and Smith, have received over 3,000 bushels of wheat to be distributed In Jackson county, and the people are coming in In great numbers after It. The amount each will receive will be quite small, there being so many applicants." - Heron Lake Correspondent, March 25, 1874.

Rost township came into existence February 3, 1874. It was named in honor of Frederick Rost, who was one of the early day settlers of the precinct, locating there in 1869.® The names of some of the earlv homesteaders of Eost township, as shovm by the patents to land graiited, were as follows :

Sioux Yallev was the last Jackson county township to begin township government. In accordance with the prayer of petitioners, the commissioners created the

"The ofTldfal proceedings of the board of county commissioners show that the township was created ns "Rust." In fact, that was thn accepted spelling of the name for several yepra. Later, without any official procedure, the correct spelling was adapted. The name of the family was also often spelled "Rust."

The Andrew Monson Cabin

The Engraving is Reproduced from a Tintype Taken During Grasshopper Times. The Hen shown are (Back Row, Standing, from Leit to Right) Wallace Bailey, L. F. Ashley, MeMO L. Ashley, Than Hall, Jr., Joseph E. Thomas, Jr., John Tagley, A. D. King, L. P. Cook, Thad Rucker, M. S. Barney, 0. F. Alexander, B. W. Ashley; (Lower Row, Sitting), Qark Baldwin, C. H. Sandon, J. F. Ashley, A. 0. Wood (Between Rows), William V. King, J. J. Smith, Henry Blakey, Than Hall and Ira G. Walden.

The New York Public Library

township February 27, 1874, naming it Sioux Vallev after the river which flows through it. The early day homesteaders who received title to their lands from the government were :

If there had been a belief that the grasshopper scourge was to be only a temporary blight on the prospects of Jackson county, it was rudely dispelled. The visitation of 1873 was as nothing compared with what followed. The story of the years to follow is one of heartrending misery. From Manitoba to Texas the grasshoppers brought desolation and suffering in 1874, the visitation being general along the whole frontier. Especially destnictive were they in southwestern Minnesota and in Kansas and N'ebraska.

In Jackson county the eggs which had been deposited by the visiting hordes in 1873 began to hatch during the first days of May.® While the pests had been considered numetous the year before, there were now more than ten times as man3\ The appetites of the youngsters were good, but no great damage was done until the

-The process of hatching: was interestlngr. In each nest, a half inch or more below the surface of the ^ound, were from twenty to fifty egKs. When the sun warmed the ground sufficiently to hatch the egrfcs. the pithy covering of the nest popped off and a squirming mass of little yellow hoppers poured out. Each was encased in a sort of shell or skin, which It Immediately began to pull off. Then, after taking a moment's view of the world, each little hopper hopped away In search of something to eat. At birth they were about a quarter of an Inch long and had no wings, but these developed rapidly.

It was not until this week that the devastation by this scourge commenced in earnest, but in the few daj's they have been harvesting the crops, they have put in full time and done clean work. Whole fieldvS in many places have been stripped of the gi'owing grain and in others large spots liave been scooped out. Not satisfied with eating the green leaves, they eat right down in the ground to the roots.

It was at this stage of the proceedings that many people left the county. In many instances those who had not secured title to their farms deserted them, never more to return. Many who had title sold for what they could get or mortgaged their farms if they could locate an easterner unsophisticated enough to loan money on such security. These, too, left the county. The greater number of the able bodied men who decided to stay sought work in the eastern part of the state to earn enough money to carry them and their families through the winter. The local paper on June 6 said : "Settlers are turning back to the older counties to get work to support their families, and the ruling question is, ^Are you going east to get work ?' " The general land office made a ruling that homesteaders in the grasshopper infested counties might desert their claims for certain lengths of time to earn a livelihood without taking the chance of losing the claim.

