The Days of the Locust
The 1870s “grasshopper” plague and
its impact on the American
countryside
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Overview
Some of us likely read about the Grasshopper Plagues of the 1870s in Laura
Ingalls Wilder's On the Banks of Plum Creek. In the chapter, "The Glittering
Cloud" Laura gave an excellent account of what it was like to have actually
had the hordes of grasshoppers converge on their homestead. One soon
understands the hopelessness that pioneer families must have felt as the
hoppers consumed virtually everything they had.
Although we commonly refer to them as Grasshoppers both then and now,
they were actually Rocky Mountain Locusts. In appearance, they look very
much like the grasshoppers of today. Much of the prairies were invaded by
the millions of Rocky Mountain Locusts. They would fly in in such numbers
as to appear to be a cloud blocking the sun. Laura's experience took place
in Minnesota but she wrote her books many years later when she lived in
southern Missouri. This site is designed to demonstrate the effects that the
Rocky Mountain Locust had on the Midwest with special focus on
Minnesota and Kansas.
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Overview (cont.)
During the plagues several things were tried to combat the infestation. Mr. J. A. King
, of Boulder Colorado, invented the curious suction-fanning machine. It consisted of
two large tin tubes, about eight inches in diameter, with flattened, expanded, and
lipped mouth-pieces running near the ground. The horizontal opening or mouth was
about seven feet long. The tubes connected at the upper extremity with a chamber,
in which was a revolving fan that traveled at a speed of 1,200 revolutions per
minute. Effectively a giant “vacuum,” the King machine could be made for around
$50, and it worked well on smooth ground or in wheat-fields while the wheat was
still far from ripe.
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Overview (cont.)
Ultimately the locusts simply disappeared, and the farmers were left
to pick up the pieces of their ruined lives.
The ‘grasshopper plague’ has enormous impact on the American
people. It inflicted great damage on rural America, driving
thousands of farm families into ruin. It stimulation research in
agricultural sciences to better fight insect damage. And it altered
people’s views of the role of state and even national government. All
of these aspects are considered in the exhibit.
Above all, showing how people reacted to crisis, and how this
changed their lives …..
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Assumptions
•The venue is a Minnesota county historical
society. The presumed audience is made up of
local and regional residents of all ages.
•The budget is modest (less than $20,000 for
display objects, cards, and brochure).
•The physical space is about 2000 square feet
(40 by 50 foot exhibition room)
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Exhibit Layout
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Exhibit Sources
Annette Atkins, Harvest of Grief (1984)
Jeffrey Lockwood, Locust (2004)
Thomas Cox, Everything But the Fence Posts
(2010)
Manuscript letters, photographs
US Entomological Society Reports
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Overview
“Behold, tomorrow I will bring the locusts into thy coast, and they shall cover the
face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the
residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall
eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field . . .”
Exodus 10:4-5
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The Culprit
The Rocky Mountain locust -- Melanoplus spretus,
was the dominant ‘grasshopper’ species in Middle
America. It ravaged farm crops in North America for
decades, but is now apparently extinct. The last
living specimen was recorded in 1902.
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The Victims
Before major advances in chemical technology,
farmers fought pest infestations with tar and fire.
Here, farmers in Kansas, 1870s, burn piles of field
stubble mixed with tar and ensnared locusts
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Background
Before the development of chemical pesticides, American agriculture suffered from
insect infestations that destroyed millions of dollars worth of crops. In the 1830s the
Hessian fly (so named because Hessian mercenaries were said to have carried the
insect to North America during the 1770s) did much damage, and the boll weevil
continuously plagued the cotton crops of the South.
The availability and richness of the land was such that this usually did not lead to
food shortages or widespread hunger. American farmland grew in volume, crops
grew in size and profits from food harvests fed the growing population and enriched
the nation.
But in the 1870s a sudden wave of locusts devastated the Midwest, threatening to
bring famine and ruin.
It began with a tiny creature known as the “Rocky Mountain grasshopper.”
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The Mystery
A small flying grasshopper, the Rocky Mountain locust species was roughly 1.25 to 1.4
inches long, known as the Rocky Mountain Locust. Their native homelands were the
dry Rocky Mountain upland region of primarily Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.
After hatching out in the spring of the year, the locusts would travel eastward in
search of food.
When conditions were ideal, they could multiply into the billions, travel over long
distances, and consume virtually anything and everything that was remotely edible. In
1874, for unknown reasons, a massive body of the little locusts spread across the
Midwest like a Biblical plague.
