The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-03-25
EYED HE first news

D published Il
the west side of the continental divide
in Colorado was called the Lake City
Silver World, and although the office
OF publication was eighty-fivc miles
distant from the nearest post office,
and it was printed in log cabin with
dirt floor and mud roof, for several
years it was power in southwest Col
orado and left its indcliblc imprint up
on the entire social fabric of the San
Juan country.
To-day its bones lie upon the big
newspaper dump of that great mining
camp, but the days when it's weekly
edition appeared are still bright in
the memories of the pioneers of 10,
when the rugged slopes and crests of
the Sierras San Juan and San Miguel
were wrestcd 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 Il 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. Its 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 thirty
ing business ut each of the three sa-
looms in the future queen city of Bo-
nanza Land. Lake City was Eldorado
and the Silver World was it's 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 prompted by n
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-fve miles southeast
The founders of Lake City cared
nothing for these Inconvenience, for
We're not the mountains around Lake
City glistcning with argcntiferous
wealth? And did not the Gunnison
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
riprappcd 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 has been located and n
site for 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, 1876, over two
hundred miners and prospectors had
crossed the range to the Lake Fork,
and as many more were making
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 the range on the backs of Next
can jacl.asscs. 1t was not until June
l 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
dred and fifty miles across the snowy
ranges of mountains. They were
twelve days in making the trip. The
plant arrived in Lake City on Sunday,
and over five hundred miners and pros
pectors helped unload the press and
set it up. The three saloonkeepers
We'd with each other in furnishing re-
freshments during the arduous task,
and in the evening the hotel proprietor
set out free lunch and gave a 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 / nodded the sizzling opinions
with which it's 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 q bunk in one corner of the office
and cooked its grub III 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
covcry that there were eighty-four
printers, thirteen ex-editorial writer's
and twenty three cX-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