THE WONDERFUL FLOUR SACK

Marlborough Express, Volume VIII, Issue 485, 26 March 1873, Page 4

THE WONDERFUL FLOUR SACK-

We have been greatly amused with a recent publication by the redoubtable Mark Twain, and purpose giving an extract which illustrates the " flush times " m Nevada, which followed upon the discovery of silver mines m. that country. Money was wonderfully plenty. The trouble was, not how to get it,— but how to spend it, how to lavish it, get rid of it, squauder it. And so it was a happy thing that just at this juucture the news came over the wires that a great United States Sanitary Commission had been formed, and money was wanted for the relief of the wounded sailors and soldiers of the Union languishing m the Eastern hospitals. Right on the heels of it came word that San Francisco had responded superbly before the telegram was half a day old. Virginia rose as one man ! A Sanitary Committee was hurriedly organised, and its chairman mounted a vacant cart m C street and tried to make the clamorous multitude understand that the rest of the committee were flying hither and thither and working with all their might and main, and that if the town would only wait an hour, an office would be ready, books opened, and the Commission prepared to receive contributions. His voice was drowned, and his information lost m a ceaseless roar of cheers, and demands that the money be received now — they swore they would not wait The chairman pleaded and argued, but, deaf to all entreaty, men ploughed their way through the throng and rained v checks of gold coin into the cart and skurried away for more. Hands, clutching money, were thrust aloft out of the jam by men who hoped this eloquent appeal would cleave a road their stru gglings could not open . The very Chinamen and Indians caught the excitement, and dashed their half dollars into the cart, without knowing or caring what it was all about. Women plunged into the crowd, trimly attired, fought their way to the cart with their coin,- and emerged > again, by-and-by, with their apparel m a state of hopeless delapidation. It was the wildest mob Virginia had ever seen, and the most d.termined and ungovernable; and when at last it abated its fury and dispersed, it had not a penny m its pocket. To use. its own phraseology, it came there "flush," and went away " busted."

After that the Commission got itself into systematic working order, and for weeks the contributions flowed into its treasury m a generous stream. Individuals and all sorts of organisations levied upon themselves a regular weekly tax for the sanitary fund, graduated according to their means, and there was not another grand universal

outburst till the famous " Sanitary Flour Sack" came _ our way. Its history is peculiar and interesting. A former schoolmate of mine, by thename of Ruel Gridley, was livin r at the little city of Austin, m the Reese river country, at this time, and was the Democratic candidate for mayor. He and the Republican candidate made an agreement thai the defeati- 1 man should be publicly presented with a dfty pound sack of flour by the successful one, and should curry it home on his shoulder. Gridley was defeated. The new mayor gave him the sack of flour, and he shouldered it and carried it a mile ortwo, from Lower Austin to his home m Upper Austin, attended by a band of music and the whole population. Arrived there, he said lfe did not need the flour, and asked what the people thought he had better do with it. A voice said :.

" Sell it to the highest bidder, for the benefit of the Sanitary fund " The suggestion was greeted with a round of applause, and Gridley mounted a drygoods box and assumed the role of auctioneer. The bids went higher and higher, as the sympathies of the pioneers awoke and expanded, till at last the rack was knocked down to a mill man at two hundred and fifty dollars, and his check taken. He was asked where he would have the flour delivered, and he said: .:

" Nowhere — sell it again."

Now che cheers went up royally, and the multitude were fairly m the spirit of the thing. So Gridley stood there and shouted and perspired till the sun went down ; and when the crowd dispersed he had sold the sack to three hundred different people, and had taken m eight thousand dollars m gold. And still the flour sack was m his po. session.

