Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1892-04-01
The :s:;!ig|e ,as||l,l
~ a. paper ever
published on


/ Silver World, and although the Office
of publication was eighty five miles
distant from the nearest post Office,
and it was printed in a log cabin with
a dirt floor and mud roof, for several
years it was power in southwest Col
orado and left its indelible imprint up
on the entire social fabric of the San
Juan country.
To-day it's bones lie upon the big
newspaper dump of that great mining
camp, but the days when its weekly
edition appeared are still bright in
the memories of the pioneers of rs,
when the rugged slopes and crests of
the Sierras San Juan and San Miguel
were wrested from the Utes. The men
who started it are scattered far and
wide. Some of them lie in unmarked
graves; other have achieved fame; none
of them are forgotten.
The Silver World was natural
product of mining camp that had
millions in sight at the grass roots"
Its founders and editors were prospec-
tive millionaires and its patrons were
silver kings. It's advent on June Is,
1875, at Lake City was celebrated by
the firing of anvils and the explosion
of vast quantity of giant powder.
The day was also marked by thriv-
ing business at each of the three sa-
looms i'll the future queen city of Boz
nanza Land. Lake City was Eldorado
and the Silver World was its prophet.
In 1874 Hindsdale county was organ
lied and little park at the junction
of the lake fork of the Gunnison and
Henson creek was preempted by a
town company and laid off as Lake
City. 1t was made the county seat.
The Only means of access TO the town
was burro trail over the Saguache
range from San Luis valley, distance
of one hundred and twenty miles. An
old Ute trail across the range from
Antelope park gave access by foot to
Del Norte, eighty.five miles southeast.
The founders of Lake City cared
nothing for these inconvenience, for
were not the mountains around Lake
City glistening with argentiferous
furnish enough water power to turn all
the wheels in Colorado? 1t was to be
the future Virginia City, the coming
Golconda; the Gunnison was the Occi-
dental Pacto lus, whose sands were
golden grains and whose banks were
riprapped with silver nuggets. Before
the snow fell three log cabins had
been erected by the company. One of
them was hotel, the second was the
courthouse, while the third was the
newspaper Office. Over five hundred
mining claims had been located and a
site for a sawmill established. Then
the town builders went down to Del
Norte and Saguache in the valley to
spend the five months of winter that
must intervene before active work
could be resumed.
BY the first of May, 1875, over two
hundred miners and prospectors had
crossed the range to the Lake Fork,
and as many more were making a
wagon trail into Lake City. The sa-
loon had been started, and so had the
county seat, for the whisky and the
archives of government were carried
across tEa range on the backs of Mexi-
can jackasses. 1t was not until June
] that two wagons, each drawn by
four stout little Mexican mules, left
Canyon City laden with Washington
hand press, imposing stones, cases and
type for Lake City, distant two hun
bred and fifty miles across the snowy
range3 of mountains. They were
twelve days in making the trip The
plant arrived in Lake City on Sunday,
and ever five hundred miners and pros
pectors helped unload the press and
set IL up. The three saloonkeepers
We'd with each other in furnishing re-
treatments during the arduous task,
and in the evening the hotel proprietor
set out a free lunch and gave dance
1t was red-letter day for Lake City,
and everybody subscribed for the Sill
yer World
The paper was owned by the town
company, and California printer
named Woods was employed as pub
Usher I nodded the sizzling opinions
with which its columns were saturated
We sunk pine logs into the soft earth
upon which we placed the press, and
tackled wagon cover to the ceiling to-
keep the sandy roof from drizzling
down upon the forms. The staff slept
in bunk in one corner of the office
and cooked its grub in another corner.
The editorial chair was cracker box
set on end and the editorial desk con-
sisted of an imposing stone.
As soon as we were ready to begin
work an impromptu census of the camp
was taken which resulted in the dis
eovery that there were eighty-four
printers, thirteen ex-editorial writers
and twenty-three ex-reporters among
the population of five hundred. Every
one of them rendered his services in
getting the first number out. The Sill
yer World had the biggest staff during
the first week of any newspaper in the
west The copy was prepared by about
twenty-five different writers, and was
set up by about seventy-five compost
tors. Those who couldn't write or set
type, kept the staff in cigars and whis-
ky. 1t was certainly the most unique
newspaper in America. Every writer
chose bis own local or political subject
and everything went The sheet first
off the press was bought by the owner
of the sawmill for fifty dollars The
money was spent in buying pony with
which to carry the mail edition to ths
post office, eighty-fve miles away.
The Silver World was six-column
frlio set in long primer, and the sub
sciiption price was three dollars per