This week I spent finishing historical articles for the June
issue, a fun but challenging job. I had this interesting
conversation with a lady at the Kansas historical society who
seemed quite knowledgeable about her area, the cattle drives,
and the importance of cattle and ranching to her state and its
history. Yet when I asked her if she knew about the screwworm
she said she did not. Now the fact is I live less than four
miles south of the Kansas border and all the old timers here
remember the pest. I know it was in Kansas and have found
reports it turned up in South Dakota in the summer. In other
words, it wasn’t just a southern pest. Like the fever tick, the
movement of cattle and other livestock around the country spread
it far and wide. It may not have been good at surviving northern
winters, but I can speculate it might have gotten better at it
over time. Certainly the nine-banded armadillo has and the boll
weevil was creeping north before concerted eradication efforts
halted its northern drift. In fac