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First Signs of Trouble
The Year of the Locust began in mid summer, 1874 as millions moved through Kansas
and Nebraska. They reached the northwestern corner of Missouri in late July to early
August. Damage was rather light in Missouri 1874, but in 1875, the Missouri State
Entomologist tallied up enormous losses by county:
“Atchison, $700,000; Andrew, $500,000; Bates, $200,000; Barton, $5,000; Benton,
$5,000; Buchanan, $2,000,000; Caldwell, $10,000; Cass, $2,000,000; Clay, $800,000;
Clinton, $600,000; De Kalb, $200,000; Gentry, $400,000; Newton, $5,000; Pettis,
$50,000; Platte, $800,000; Ray, $75,000; Saint Clair, $850,000; Vernon, $75,000; Worth,
$10,000. Amounting in the aggregate to something over $15,000,000.”
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The Crisis
The crisis spread across the continent’s center and
quickly underscored the limit of public assistance.
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Stories of Grief
Susan Dimond Text transcribed (from Kansas
Historical Society Collections), explaining family’s
loss of crops to locusts
It was so cold the children had to keep close to the
stove most all day . . . we are getting along as well
as the generality of people I guess have enough to
eat & wear & a warm house good bed & bed clothes
to keep us warm and that is about all any one can
have. Aid is still comeing in slowly some shoes old
clothes & some Provisions. we all hope to have
good crops another year & if we do not do not
know what we will do then, go west I suppose? I
wish this was a good enough country to advise
people to come to but at present I advise all to keep
away.
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News of the Crisis
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Aid to Families
Kansas’s state government issued scrip (informal currency)
for farmers to use for property taxes, but many lost their
farms anyway.
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A Losing Battle?
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The “hopper-dozers”
The most effective weapon against the locusts was sheets of metal, coated with tar,
pulled across fields and then dumped on bonfires. It was a slow, exhausting process
and only partially effective against swarms amounting to millions of insects.
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Devastation in Minnesota
The locusts overwhelmed fields in Minnesota,
doing serious damage in almost every area. In
the western and southwestern counties,
nearly half of the wheat crops were destroyed
and over half of the oat crops (largely used for
feeding horse and cows). Many families were
completely destitute, and farmers who were
unable to pay taxes on their lands were in
danger of losing their farms.
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Government response
John Pillsbury, governor of Minnesota from 1876 to
1878, was part of the famous and wealthy Pillsbury
family. He refused to recommend extensive aid
programs to the state legislature, arguing that
“hand-outs” would “undermine the moral fiber of
the poor.” The legislature agreed on providing
limited aid by delaying the collection of property
taxes and providing grain seed to farmers for new
planting. Farmers had to agree to pay for the seed
(at the rate of $1 a bushel of seed) – the cost of
seed to be a “lien upon my crop of grain, raised
each year,” until the loan was repaid. Ten bushels
of seed would raise (at most) 135 bushels of wheat,
worth about $135.
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Documenting need
Farmers applying for county aid under the poor laws had to swear a “pauper's
oath” that they were “deserving of relief.” Four witnesses had to sign a note
attesting to the applicants “character.” Several farmers stated that they were
“made to feel like unsavory miscreants” during the process.
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Extent of direct aid
Most counties granted applicants for assistance about $2 to buy
about 10 pounds of pork, some molasses, baking soda, and matches.
In 1875 it cost about $200 to maintain a family of four.
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Evolving defenses
The damage done from the locusts resulted in calls for new strategies against
insect infestations. Charles Riley (Missouri State entomologist) and Cyrus
Thomas (Illinois professor of Agricultural Sciences) called for a Federal office to
pursue ways to prevent a repeat of the grasshopper plague.
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Government growth
The US Entomological Commission, established by Congress in 1877, as part of the
Interior Department and staffed by Riley, Thomas and Alpheus Packard (above)
used Federal funds to find countermeasures to insects – the earliest use of
chemicals was part of its efforts, summarized in annual reports until 1902.
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Legacies
The plague of locusts lasted until 1877, when
the insects simply disappeared over a period of
about a month. At its height the swarm was
estimated to contain over 12 trillion insects
(enough to cover the whole state of California).
Over $200 million of damage (about a billion
dollars today). This was not enough to create
a famine, but in conjunction with the industrial
“panic” of the 1870s, it contributed to
unemployment, and left the Midwest battered,
as suggested in this 1875 cartoon.
The Rocky locust appeared again after 1877, in
smaller numbers. No specimen has been
found since 1902.
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Social Cooperation
Did the locust plague – and the meager
aid given to families during it – change
social thought? Perhaps.
The influence of Darwin had grown after
1870, to the point that the “survival of
the fittest” idea was used to celebrate
the power held by the great industrial
leaders (Carnegie, Rockefeller, etc.
In Illinois (a state that saw much laborindustry violence and some damage from
the locusts), the botanist Lester Ward
argued in his book Dynamic Sociology
(1883) that society could “guide” the
development of peoples, rather than just
permit them to compete.