Tho news came to Virginia, and a telegram went back :

" Fetch along your flour sack!" Thirty- six hours afterwards Gridley arrived, and an afternoon mass meeting was held m the Opera House, and the auction began. Rut the sick had come sooner than it was expected ; the people were not thoroughly aroused, and the sale dragged. At nightfall only five thousand dollars had been secured, and there was a crestfallen feeling m the community. However, there was no disposition to let the matter rest here and acknowledge vanquishment at the hands of the village of Austin. Till late m the night the principal citizens were at work arranging the morrow's campaign, and when they went to bed they had no fears for the result. At eleven the next mortfing a procession of open carriages, attended by clamorous bands of music and adorned with a moving display of flags, filed along C street, and was soon m danger of blockade by a huzzaing multitude of citizens. Tn. the first carriage sat Gridley, with the flour sack m prominent view, the latter splendid with bright paint and gilt lettering ; also m the same carriage sat the mayor and the recorder. The other cairiages contained the Common Council, th.c editors and reporters, and other people of imposing consequence. The crowd pressed to the corner of C and Taylor streets, expecting the sale to begin there, but they were disappointed, and also uuspeakably surprised; for the cavalcade moved on as if Virginia had ceased to be of importance, and took its way over the " divide," toward the small town of Gold Hill. Telegrams had gone ahead to Gold Hill, Silver City and Dayton, and those communities were at fever heat and rife for the conflict. It was a very hot day and wonderfully dusty. At the end of a short' half hour we descended into Gold Hill with drums beating and colours flying, and enveloped m imposing clouds of dust The whole population — men, women and children, Chinamen an I Indians, were massed m the main street, all the flags m town were at the mast head, and the blare of the bands was drowned m cheers. Gridley stood up and asked who would make the first bid for the National Sanitary Flour Sac R. Gen. W. said : —

" The Yellow Jacket silver mining company offers a thousand dollars, coin !"

A tempest of applause followed, A telegram carried the news to Virginia, and fifteen minutes afterward that city's population was massed m the streets devouring the tidings — for it was part of the programme that the bulletin board? should do a good work that day. Every few minutes a new dispatch was bulletined from Gold Hill, and still the excitement grew. Telegrams began to return to us from Virginia beseeching Gridley to bring, back the flour sack; but such was not the plan of the campaign. At the end of an hour Gold Hill's small population had paid a figure for the flour sack that awoke all the°enthusiasm of Virginia when the grand total was displayed upon the bulletin . boards. Then the Gridley eavuleade moved on, a giant refreshed with new lager beer and plenty of it — for the people brought it to the carriages without waiting to measure it— and within three hours more the expe-

dition had carried Silver City and Dayton by storm, and was on its way back covered with glory. Every move had been telegraphed and bulletined, and as the procession entered Virginia and filed down C street at half-past eight m the evening the town was abroad m the thoroughfares, torches were glaring, flags flying, bands playing, cheer on cheer cleaving the air, and the city ready to surrender at discretion. The auction began, every bid was greeted with bursts of applause, and at the end of two hours and a half a population of fifteen thousand souls hai paid m coin for a fifty pound sack of flour s sum equal to forty thousand dollars m greenbacks ! It was at a rate m the neighbourhood of three dollars for each man, woman, and child of the population. -The grand total would have been twice as large, but the streets were very narrow, and hundreds who wanted to bid could not make themselves heard. These grew tired of waiting, and many of them went home long before the auction was over. - This was the greatest day Virginia ever saw, perhaps. Gridley sold the sack m Carson city and several Californian towns; also m San Francisco. Then he took it east and sold it m one or two Atlantic cities, I think. I am not sure of that, but I know that he finally carried it to St. Louis, where a monster Sanitary Fair was being held, and after selling it there for a large sum, and helping on the enthusiasm by displaying the portly silver bricks which Nevada's donation had produced, he had the flour baked up into small cakes and retailed them al high prices.

It was estimated that when the flour sack's mission was ended it had been sold for a grand total of a hundred and fiftythousand dollars m. greenbacks ! This is probably the only instance on record where «ommon family flour brought three thousand dollars a pound m the public market. It is due to Mr Gridley's memory te mention that the expenses of his sanitary flour sack expedition of fifteen thousand miles, going and returning, were paid m large part, if not entirely, out of his own pocket. The time ho gave to it was not less than three months. Mr Gridley was a soldier m the Mexican war and a pioneer Califoraian. _ He died at Stockton, California, m -JJeeember, 1870, greatly regretted.

The Maryborough Express is "now published Twice weekly, oh Wednesday eveniugs ab 5 o'clock, and ou Saturday mornings at 8 o'clock. T lie rate of subscription remains as formerly, namely 6s per quarter delivered, or 7s if posted. — Samuel Johnson, Printer, &c., Alfred-street, Blenheim.