MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



11 



ROADSIDE LOCUSTS. 



was born; who had made the journey overland 

 from Puget Sound to the Atlantic coast be- 

 fore there was a railway operating in Michi- 

 gan? Why did not this man reap the harvest 

 he had and join with the others in contribut- 

 ing to the Michigan Bad Lands of today? 

 Because he was not ignorant. He was edu- 

 cated, mentally and morally. And such a 

 man is, perforce, a lover of Nature. He knew 

 that mere dollars are as vapor when relied 

 upon as tributes to a man's good character. 

 He loved the Rapids of the Grand: he knew 

 when he first viewed the valley at this point 

 that he had found his resting place for all time 

 and he also knew that the glorious hillside 

 over yonder, with its beautiful vistas and 

 ravines, its brooklets, trees, vines and flowers. 

 all commanding a view of the ultimate great 

 city, would become a splendid and everlasting 

 monument to his memory as a man in its 

 truest and best sense. 



When you see a man or woman who, 

 strangers though they may be to you, r.re 

 known -to you as the guardians, helpers and 

 friends of a pretty little dooryard, a neat and 

 thrifty little garden, take your hat off .to them 

 and, if you can make the opportunity, con- 

 gratulate them. This will not only cost you 

 nothing, but it will do good to yourself and 

 to them. When you see a child pulling and 

 hauling away at a. young tree, keep your 

 temper and get them interested in your story 

 as to why such cruelty should be forever 

 stopped by them. When you see a gang of 

 telephone or telegraph linemen abusing shade 

 trees make complaint against them and ask 

 for an injunction against their continuing 

 such abuse. If you see a man or woman 

 whose efforts demonstrate that they are 

 novices in tree planting, training or culture, 

 make friends with them and, without seeming 

 to butt in, give them the benefit of your ex- 

 perience and knowledge. So far as it is within 

 your power to do, never fail to impress upon 

 every child you know or may know the bru- 

 tality of abusing trees, shrubs, vines, plants, 

 flowers and grasses, by teaching them how to 



contribute to the life, strength and beauty of 

 such growths. 



Do all these things, do them generously, 

 diplomatically, patiently, but never again ask 

 a man to talk upon matters with which he is 

 not thoroughly acquainted. 



The final paper of the afternoon treated on 

 "Planting and Transplanting Trees," and was 

 given by J. Pomeroy Munson, landscape gar- 

 dener. 



Mrs. Sarah Smith. Mrs. Husband, W. :\. 

 Cook and others attested interest by making 

 brief remarks and asking questions. 



Refreshments were served by Mr. and Mrs. 

 Udell at the close and the host and hoste.--:, 

 were given a well Reserved vote of thanks or 

 tlu-ir hospitality. 



MODEL LUMBER TOWN. 



Few if any communities in the lumber dis- 

 tricts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan 

 can boast of conditions more ideal than the 

 village of Xahma, Delta count)'. The t"\vn 

 possesses an electric lighting system, a water- 

 works plant, a well equipped fire department, 

 an opera house, a first-class hotel, schools, 

 churches, wide, well graded streets that art- 

 lined with shade trees, a natural park of pic- 

 turesque beauty and a fine water front. Every 

 hoti^c, from that occupied by a high official 

 down to the humblest employe, is substan- 

 tial, roomy and well situa'.ed. Wages are 

 good, living is reasonable, and everything pos- 

 sible is done to make life agreeable to those 

 who live there. 



Xahma anu the country for forty miles 

 back are owned by the Bay de Xoquet Lum- 

 ber Company. This concern is one of the- 

 largest and most successful in the Upper 

 Peninsula, and it shares its prosperity with 

 its employes. During the busy season the 

 mills of the company employ over 300 men, 

 and the logging camps use 400 more. To 



transport the timber from forest to town a 

 private railroad is operated. It possesses 

 forty miles of trackage its own telegraph sys- 

 tem, and 100 cars and four locomotives. Every 

 board of the many million 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 greater portion of it is taken south and 

 -ui.\\ aqj SDiianbssuoD B sy -spsssA uo jsea 

 ter's output accumulates on dozens of docks 

 that aggregate several miles of water 

 frontage. 



The ships which transport the lumber are 

 loaded by Indians, a branch of the Chippewa 

 tribe, who live at Xahma. The men are paid 

 forty-five cents an hour for this work. The 

 Indian village is ruled over by Chief Kissis, 

 a venerable red man of eighty-four years. 



The residents of Xahma, instead of finding 

 life lonely and irksome, have many amuse- 

 ments, and are a happy lot. They have lite- 

 rary and dancin"- clubs, theatrical entertain- 

 ments, snowshoeing and tobogganing during 

 the winter, while in the summer recreation is 

 found in baseball and boating and picnic 

 parties. 



The government of the village is model. 

 There is only one saloon allowed to do busi- 

 ness in Xahma, and it is under the supervision 

 of the lumber company. Gambling is strictly 

 forbidden. The saloon 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 nine-thirty o'clock, and, 

 except when some sort of an entertainment 

 is going on. the community retires at a health- 

 ful hour. There is one physician in town, a 

 man of unusual ability, and he is paid for his 

 services on the assessment plan. 



It is estimated that the Bay de Noquet 

 Lumber Company has timber at the present 

 time sufficient to supply its mills upwards 

 of twenty years. J. C. Brooks, the president, 

 is located at Chicago, but makes frequent 

 trips to X T ahma and takes an active part in 

 the management of the affairs of the town. 

 George J. Farmsworth, the vice-president, is 

 the resident manager. 



