The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1923-08-24

| drew ICarnege. After about two years
in the oil fields young Cummings felt
the urge and call of the west and
| came to Minneapolis, Mimi, and en-.
gagged in the hotel business. This town
at that time was enjoying a real ives.
tern boom" and Cummings cleaned
up a nice little stake in about two
years and disposed of his business. He
then hit the trail for the Dakotas. OK
We're the means of transportation on
the then great western frontier, SO
| Cummings being an expert horseman
and crack snot signed up with an ex-
pedition with General Custer of the
United States army, bound westward
into Montana. and while with this out
fit Cummings went through several
battles with the Sioux Indians who
! were then on the war path and caus-
| ing LOIS of trouble for Uncle Sam s
troops. Montana was wild and woolly''
in those days so Cummings located
near where the present town of Deer
Lodge is now located and drove the
overland U. S. mail stage from there
to Missoula for about five years. Dur
ing this time Cummings saw and met
the toughest and toughest bandits,
gun men and outlaws and had many
gun fights with the worst of these
stage coach bandits and many narrow
escapes from death, but II is well re-
membered even to this day by the old
timers that the stage the Cummings
although it was several times held
up but due to the bravery and gun
play ability of Cummings his stage
was never robbed. While here Cum
mings heard great tales Of the Yakima
country and so he organized a pack
train and went overland and landed
in the early eighties at Union Cap or
Old Yakima City and during the boom
days there ran stage line into
Ellensburg, Washington, where he
soon developed big feed, flour and
transfer business and became widely
known to every one in the entire
north as "Pard Cummings" this
abbreviated nondeplume having been
given to him by his pals during the
hOld-up days back in Montana several
years before. From Ellensburg he
moved in 1885 to the Okanogan coun-
try and settled at the spot where now
stands the city of Okanogan, but
which was then known as Alma, being
named by Cummings.
Just as soon as he landed at Alma
he opened up a trading depot in which
he did big business with the In
dians and which later grew into a
large general store which became the
headquarters for both Indians and
white men and was the Mecca for
prospectors, COW boys and pioneers
for hundreds of miles around. The
mining boom was on in the Okanogan
country at about this time and many
notable characters Of the west visit
ed and outfitted at "Pards Place" at
Alma and at his little depot at the
then booming place of Ruby. In 1892
Pard moved up the Okanogan river
to point which later on became the
town Of Riverside, where he bought
the REIMBURSEMENT of Tate & Ward
adjoining the present town of River
side which was at that time the head
of navigation on the Okanogan and
enjoyed great prosperity. In the fall Of
1899 Mr.. Cummings opened a small
store on the land he thus acquired
by REIMBURSEMENT and as the North
Half of the Colville Indian Reserva-
tion was thrown open for homes tead
settlement in the spring of 1900, this
small store grew very rapidly and
soon enjoyed the largest trade of any
store this side of Coulee City and
Ellensburg. 1t was about this time
that Pard started in the cattle bust.
ness and which he has pursued with
great interest and profit up to the
time of his death. Mr.. Cummings be,
came known all over this entire coun-
try as an expert Judge of beef cattle
and was great lover of thoroughbred
horses and all his life owned and per-
sonally drove some of tne finest har-
ness horses in the Northwest. During
all these years his business interests
were varied and extensive, he having
owned and operated mines, saw mills,
stage lines, cattle ranches, irrigated
fruit orchards. grain ranches. lumber
yards, general warehouses, form i'm
plements and large general merchan-
disc establishments.
He was for number of years a
stock holder and director in several
banks in this county, was one of the
organizers of the first Okanogan
County Fair Association, filled the Of
flee of mayor of Riverside and up to
the time Of his death was active in
business and civic life of the county.
Mr.. Cummings was charter men,
ber of the Oroville Chapter Of the 1.
o. o. F., being initiat ted there in 1910
and was admitted to the Rebekahs in
1911 and was a member of the Oro-
vile lodge at the time Of his death.
1t was his expressed with tnat he
be buried under the auspices of the
Oroville |. o. o. F., and that he be
laid finally to rest in the Odd Fellows
Cemetery at Oroville.
Mr.. Cummings had no children of
his own. but leaves to mourn his loss
| a loving and noble wife. whose self
sacrifice and loving solicitude has
marked her as one of Gods noble
women, as to her alone has fallen the
chief care Of her husband during his
long illness the past year, as much
of the time Mr.. Cummings has been
partially helpless due to a stroke OF
apoplexy which he suffered over a
i I-aar Che 10 hnara Ia ic Tor 4