Home > Back to Search Results >
1875 "Rocky Mountain locust plague"...
1875 "Rocky Mountain locust plague"...
Item # 719286
January 12, 1875
NEW YORK TRIBUNE, Jan. 12, 1875
* "Rocky Mountain locust plague"
* Midwest grasshopper infestation
* Great Plains settlers farming disaster
The top of page has a one column heading: "THE GRASSHOPPER PLAGUE" with subheads. (see images)
Complete with 16 pages, nice condition.
background: In 1875, Kansas and much of the Great Plains were devastated by one of the worst grasshopper infestations in U.S. history, often called the "Rocky Mountain locust plague." Beginning in July, enormous swarms darkened the skies, with some reports describing clouds of insects hundreds of miles wide and so dense they blotted out the sun. When they descended, the locusts devoured nearly every green thing in their path—wheat, corn, oats, gardens, fruit trees, even fence posts, wool off sheep, and wooden tool handles softened by sweat or sap. Kansas farmers, already struggling with drought, lost entire harvests, leaving many destitute. Relief efforts were organized by state and federal governments, churches, and charitable groups, which sent food, clothing, and seed grain to the stricken homesteaders. The plague was so severe that Kansas temporarily suspended debt collections and distributed aid to prevent mass abandonment of farms. By the following year, the swarms receded, but the 1875 grasshopper disaster became an infamous reminder of the harsh uncertainties of frontier farming on the Plains.
Category: Post-Civil War
Available Now
$28.00
