Connecticut western news., 1894-10-04
THE PIONEER PAPER.
STORY OF THE FIRST NEWSPAPER ls-
 SUED IN CALIFORNIA.

SUED IN CALIFORNIA.
 An old Phrladelphian Was the Kidnapping
 of Its Early Life-RigEinx Up a Plant
 Under Great DimcuIties-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 five miles from the city of Monterey, in the 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 arc 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 the machine was consigned to storeroom in the old cuartel, which was the 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 istic American restleSsness commenced to stir things up in the sleepy old town. The first thing that he did was to com- mence an investigation of all the 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 . newspaper and utilize his dis covery. First he selected partner, Robert Semple, and then began a 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 a descrip- ton of the paper. Under the date of Aug. 15, 1Si6, he writes: To-day the first newspaper ever published in Cali fornia made its appearancce. The hon. or, if such 1t may be, of writing the prospectus falls to me. 1t is to be issued every Saturday and Is published by Semple & Cotton.
 Little did I think when I relin- quished the editorship of The North American, in Philadelphia, that my next feat in this line would be of here in California.
 My partner, Semple, is an emigrant from Kentucky, who stands 6 feet 8 inches in his stockings. He wears a bucksl1in dress, foxskin cap. is true with his rife, ready with his pen and quick at the type case
 He created the materials of our office out of chaos of a small concern which Jose Figueroa intended to use in print ing official reports,
 ''The press is old enough to be pre- served as a curiosity. The mice had burrowed in the balls, there were no rules nor heads, and the types were rusty and all in pi. It was only by securing that the letters could be made | to show their faces. With jackknife we cut piece of tin into leads and rules Luckily we found with the press part of keg of ink, and now came the main scratch for paper. None could be xxyha fo tn lnp. the tobacco used by the natives. A coaster which was lying in the bay had & small amount on board, which we pro- cured. The sheets were a trifie larger | than foolscapI A crowd was waiting when the first sheet was thrown from 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 in Spanish to accom- modate the Monterey public. Another difficulty the original proprietors had to overcome in setting the type for the English portion of the paper was the lack of the letter wv" as the Spanish type did not contain it. A "W" was constructed by using two V's In May, 1S47. the paper was moved to San Francisco, where it was published for many years under the name of The Alta | California.
 Since ending his newspaper career Pioneer" Swan has been rancher in . 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 Pioneer, 1s43," makes him known to easterners who, but for this, would see nothing in him except healthy looking old man. San Francisco Call.
 | Embarrassing.