Told by the Pioneers - Washington Secretary of State

Logging in Mason County
Told by the Pioneer's
During the early days, most of the logging was done with cattle and
a good trained yoke of cattle sometimes brought two thousand dollars.
This was paid by Sam Willey for "Duke" and "Dime", his
leaders in his ten voke main skid road team. Five hundred dollars
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was often paid for a good yoke of cattle, well broken, and teams like
this on a well greased skid road with a good driver, would haul a big
string of logs half a mile to the landing and walk right along. A poor
teamster could spoil a good ox team in a short time. Good bull drivers
got at times four hundred dollars a month and board and it was as
good board as could be found at any hotel. The men were paid off
mostly with twenty dollar gold coins. On Sundays the men generally
spent their time playing poker for high stakes. Samuel Willey was
beloved by his logging crews. Later, when logging was being done
by machinery and railroads, one of the largest employers of loggers
was Sol Simpson. Sol's men, from "greasers" to the superintendents
of his railroad and logging roads, praised him as the squarest
man in }Iason county. Sol Simpson met all on the same plane. The
humble laborer or highly paid man-he was friendly to all. He owned
steamers, railroads and the largest logging camps, but personally, he
was a kind, friendly man to all who worked for him. \Vere a man hurt
in his camps or on his railroad, Sol was the first to visit the injured
man and did all he could in his behalf. Men from many states, coming
to the logging region, were aided and given work and Sol Simpson
would keep track of the family men to see that they were getting along
all right. His wife and their two beautiful daughters will always be
rememhered for their kindness to the families of loggers working for
Sol.
It was a day in 1885 that we rode over to Shelton, the county seat,
to display Oilr latest kill-an eight foot cougar. Among those in Shelton
examining the animal was a fine looking old gentleman. He, we
learned later, was David Shelton, founder of Shelton. Later on, we
became acquainted with his sons, Buck and Till Shelton. Till Shelton
afterwards became a very prominent logger. The day I met Buck
Shelton, Buck related an amusing story about an Indian who lived on
the bay and was a local seller of clams and ovsters. His name was
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Seesal. Being a great fisherman, he would take his light canoe, bait
his hook with smelt and troll for salmon with one hundred feet of line.
According to Buck, this day Seesal had out about one hundred feet
of line and had wrapped one end about his right, or rowing, hand. He
was paddling along off Skunk Point, humming an Indian lullaby, when
there came a tremendous pull on his line. In an instant Seesal's
canoe turned over, but he hung onto one of the crossbars of the craft,
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