During the latter part of June the damage was great, and in the parts of the countv most numerouslv infested little was left growing but the wild prairie grass. The wings of the young hoppers became fully developed on June 19, and three days later they began their flight out of the countrv. For several davs, from ten o'clock in the morning until three in the afternoon, the air was filled with the winged immigrants, all traveling in a northeasterly direction. It was hoped that they would go and leave the little

AH gone! Not tbe grasshoppers, as was lioped, but the oats, corn and potatoes that had been left until this week. The changing winds have brought back all the grasshoppers, with myriads of reinforcements,^ and they have mowed down about everything before them. Now that all - hope for a crop is gone, the only prayer of the people is that they may be taken away before they commence depositing their eggs, which will no doubt be not long hence.

The destroying agents remained in Jackson county until the middle of July, and then all took tlieir departure. They did not deposit cgg^ in the county, although they did in many other parts of Minnesota. Before tlieir departure the county became literally alive with them. So thick was the air with the flying pests that at times the sun was partially obscured. They appeared to the people below like a vast cloud, sweeping sometimes in one direction, sometimes in another - always going with the wind. At evening, when they came down near the earthy the noise they made was hke a roaring wind. After gorging themselves with the crops, the hoppers became stupid and piled up in the fields and along the roads, often to a depth of one or two feet. Horses could hardly be driven through them. Stories have been told of railway trains becoming blockaded by the pests so as to be unable to move until the insects were shoveled from the track. Concerning the losses the Republic, in the latter part of July, said:

The actual loss from the scourge in this year's crop will aggregate more than $200,000,'* while tlie loss arising from abandoned farms, removal of settlers with their personal property, and the stagnation given to farming pur-

"Aceording: to the report of the commissioner of statistics, the loss of the several crops in twenty-eight counties of Minnesota in 1874 was as follows: Wheat. 2,646.802 bushels; oats, 1.816,733 bushels; corn. 738,415 bushels; barley. 58,962 bushels; potatoes, 221.454 bushels; flax seed. 52,833 bushels.

suits for years to come can only be represented by millions of dollars. Taking Jackson county in whole, wheat will probably not average two bushels per acre, or one-eighth of a crop; oats will not be much better, while barley is an entire failure; corn may be half a crop and potatoes about the same.

This second successive crop failure was a terrible blow. A great many who had not been hard pressed by the conditions in 1873 were now reduced to the common level; their savings had been spent and they had no income. Those who were not compelled to live on charity were compelled to practice tlie most rigid economy. Hay furnished the fuel; potatoes, pumpkins and squashes - a few vegetables left by the hoppers - supplied the bulk of the food. Meat was not on the bill of fare except for tliose who could use a gun and bag the prairie chickens and ducks that were in great abundance. The people bore their trials more cheerfully than might have been expected and made preparations to try their luck asrain the next year. In plowing for their next year's crop, the farmers nearly ruined their horses, being without the necessary grain to feed them.

As has been staled, money and supplies for relief were sent to Jackson county during the whole winter of 1873-74 and into the spring month.**. In addition to those items mentioned, on January 17, 1874; tlie county commissioners received from Governor Davis 190 sacks of flour and ten barrels of pork, which were distributed at once.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, in the midst of the devastation of 1874, Governor Cushman K. Davis issued a stirring appeal, stating the conditions and the need of large contributions to prevent many of the residents of the state from perishing. His appeal was addressed to the Grange organizations and waf as follow liberal action by - all who are willing to do as On the last day of September the COmthey would be done by has arrived. - j a^Oi\r\ t n ^i tt

