The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1921-12-15
ARTICLE TELLS OF EXPLOITS
OF M. DERMODY, PIONEER
Continued from Page One)


camps ranged from $4,000 to 100. 90
a month, in addition to doard and
bunkhOuse--nO extra charge for the
fleas.
Cattle from the grazing lands
east of the mountains were at that
time marketed through Seattle, being
brought over in drOves via the pass.
Our ranch being located conveniently
it was used as a resting and feeding
place for many of these drOves, the
cattle often being so footsore that it
required several days to get them
in shape for the balance of the trip.
I'VE sold our ranch to parties who
later made it part of a fifteen hun
bred acre hop farm. 1t is now, be-
lieve, part of the Meadowbrook
Dairy Farm.
"Cudworth came to Lynden in
1882, and followed in 'S3. Perhaps
now you can remember CudwOrth as
he who later became county commits
sioner, and whose name is on the
stone above the main entrance to the
Court House. l went to work in the
Colony Logging camp, yarding out
logs with a yoke of oxen, while
Charley Cudworth, who you will re-
member as the Court House janitor
of few years ago, drove a five yoke
team on the main skid road. Part
of the business section of Lynden
now stands where we logged at that
time. The logs were sent down the
NOOksack river to Bellingham, where
they were sawed in the Water Mill.
BY the way, Cen" M. A. Mcpherson
was the supervising millwright when
that mill was built.
"In 1885 Cudworth and I came
out here to North Prairie, where Gen.
Macpherson had already settled. Peo-
pie of this section were then dubbed
the Swamp Angels" by the Lynden
people. I pre-empted a quarter sec
ton where the North Prairie school
now stands, and Cudworth settled
just east of me. Only trail connect
ed us with Lynden. We dug ditch
beginning at point where the JAG
OLSON buildings now stand and run
ming north and west to our places.
Then we built a narrow scow which
we towed with rope. BY this means
we transported what we brought in,
even to household goods, saving a
lot of hard packing. The primary
purpose of the ditch, of course, was
drainage.
1.-THE bears were not wild at that
time. One bear caught our hog. By
the squealing Of the hog, we soon
located the thief. Cudworth went to
get the rifle and my big navy revolv-
err, while l stayed and threw clubs
at the bear In an effort to keep him
from further chewing the hog. The
rifle and revolver soon put him out
of business. Another bear caught a
fifty pound shoat and actually car
ried it away. When the bear found
that he could not cary the pig as fast
as we could follow, he dropped his
game and turned back to meet us,
and his actions were plainly a bluff
bluffing that would do credit to a
politician trying to recall a constit-
uent's name.
1.-THE biggest part of my time,
since first coming here has been
spent in this community. After
watching this section develop from
wilderness. through which it took
us nearly half day to go to Lynden
into one of the best agricultural
districts of Western Washington,
with the paved roads, autom obiles
and all manner of conveniences, with
a ten minute drive to Lynden, l can
not feel that my experience has been
a disappointment.