Deliverance How ANXIOUSLY THE PIONEERS were awaiting the results of their first labors to redeem the desert and to make the wilderness blossom. They labored untiringly, caring for the precious crop. Soon tender blades showed above the surface of the fields; their winter grain was beginning to sprout. Then came the crickets! Myriads of these destructive pests rolled in black legions down the mountain side, and attacked the fields. The tender crop fell an easy prey to the invaders. The ground over which they passed looked as if it had been scorched by fire. The settlers did all in their power to overcome the devourers. Still the crickets prevailed. Men stood discouraged, heartsick; the women fell to their knees and prayed. All the hope of a harvest was fast vanishing, a harvest upon which life itself seemed to depend. Then the miraculous happened. Great flocks of gulls appeared. Were these, also, going to destroy? At first sight it seemed so, but no; they came to prey upon the destroyers. Back and forth they flew, alternately feeding and disgorging, until the crickets had been exterminated. The first settlers of the state of Utah were saved.