The question naturally arises : Why did seed a large part of the prepared land.^* the people of Jackson county stay in a The seed grain furnished by the state was country in which the grasshoppers a Godsend. Said the Jackson Republic wrought such damage? It is doubtful if on May 15, 1875: "That the grasshopper many would have remained could they plague for the last two years in this vicinliave looked ahead and foreseen what they ity has sapped the life blood out of the still had to go through, for this was not hard working farmers of the county is adthe end of the scourge by any means. But mitted, we think, on all hands; that a the majority did stay with their claims, good portion of the people could not have rmd they weathered Ihe storms of adver- remained to cultivate their farms without sity. Hope was abundant that each year's aid from abroad is also generally convisitation would be the last. The fertility ceded.'' of the soil liad been demonstrated, and it A severe blizzard visited Jackson county was known that once the country was free on March 15 and 16, 1875, and added anfrom the pests, it would become one of the other victim to those who have perished richest spots in the west. The settlers by winter storms. The unfortunate man had invested all their accumulations of was Heinrich Tubbike, an insane man former years in improvements, and to who lived in Heron Lake township. He desert the country meant that they must had been pronounced insane by the progo as paupers. Many were literally too bate court, and his removal to the asylum poor to pay transportation charges out of had been delayed on account of the blizthe country. zard. Mr. Tubbike escaped from the mem- an appropriation of $75,000, the act pro- during the two or three years of the deviding^for the distribution of seed grain cade before the grasshoppers came is

The free seed grain was sown in the were sufficient reasons for their lingering spring of 1875 ; it germinated and appear- another day. About eleven o'clock on the ed above the ground. Then came the forenoon of Tuesday they took up their days of anxiety. Would the grasshopper line of flight to the north ; the county was scourge again come with its ruin and des- again free of the pests, elation ? As the season advanced the peo- The settlers kept track of the movepie with deep concern scanned the skies ments of the grasshoppers in different for the appearance of the pests. As eggs parts of the country as they would have had not been deposited in Jackson county those of an invading army of soldiers. So - the preceding seaspn, there were no young far, a large part of the crop was saved, hoppers, and the only apprehension was but they knew that only by chance could in regard to an invasion of "foreign" they escape total destruction. They felt hoppers. Blackbirds and gophers were as though the sword of Damocles was susquite numerous early in the season and pended over .them, ready to fall at any did a lot of damage to crops, especially moment.

tnai iney extenaea ao lar norm as c^nei- surrender, it was a discouraging modon. A few stragglers on the right flank SSen/'-RfpSbHc. juViTfiSTr* """^ ^'^ business on Tuesday, July 22, about noon. In the Heron Lake country they lighted in the fields and commenced eating voraciously. The farmers, who were becoming well acquainted with their mode of warfare, took a defensive attitude and began plying them with smoke, fire and brimstone.^* The hoppers slowly worked southward, and on Friday, July 23, had entered the second tier of townships. As they proceeded they deposited their eggs. This invasion was confined almost entirelv to the north half of Jackson county, only a few getting into the southern townships, and those doing but little damage.

The hoppers remained in the northern part of the county until early in August; then, they departed. Considerable damage was done in Christian ia township and in the country about Heron Lake. They also entered the townships of Enterprise, Belmont and Heron Lake. But these hoppers were not so numerous as they had been formerly. It was a ragamuffin, Falstaffin army compared with that of 1874. Their appetites appeared to be poor, and they were of a degenerate breed; bushels died after laying their eggs, and the exhausted remnant departed from the county. A big percentage of the crop was saved, and the farmers eagerly began the harvest. On August 7 the Republic sized up the situation as follows:

"There was really very little that the settlers could do to destroy or check the pests, althougrh many schemes were tried. Nothing availed agrainst the invading hordes, but in the case of the native hoppers the farmers waged a more or less successful war by the use of tar. "Hopperdozers," a sort of drag, made of sheet Iron and wood, would be covered with tar and dragged over the ground. The young hoppers would be caught in the tar and destroyed^ Another scheme was to prevent prairie fires during the summer and fall, conserving the grass until after the hoppers had hatched In the spring. Then on a given day the county would be burned over and the pests destroyed. Ditches would be dug and the hoppers driven into them and destroyed; scoop nets were used, but little headway could be made with them. In some of the counties bounties were paid for them. In seven such counties 58,019 bushels were captured, upon which bounties aggregating $76,788.42 were paid; still no difference was noticed in the damage done.

the finest crop ever grown in Jackson county. This township [Des Moines], and perhaps others, will undoubtedly the present season produce as much as wa^ ever before raised in one year in the entire county. True^ in several towns the hungry hoppers have injured the crops, but in the county at large there is a bountiful yield. We may be wrongly informed as to the amount left, but by frequent inquiries in regard to crops in the localities the worst devastated we find that portions of the crop are saved and in instances fields are not injured at all. But if there is an approach to a total loss in any township we liave yet to learn of it. Not only wheat and oats are immense, but corn, to use Donnelly's favorite word, is "enormous."