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The Legacy of Scientific Charity
In the first half of the 19th century, cities had begun to transform
charity work, through
1) The creation of asylums, the idea of “scientific charity” and the
“charity organization societies.”
2) The need to develop greater urban efforts in public health.
3) After 1865, the need to integrate the former slaves with the
Freedman’s Bureau, etc.
4) The (reluctant) recognition of labor unions by industries and some
states.
5) The locust infestation triggered new discussion of charity – the
‘”social gospel” and “social work” profession were some results.
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Farmers organize
The hard times for farmers stimulated an era of
rural organization. The Granger movement, the
Farmers’ Alliances, and the Populist movement
were all influenced by such factors as the locust
plague, the high costs that farmers paid to grow
and ship their grain, and the low prices they
received for their harvests. Farmers’ Alliances
called for regulation of railroad shipping costs,
reduction of loan interests, and the formation of
“rural cooperatives” that could allow farmers to
operate their own grain elevators, creameries, and
banks.
Critics called the farmers’ movements “socialistic”
threats to “American freedoms,” but the farmers
said they were simply protecting their own
interests.
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Populism and politics
In 1896, the Democratic Party (largely out of
power since the Civil War) picked William
Jennings Bryan, a Nebraska populist, as its
presidential candidate. This temporary
unification of the populist movement and the
Democratic Party did not lead to victory – Bryan
was defeated by William McKinley.
The 1896 election, however, was a turning point
in the Democratic Party’s identity. As the 20th
century began, Democratic candidates were
increasingly identified with reform movements
and a growing philosophy of having government
actively intervening in social issues.
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Labor and Political Issues
Urban laborers too became more
politically active, influenced by hard
times and European ideas.
Both railroad strikers and business
owners referred to the “Paris
Commune” (when French workers
called for a revolution against the
state) during rail strikes in 1873-74.
Owners warned that unions would
“bring communism” to American
society. Some strikers hoped that this
would happen, but most union leaders
condemned the idea of revolution.
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Labor and Industry
According to statistics gathered
at Princeton University, wages
for industrial workers rose 31%
from 1860 to 1881, while prices
rose 41%. This meant that
workers had a harder time
paying for things as time went
on.
Labor unions grew as a result.
The Knights of Labor and the
American Federation of Labor
(AFL) were growing after 1870.
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Strikes in 1877
A major collapse of credit in
1872 brought on a financial
“panic” – a depression that
slowed the pace of growth
(the Northern Pacific
Railroad stopped work on
its route through Dakota
Territory to the west).
Many businesses began to
cut wages in order to save
money. This sparked strikes
and violence in American
industries.
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Political Machines
Many cities had long been controlled by
political machines that delivered votes to
selected candidates in return for special
favors. Reformers aimed to curb the
power of machines with voting reform.
But some reform groups (and some labor
groups who wanted higher wages) also
sought to restrict immigration and reduce
their votes.
One result of this in the 1870s was when
the Congress yielded to public pressure
and banned Chinese immigration.
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Later Battles
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Battling with chemicals
By the late nineteenth century, U.S.
Farmers had made some progress in
fighting insects by using chemicals
Straying a ix of copper acetoarsenite
(Paris green), or compounds of
nicotine sulfate, and sulfur worked in
some cases.
Not until the widespread use of DDT in
the mid-20th century did a reliable
system develop.
But that raised other questions . . .
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And the future?
The Africa Emergency Locust Project has since the early 2000s provided World
Bank aid to North African and Middle East nations that are annually threatened
with famine because of insect infestations. Much of the recent protest activity in
this part of the world is driven more by hunger than political desires for freedom.
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Review
The “grasshopper” exhibit uses images, text and sound to give visitors
some idea of what it was like to live in the 1870s and battle the
locusts as they destroyed farms and livelihoods. By placing alongside
the basic story enough information on the industrial development of
America in the 1870s, the rise of political machines and labor
movements, and the subsequent growth of farmer’s protest
movements, the museum visitor is allowed to place the events of the
grasshopper infestation into context.
In this manner, the exhibit will meet the educational goals of Schwab
by making the visitor a ‘student,’ the museum a ‘teacher’ and the
events of the 1870s a ‘lesson’ (subject matter about the nation’s rural
past. Highlighting how ordinary people were ruined in the 5 years of
locust invasions should strike a chord for many viewers.
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Review (cont.)
The exhibit reflects Huebner’s ideas about the criteria for learning – the
scientific and technical aspects of the exhibit are mirrored in the display
of ‘hopper killer’ machines invented to fight the locusts.
At a deeper level, the use of sound (the constant ‘chirp’ in the exhibit
room) and the odor of burnt tar/insects will reflect Huebner’s concerns
for aesthetics and Schwab’s concept of the learning “milieu.” In should
in fact impress on the museum-goer a sense of memory similar to what
the victims of the locust plague recalled for the rest of their lives.
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