Phoebe was afraid of the Indians who were always begging for bread. At the same time, she thought it was deplorable that white men sold them liquor, for which they had no tolerance. A small band of Indians set up their wigwams on her property. At first she was wary, but then realized they really had a prior claim on the land. The Indians lived on a small portion of her 320 acres and were generally no trouble. At one point, she took in a young Indian boy who had been orphaned. He lived with the Judsons until an adult.
In the fall, her in-laws and friends arrived from the east. The Judsons built an extension so that his parents could live with them for awhile. Shortly afterward, the family moved to new property near modern day Chehalis at Claquato. They traded their property with another man who was interested in stock raising. The gravelly soil would not matter for that undertaking. The new property was much more suitable to crops and they soon had some fine crops of hay, oats, and alfalfa. But the work was labor intensive and it was still so remote that they had difficulty transporting the surplus.
The Indian wars interrupted the tranquility. The families had to temporarily abandon their homes and live at nearby Fort Claquato. They lived there for sixteen months. During this time Phoebe learned how to shoot a rifle. Shortly after their return home, Mr. Judson was elected to the legislature. They sold their farm for $4,000 in cash and goods. They lived in a rented frame home in Olympia. They lived there for several years. They were tough ones as the economy was bad. The Civil War made this worse, plus increased the isolation was transportation was interrupted. The Judsons were looking for a change.
In 1871, they moved one more time to Whatcom County near the Canadian border. Their home was on the Nooksack River, upriver from Ferndale. The previous owner had left a small cabin, to which they added, and an orchard. They also had a beautiful view of Mt. Baker and other peaks. Two orphans, Nellie and Dollie, stayed with the Judsons for awhile. Phoebe did much better with her vegetable garden and was able to harvest cabbage, beets, turnips, and tomatoes. The Indians in the area were very friendly and industrious. When the settlers wanted to remove a large log jam on the river, the Indians pitched in to help.
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