The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-11-06

justice OF his claim anu pdlu III
price.
On April 10 the flour was distrib
uted among the populace allowing
each mar 10 pounds, and five pounds
additional for each additional mem
Der of the family. The rate was
27 cents per pound for Salt Lake
flour and 80 cents for the st. Louis
flour.
If there was no open defiance Of
the work of the committee, there
were not lacking attempts to outwit
the leaders in the work of securing
flour for distribution, and all sorts
of hiding places for the coveted treas
ure were brought into play. Cellars.
outbuildings, haystacks, holes in the
ground and other out-of-the-way
places were utilized. In this man
ner scores of sacks of flour escaped
the scrutiny of the collectors.
It was a current rumor after the
affair had blown over, that J.. b,
Laurin, a we'll known merchant OF
the Ruby valley, had succeeded in
secerting 80 sacks of flour in var
ious hiding places on his ranch near
the village which still bears his
name, and selling the same at prices
exceeding 500 per sack, thus lay
ing the foundation for a considerable
fortune which he amassed.
At the time of the flour famine M
H. and John S. Lott, the latter then
territorial auditor, were running a
general mercantile business at Ne
vada. They had secured about 20
sacks of flour and M. H. Lott went
down to the Sinking Water valley
with a team to haul it to town.
While he was away, the meetings
yer held and the searching parties
to contain flour. John Lott manag-
ed to convey to his brother the new
Of what was going on and the latter
was perplexed as to how to act. To
go direct home meant the confisca-
ton of his load, while to turn back
was equally hazardous. So he made
detour through the foothills, trust
ing to luck to aid him in getting lis
load home in the darkness.
The hills were then covered with
scrub" cedar, so Lott porceeded to
chop down a supply sufficient to
make a pretty good load of fuel
wood under which he concealed his
and then started home. AL
stopped by two members of
The committee, he succeeded in get
ing past them and reached Nevada
after dark. AS the place had
already been searched Lott felt safe
unloading his precious cargo in
dark and storing it about the
of business and it was later
iold at figures which gave the firm
profit of 5000 in gold dust
Many lesser incidents of this sort
occurred during the exciting period,
,ut perhaps the most humorous and
ret pathetic happening of it all was
When a man bargained off his wife
or 500 in gold and two sacks of
lour. The fellow was a shiftless
ort Of hombre VINO lived on the out
kirts of Nevada with his wife, who
a patient, industrious sort of a
yoman and who was the main sup
ort of her husband and stepson by
er efforts at the washtub.
The woman bore with her mate
ntil patience ceased to be a virtue,
he breaking point occurring when an
Id sweetheart came along. A quar- j
ell resulted between the latter and
he husband which terminated by
he husband being threatened with {
whipping if he did not treat his
amily better. :
The husband retorted, "Why don't !
take her away, yourself, if l
cure so stuck on herr"
This remark led to a negotiation
18th the result that a deal was made {
n the basis of a wife for 500 and {
sacks of flour. The wife gave a {
but hardly reluctant consent 5
nd the services of a friendly pro- 5
ated judge were secured to grant q l
ecree. The netx day the old lover :.
)ok his recovered sweetheart before l
justice of the peace and they were I
larried, but before the former hus- :
and was able to dispose of his flour c
the ruling prices it was bounced
pom by the committee and he was .
to give up all but 20 pounds &
IT himself and his son at the rate e
$27 per sack. /
1t is an interesting fact that David =
imam, the agent for Bishop Sharp's =
ainload of flour which was the -
rst to break the famine following y
flour riots, was one of the vic "
ms of the road agents in the Port
suf canyon massacre of July Is,
S65, scarcely two months after the
tie on which that consignment
ised the blockade and was brought ~
the relief of the famine-stricken ~
of Alder gulch. Besides his =
e, he lost $4,000 in gold dust, .
lich he was conveying to Salt Lake =,
ty as part of the proceeds of the f;
lie of that cargo. 2
IL