Chapter 27
Nice Night for a Scuffle
Ingman Loken swung open the heavy wooden door and walked into the Namakagon Timber Company lodge, stamping his feet to remove the snow. He hung his wool mackinaw on the back of a chair and joined his brother near the fireplace.
“So, Ingman, what should we do about Phineas Muldoon?” Both men stared into the fire. “Looks like he might be holding all the cards. He bought the dam. Gives him the right to control both the level of the lake and the amount of water that goes downriver. When time comes to drive our pine over the dam, all he has to do is shut down the gates. With no flow, our logs will sit in the riverbed and rot. Ya, looks like Phineas Muldoon is holding all the cards.”
“Olaf, doesn’t that mean he will not be able to drive his own logs to the mills? Why, he be cuttin’ his own throat.
“Muldoon has so many camps, so much timber, he can afford to abandon what he has laying here on the lake. He would do it solely to ruin us. He knows if we don’t drive our pine, we go bankrupt.”
“It simply does not seem proper that he can claim rights to the river flow. It’s God’s water, not Muldoon’s.”
“Ingman, they call him King for good reason. He’s the biggest lumberman from Minnesota to Michigan to Manitoba. Why, Phineas hires lawyers like we hire lumberjacks. Plenty of politicians in his pocket, too.
“It does not seem right. Sure wish I knew what it is he wants.”
“What he wants is for you and me to go bust. Then he could step in, take over the company, claim our timber rights. He’s already a rich, old man. He’s not looking for profit. He wants control. He wants revenge. He wants our outfit and doesn’t give a tinker’s damn about how he goes about gettin’ it.”
Ingman leaned forward, grasping the handle of an iron poker. He stirred the fire as his brother continued.
“There’s talk about Phineas laying rail through the woods come summer. I am sure our holdings are in his sights for that, too. Ya, old King Muldoon wants our company, wants to see us lose everything. He knew he’d be sittin’ pretty when he bought that dam. As I see it we have but two choices.”
“And what might they be?”
“Ingman, we need to work on finding ourselves an ally in the statehouse. A fella with political aspirations. Somebody who knows he could get more votes by siding with us instead of Muldoon. We need someone who values what is right for the workers of Wisconsin more than the money Phineas slips under the table. We need a man of the people who is able to force Muldoon to open those gates.”
“Sounds like a tall order, Olaf.”
“Tor and Namakagon might have us on the right path. The new governor is due in Hayward soon to give Tor and Chief a pat on the back for catching those thieves Phineas hired. Maybe we can get some help from him. There’s always another election coming up. Perhaps we can get him to see that, to best serve the voters, he should insist all waters of Wisconsin be shared with the people, not reserved for the rich.”
Ingman stepped to the wood box and picked up two large maple logs, one in each hand. He placed them on the andirons and laid a third log on top. “Olaf, you mentioned two options. What was the other?”
Olaf turned his chair toward his brother. “If Muldoon tries to stop our drive, we take the dam by force. We have enough men to do it and I think our jacks would stand by us.”
“Muldoon would have the sheriff on us.”
“I know.”
“Take the dam by force. Hmm. Ya. All right, let that be our ace in the hole. And, Olaf, let’s hope to heaven it don’t come to that.”