The crop was well secured, all working with a will in gathering the yield. It was a new experience - the harvesting of a crop. But the anxieties of the season were not yet over. During the entire week beginning August 31 there was a continual downpour of rain, which did much damage to grain in shock and stack. That in the shock sprouted, and all was more or less damaged. Blight damaged some of the wheat, and instead of grading No. 1, it was second and third grade.

The .conditions during the winter of 1875-76 were so much better than they had been during the two preceding winters that very little relief was needed, and the county was able to supply its own seed for the next crop.

In 1875 for the first time a united effort was made to fight the grasshoppers. On August 24 a county grasshopper convention was held at Jackson to devise means of fighting the common enemy the next season. H. H. Stone was chairman of the convention and E. P. Skinner was secretary. A general committee was named, composed of the following named gentlemen: Alexander Fiddes, Edward Orr, Hans Knudson, Henry Knudson, H. J. Phelps, J. P. Prascott and E. B. Millard. These gentlemen were delegated with power to have general supervision of the campaign and to appoint three persons in each township to work with them. The

A Reminder Of Grasshopper Days

The year 1876 opened auspiciously. Despite the forebodings of disaster from another grasshopper visitation, the people were in good spirits. This was caused largely by the prospects of the extension of the Southern Minnesota railroad into and through the county, from Winnebago City to Worthington. Surveyors appeared in the field during the closing days of 1875 and ran a line to Jackson and from that point westward. It was generally understood that the railroad company would ask a bonus, and on December 28, 1875, a mass meeting was held at Jackson and largely attended. It seemed to be the unanimous desire of those attending that the people should give a liberal bonus and furnish the right of way.

Officials of the road went to Jackson February 27, 1876, and stated that if the ten townships of the southern half of the county would issue bonds to an amount equal to ten per cent of their assessed valuation to aid in the construction of the road, the line would be built to Jackson by December 31, 1876, and to Worthington by September 1, 1877.*" The question of issuing the bonds was voted upon at the regular March township elections. Petersburg, Wisconsin, Middletown, Des Moines and Sioux Valley townships returned majorities in favor of the bonds; Hunter, Minneota, Eost and Round Lake voted against them ; in Ewington the vote was a tie. During April special elections were held in Minneoia, Hunter and Ewington, and each of the townships then

*TTie bonds to have been issued by the Jackson county townships would have amounted to about 137,000. the assessed valuation of the townships at that time being*: Petersburg. 134.594; Wisconsin. $38,478; Des Moines. 1100.749: Middletown. $40,336; Minneota, $65,314; Hunter. $23,082; Rost, $5,712; Sioux Valley. $33,346; Round Lake. $9,949; Ewington. $8,687. The counties of Martin and Nobles were also asked to vote subsidies.

gave a majority for the bonds. But the road was not built that year, and the bonds were not sold. During the summer the financial affairs of the railroad company got in a bad way, and the promoters found themselves unable to proceed with the extension.

In the northern part of Jackson county, where grasshopper eggs had been deposited in 1875, very little grain was sown in 1876, but in the southern townships, where no eggs had been deposited, the usual acreage was put in. Late in April the pests began to hatch, and the hatching continued until in June. So soon as they attained sufficient size the young hoppers attacked the fields. The farmers drew up in battle array against them, and many of the pests were destroyed. The ravages were confined to the northern townships until July 5. Then a gentle wind from the north swept clouds of them to the other portions of the county, and every precinct reported damage. There was no further movement of the hoppers until July 13. On that date another breeze from the north gathered immense numbers of them and wafted them over the line into Iowa. On July 24 came the worst visitation of grasshoppers ever known in Jackson county. Vast clouds of them came down from the northwest and destroyed all small grain left and injured the corn. They remained two or three weeks and deposited their eggs.

