The Washington bee., 1907-08-17
MODEL CITY IN WILDS
GLADSTONE, MICH, A THRIVING
INDIAN COMMUNITY.
Town Owned by Lumber Company ls
Full Of Industrious, Happy Red
skins Who Have a Govern
ment That is Ideal.

Gladstone, Mich.-Few if any COM
munities in the lumber districts Of the
north country can boast OF conditions
more ideal than the village Of Nahma,
Delta county The town possesses an
electric lighting system, a water
works plant. a well-equipped fire de-
partment. an opera house, first class
hotel, schools, churches, wide, we'll
graded streets that are lined with
shade trees. a natural park of ptctur-
esque beau,y ard fine water front.
Nahma and the country for 40 miles
back are owned by the Bay de Noquet
Lumber company. This concern is
one Of the largest and most successful
in the upper peninsula, and II shares
its prosperity with its employees. Dur
ing the busy season the mills of the
company employ over 800 men, and
the logging camps use 400 more. To
transport the timber from forest TO
town a private railroad is operated.
It possesses 40 miles Of trackage, its
own telegraph system and 100 cars
and four locomotives.
Every board of the many millions OF
feet Of lumber produced is sold on the
dock at Nahma and transported from
there by the purchasers. But little OF
the product is moved by rail and the
great portion of il is taken south and
east on vessels. AS a consequence the
winters output accumulates on dOZ-
ems Of docks that aggregate several
miles of water frontage.
The ships which transport the lum-
Der are loaded by Indians. a branch
Of the Chippewa tribe, who live at
MAMMA The men are paid 45 cents
an hour for this work. The Indian
village is ruled over by Chief Kissis,
q venerable red man of S4 years. His
habits are perfect, but his example
Of right living is not generally follow
ed by his tribesmen. In fact, they are
gluttons, when their financial ciTcum-
stances permit Big feasts and big
sprees are their chief forms of pleas
ure
After spending in a riotous lam
bOree" the money they have made in
and wait for the first boat 70 come in.
Then they work like beavers, and
when the vessel is loaded another
orgie is held. Hard work and jubilees,
ia fact. alternate until navigation
closes in the fall The squaws can i'm
bibe as much as the bucks when they
get the chance. Chief Kissis has
never taken a drink. used tobacco OF
uttered an oath in his life. He labors
industriOusly in the endeavor to teach
thrift and sobriety to his followers,
but his efforts thus far have been al
most futile.
The residents of Nahma, instead
OF finding life lonely and irksome,
have many amusements and are a hap
py lot They have literary and dane
ing clubs. theatrical entertainments,
snow-shOeing and tObOgganing during
the winter. while in the summer recre-
alton is found in baseball and boating
and picnic parties. The day Of the
heavy drinking, gambling mill worker
is gone; in his place is to be found
q well-dressed, intelligent man Of good
habits
The government of the village is a
model. There is only one saloon al
lowed TO do business of Nahma, and il
is under the supervision Of the lumber
company. Gambling is strictly forbid
den. The place closes at nine O'Clock
at night and does not open until seven
o'clock in the morning. All electric
lights in the town are extinguished at
$3.50 o'clock, and except when some
sort of entertainment is going on. the
community retires at a healthful hour.
There is one physician in the town. a
man Of unusual ability, an he is paid
for his services on the assessment
plan.