Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-09-22
THE PIONEER PAPER.
STORY OF TIE FIRST NEWSPAPER IS
SUED IN CALIFORNIA.
An Old Phi,adelphian Was the handspring
of Its Early Lfe-Rigging Up a Plant
Under Great Dinieulsie<-A Member Of

tie Original staff Honored In Monterey.
The only living member Of the origi-
cal staff q the first newspaper ever
printed in California resides about five
miles from the city q Monterey, in the
Carmel valley. His name l. Swan, and
every enc calls him Pioneer Swan,
partly TO please him and parity because
he deserves the title. Few men are in
terestins st So, but Pioneer is still
bright and clear in his memory and not
entirely without ambition Ii yen ask
him. he Will tell You, with evident gel
ish- about some highly interesting inter
views OF his reportOrial days
The small beginnings of this frs.
newspaper in California are quite Curl
Gus Is related by Swan The original
press was imported from Spain by Jose
FigUe-Oa- the sixth governor Of Calitor-
MIA under Maxican rule Figueroa,
whose term Of Office expired III 1885,
imported the press with the, intention OF
printing his official reports. His cuber-
material career, however. WIS b-ief and
stormy, and he never found time TO col
lect his materials. much less print his
reports, 50 the machine was Consigned
n q stCrerooIn IN the old Quartet. which
was the Mexican soldiers barracks in
Monterey. There it lay, together with
ke- ot ink. covered with rubbish and
undiSturbeCi. until 1916
This was the year when Cotton BE-
carle alcalde. and with the character
! is-ic American restlCssncss Cournencsd
% stir things up IN the sleepy cd town.
[ The first thing that he did vzs 70 con-
uenoe an investigation % al the gov
/ eminent property Among this proper
- was the cus-tsl, and here he found
TIE old press. Being 8 usaY Of literary
tastes and some experiences, ha,dec.ied
! 70 start q newspaper ard utilize. his dis
1 covery. Firs-, he selected a Partner.
/ Robert Simple. snd tbeT. bean search
! fC- the requisite materials There were
/ ink ard press. but the ingenuity q The
/ palr was taxed 70 restore the rules and
( leads, which had become separated from
/ the press and lost during its years Of
/ idieaeSs
II ColrCn's diary there = a .Gesc-tp-
ton Of the paper Under the. date OF
Aug. 1885. he writes: Today the
frs newspaper ever Published in Cali
! tOrnia made IL appea-ancce. The hon
/ Or, Z such It nay be, of whiting the
! prospectus falls 70 ne L : 70 D. Issued
/ every Saturday and s published ~
/ Simple s. Cotton
Little did I think when I relia-
I ouished the ei;ro-Sh;p Of The North
American. IN philadelphia. that nv
NEXT feat II this line would be OF here
in California
NJ partner. Semrle, - an euiC-2nt
from Ee--rciv. who stands 6 feet ;
inches il his stockings H wears
bCckskin d-gss. foxs,zin esp, IS trre
with ms rit;e. ready with his psa and
quick a. the type ca@@
He crea-ei: the materials q or of8ce
OFT OF q chaos u y small concern which
joe FigUeroa intended 10 Use IL print
Ing Official -epo-ts
The r<ess i old enough 70 be pre-
se-vsd s. curiosity. The mice had
Iu--owed in TIE halls, there were no
rules Eor leads, and the types were
rusty and all in pi- L as only tv
| securing that the letters could be made
u show r,si- faces With a jackknife
W. N--E l7A-NE u III 4--tE --1l.aas G-laA
-.le=. Luckily We found with tbs. r-eSs
part % a EeC % ink. and now came the
main scratch fo- paper None could he
found. except what l. used 70 envelop
the tobacco used h the natives 4
coaster which was lying IN the BAY had
q small amount On board. which we pro-
cured TIE shee-- were trifie larger
7 than foolscap. 4 crowd was waiting
when the first sheet was thrown from
the press. There was q good deal % ex-
element. Never was a hank run uIon
harder, not however. b. people with
paPer 20 get specie, b1- Just TIE reverse -
The paper was frst printed half in
, English and half il Spanish 70 recon-
nodare the MONTEREY public. Another
difficulty the original Froprietors had 70
overcome in setting the type for The
Eneli-h portion Of the paper was the
lack Of the letter w, - as the Spanish
type did 10. contain L y W. was
. constructed uy using two VS." In
May. 1877. the paper wa, moved 20 san
Francisco, where i; was Published for
many years under the name u The Alta
California
Since ending his newspaper career
"Pio-eer' Swan has been a rancher IN
: g small way in Carmel valley. He his
many visitors, although his location IS
somewhat remote, and he Is very deaf.
On his quarterly visits 70 Monterey he
. Is invariably the recipient Of cursidora-
be attention, and his rusty Old hat,
, with its staring inscription Of Pioneer,
, 1913. makes him known 70 Customers
} who. but fCr this. would see nothing in
: him except healthy looking old man
San Francisco Call
Embarrassing.
: There are many little e,nba--assments