The Treasure of Namakagon
James A. Brakken
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Badger Valley Publishing
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The Treasure of Namakagon
James A. Brakken
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© 2009 – 2012 James A. Brakken. All rights reserved.
Badger Valley Publishing
45255 East Cable Lake Road, Cable, Wisconsin 54821
No content herein may be reproduced, transmitted, conveyed,
copied, or printed without the author’s written permission.
Contact [email protected]
Study guide, discussion questions, maps, and more available at
TheTreasureofNamakagon.com
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The Treasure of Namakagon
James A. Brakken
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The author expresses sincere gratitude to the Sawyer County Historical Museum, the Wisconsin Historical Society, Lac Courte Oreilles Community College, and Forest Lodge Public Library for aid in researching the foundation for this story. Assistance and encouragement from my wife, Sybil Brakken, support from friends, and indispensable guidance from my critique group, the Yarnspinners chapter of the Wisconsin Writers Association, helped bring this story to life.
The Treasure of Namakagon is inspired by many true events that occurred in northwestern Wisconsin during the late nineteenth century when timber harvest methods were rushed and wasteful. Today’s loggers practice sound conservation methods, knowing this is best for both environment and economy. This book is neither a criticism of today’s loggers nor of contemporary timber harvest techniques. However, it does shed light on the questionable business practices, appalling forest management methods, and outright greed employed by most 19th and early 20th century lumber companies.
Other than Chief Namakagon and Governor Jeremiah Rusk, no characters in this book are meant to represent actual individuals. Any similarity to real persons, either living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental. Every attempt has been taken to make this book an historically accurate reflection of life in the lumber camps and northern Wisconsin communities in the 1880s.
This book is dedicated to the Ojibwe people who, for many centuries, prospered in our vast white pine forests until insatiable lumber companies turned those noble trees into mere timber bound for the mill. This book is also dedicated to the many thousands of strong-hearted lumberjacks who found their way to the western Great Lakes States’ pinery where they worked from light of dawn until dark of night all winter long under deplorable, dangerous conditions. They brought great wealth to the lumber barons, put Wisconsin on the national economic map, and left us with immeasurable culture and historical wealth. Finally, this book is written in honor of the man known by a few as Ogimaa Mikwam-migwan, but by most as Chief Namakagon.
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The Treasure of Namakagon Chapters
Prologue: May 18, 1966, Early Morning
1: Dark Visions
2: A Dollar and a Dime
3: The Smell of Money
4: The Place of the Sturgeon
5: The New Clean-out Boy
6: The Great Makwaa
7: The Man in the Black Derby Hat
8: Ogimaa Mikwam-migwan
9: Oshkosh, Chippeway, & Northbound
10: Namakagon: A Man of the woods
11: The Loken Camp
12: The Whitetail
13: Rogues and Scoundrels
14: Turnabout
15: Into the Deep Woods
16: Yellowjack, Blackjack, & Flapjacks
17: Spilt Milk
18: Hoodlums
19: Tracking the Bandit
20: Junior’s Wager
21: The Desperado Percy Wilkins
22: The Widowmaker
23: The Telegram
24: Sporting Girls
Interlude: May 18, 1966, Afternoon
25: King Muldoon
26: Goin’ to Town
27: Nice Night for a Scuffle
28: Whoopin’ It Up
29: Sunday at the Loken Camp
30: The Dinner Party
31: Modern Times
32: The Inside Man
33: The Governor’s Ear
34: The Loken Camp, January 1884
35: Preparations
36: The Empress Karina
37: More Skullduggery
38: Camp vs. Camp
39: Hell and High Water
40: River Pigs
41: The Way of Wenebojo
42: The Cavern
43: May Day
Epilogue: Late Evening, May 18, 1966
Endnotes and Glossary
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The Treasure of Namakagon
James A. Brakken