It was not until the fore part of August that the county was entirely free from the destroying agents. During this time they feasted continually and deposited their

The prospects were discouraging. Many who had fought the scourge so long gave up and quit trying to raise crops. The Jackson Bepublic voiced the feelings of the people when it said on July 29: ed a more serious aspetit than ever before there is no denying. Four successive crops havo been destroyed in a good portion of southwest - em Minnesota and the fifth assured of destruction. It is useless to recapitulate the trials our people have passed through, or tell how patiently they have waited with the vain hope that the pest would leave us forever; it is useless to theorize or moralize on the past - it is the dark future with which we have to deal and most interests our stricken people. We know that our crops have been nearly all destroyed and that eggs are deposited in every direction sufficient to hatch grasshoppers another year to cover every inch of ground in the county, and that is all that need be said on that point.

Many did not give up, however, but renewed the fight. A mass convention was called to be held at Jackson August 23/* to *^ave a general interchange of ideas as to the best policy to pursue in our present unfortunate circumstances caused by the ravages of grasshoppers." The convention adopted the following resolutions :

Resolved that the state and general governments be petitioned to make appropriations -to reimburse us for money expended to prevent prairie grass from burning and in catching young hoppers in the spring.

Resolved that the county commissioners be requested to make an appropriation not exceeding $1,000 for the purpose of making a fire guard sufficient to preserve the grass in each town.

Resolved further that a committee be appointed to correspond with the governor and with parties in other counties to the end that a general organization be had for the purpose mentioned in the above resolutions.

Resolved that we recommend a general convention for the grasshopper district be held at Worthington at ap early day, to be called by the governor of the state, who is hereby invited to be present.

hopper convention, containing delegates from all the devastated counties of southwestern Minnesota, met at Worthington September 20, 1876. Methods of fighting the common enemy were discussed and plans made for reducing the ravages. Belief from the United States government was asked.

The legislature of 1877 appropriated money for the relief of the destitute and $75,000 for the purchase of seed grain. The law provided for the repayment of this money by those receiving the grain; in case it was not paid back the county was bound to make payment to the state. Applicants were obliged to furnish affidavits as to their condition, and the county commissioners and county auditor acted as a board to determine thie worthiness of the applicants. Two hundred eleven applications were granted in Jackson county and thirty rejected. From LaCrosse township came 31 applications - the largest number from any one township. There was none from Hunter. On March 29, 1877, the county auditor received a check for $4,431 - Jackson county^s share of the appropriation - and this was distributed in grain, giving $21 worth to each successful applicant.

Every plan to rid the state of the locusts having failed, Governor John S. Pillsbury named a day for fasting and prayer, and by proclamation requested every citizen to observe Thursday, April 26, as a day on which to hold religious meetings and ask for deliverance from the scourge. In Jackson the day was appropriately observed, the Republic reporting the services as follows:

Fast day (Thursday, April 26) was duly observed in town by a general recognition of the governor's proclamation. In the forenoon quite a large congregation assembled at the church, where the services were conducted by Rev. E. Savage.

which many of our leading Christian citizens participated, and which was attended by a large number who ought to be Christians. Certainly the governor's fast day was well observed in Jacloon by our business men not only, but by our citizens generally. Two large congregations were present, many of whom are seldom seen inside the church.

The annual dread was felt again in the spring of 1877 - and this time the settlers were agreeably disappointed. The season was admirably adapted to two ends: the best possible development of small grain and the worst possible development of the locusts. The cool rainy weather of the spring and early summer seemed to have been sent on purpose to give wheat and other small grain a rapid and healthy growth, and at the same time give the grasshopperi^ a slow and feeble development.

