Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-09-08
THE PIONEER PAPER.
STORY OF THE FIRST NEWSPAPER Is-
 SUED IN CALIFORNIA.
An old Phiiadeiphian Was the Kidnapping
 of Its Early Life-RigEins Up a Plant
 Under Great Dimculties-A Member of


 of Its Early Life-RigEins Up a Plant
 Under Great Dimculties-A Member of
 the Original Stan Honored In Monterey.
 The only living member of the origi- nal staff of the first newspaper ever printed in California resides about fivo miles from the city of Monterey, in tho Carmel valley. His name is Swan, and every one calls him "Pioneer' Swan, partly to please him and partly because he deserves the title. Few men are in- teresting at S6, but '.Pioneer'' is still bright and clear in his memory and not entirely without ambition. If you ask him, he will tell you, with evident rel ish, about some highly interesting inter- views of his reportorial days.
 The small beginnings of this first newspaper in California are quite curi- ous as related by Swan The original press was imported from Spain by Jose Figueroa, the sixth governor of Califor- mia under Maxican rule. Figueroa, whose term of office expired in 1885, imported the press with the intention of printing his official reports. His guber- material career, however, was brief and stormy, and he never found time to col lect his materials, much less print his reports, so tho machine was consigned to a storeroom in the old cuartel, which was tho Mexican soldiers barracks in Monterey. There it lay, together with a keg of ink, covered with rubbish and undisturbed, until 1S46.
 This was the year when Colton be- came alcalde, and with the character ! to stir things up ill the sleepy old town. The first thing that he did was to com mence an investigation of all tho gov ernment property. Among this proper ty was the cuartel, and here he found the old press. Being a man of literary tastes and some experience, he decided to start q newspaper and utilize his dis covery. First, he selected a partner, Robert Semple, and then began n search for the requisite materials. There were ink and press, but the ingenuity of the pair was taxed to restore the rules and leads, which had become separated from the press and lost during its years of idleness.
 In Colton's diary there is descrip- ton of the paper. Under the date of Aug 15, 1916, he writes: To-day tho first newspaper ever published in Cali fornia made its appearances. Tho hon or, if such it may be. of writing the prospectus falls to me. It is to be issued every Saturday and is published by Semple & Colton.
 Little did I think when I relin- American, in Philadelphia, that my next feat in this line would Lo off hero in California
 My partner, Semple, is m emigrant from Kentucky, who stands G feet inches in his stockings flo wears a buckskin dress, foxskin cap, is true with his rife, ready with his pen and quick at the type case.
 He created tho materials of our office out of n chaos of a small concern which Jose Figueroa intended to uso in print ing official reports.
 ''The press is old enough to be pre- served as n curiosity. The mice had burrowed in the balls, thcro were no rules nor leads, and the types wcro rusty and all in pi. It was only by | securing that the letters could bc made to show their faces. With n jackknifc we cut a piece of tin into leads and rules. Luckily we found with the press part of a kcg of ink, and now came the main scratch for paper. None could be found, except what is used to CnvclOp | the tobacco used by tho natives. X coaster which was lying i'll the bay had small amount on board, which wo pro- cured. The sheets wero a trifle larger than foolscap. A crowd was waiting | hn el, the press. There was a good deal of ex- citement Never was a bank run upon harder, not, however, by people with paper to get specie, but just the reverse. !" The paper was first printed half in English and half ill Spanish to accom- modate tho Monterey public. Another difficulty the original proprietors had to overcome in setting the type for the English portion of the paper was tho lack of the letter "W," as the Spanish type did not contain it. A "W" was constructed by using two "V's." In May, 1S47. tho paper was moved to San Francisco, where it was published for many years under the name of Tho Alta | California.
 | Since ending his newspaper career Pioneer" Swan has been q rancher in a small way in Carmel valley. He has many visitors. although his location is somewhat remote, and he is very deaf On his quarterly visits to Monterey he is invariably the recipient of considera- ble attention, and his rusty old hat, with its staring inscription of "Pionecr. 1S43," makes him known to customers who, but for this, would sec nothing in him except a healthy looking old man. l-San Francisco Call