The hoppers hatched during the month of May and began eating on a few fields, but not enough to do any great damage. The farmers early commenced fighting their enemy with kerosene oil and the tar 'Tiopperdozers.^' But the most satisfactory destroying element proved to be a little red parasite, which attacked and destroyed the eggs in the fall and early spring and later the young hoppers, loading down their frail wings and carcasses until it was almost impossible for them to fly. Bushels of the pests died as soon as their wings were grown.

Early in June the press reported little damage to small grain, but that the corn was suffering to some extent. Cool weather continued until the middle of June, having the effect of keeping the hoppers quiet and off the fields. Said the Bepublic on June 16: "Many people begin to take courage and actually are hopeful of a part of a crop.^* In the latter part of June the grasshoppers became more active and did some injury to small grain, they having confined themselves almost exclusively to corn and garden truck before. But about the first of July they began taking their departure, flying generally to the northwest, and within a few days all had left the county. None but the Jackson county hatch had visited the county, and it became apparent that unless there was a raid of "foreign'^ hoppers, the bulk of the crop was safe. And the invaders did not come. Swarms of them were occasionally seen flying high in the air afterward^ but they did not alight. The cheering situation was reported by the local press on July 21:

Certainly the situation about us is cheering. The grasshoppers have gone, and there is a feeling apparent that they have left us permanently. Crops are in the main good. We do not think there are a half dozen farmers in the county who have lost their crops during the season, though of course more than that number have been damaged more or less. But generally wheat, oats, barley, peas and potatoes are looking well, but com is backward. . It is truly encouraging to have such cheering reports come in from the farmers and we gladly make note of their success.

It was a year of jubilee. Every resident seemed to be imbued with new life. Business men began increasing -their stocks of goods; farmers began getting their lands in readiness for the next yearns crop and putting up hay for the increased herds of stock that grasshopper times compelled.

Yet conditions were not so rosy as one might imagine. The several years of devastation had discouraged the farmers of Jackson county to such an extent that each year saw less and less grain sown. The spring of 1877 witnessed the planting of a very limited acreage, and the comparatively big yield per acre did not resalt in the bountiful times that would have come had the farmers sown as in former years.

Of the sixty-one counties Minnesota contained at that time, Jackson ranked thirteenth in the yield of wheat per acre. Sixteen hundred forty-one acres were sown ; 33,208 bushels, or 20.22 bushels per acre, were harvested. In the production of oats the county ranked fourth, being surpassed only by Goodhue, Polk and Steele counties. The total yield of oats was 66,005 bushels, or 43.33 bushels per acre. The corn crop amounted to 77,623 bushels, or 19.63 bushels per acre.

Because of the bettered condition, in the fall of 1877, a few land seekers - the first in five years - came to the county to spy out and purchase choice tracts of land. A seed grain appropriation was again made in 1878, and Jackson county people received 1,575 bushels.^®

So far as Jackson county is concerned the terrible grasshopper scourge was practically ended. In its whole history up to this time there had been only a few years when the county had been free from

"-Nelgrhborlng counties received seed grain In bushels as follows: Cottonwood, 4,600; Watonwan, 2,790; Martin, 2,300; Nobles, 3,443; Murray, 800.

sources of devastation. For years the savage red man laid a heavy hand on the county and retarded its settlement; for another period of years the grasshoppers performed a like service. Hundreds of good citizens had been forced to leave; other hundreds had been prevented from coming.

The condition of the county at the close of the year 1877 has been told by a gentleman who made a trip over the Sioux City & St. Paul railroad in November. He said :

The country gives evidence of the sad effects of the grasshopper plague in the thousands of acres of land that have once been broken and perhaps a crop or two taken from them. The owners have left them to grow up to weeds, not daring to risk the chances of harvesting their crops. Nothing so forcibly brings to the mind of the visitor the reality of the grasshopper scourge as the sight of these desolate, weed-grown fields, with occasionally a deserted home standing cheerless and lone in the midst of the broad prairies.