El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-09-10
CLONDYKE NEWS.
DAWSON CITY. d. c., JULY II, 1897.
Vol. l
A facsimile of the first CODY of the

A fac-simile of the first copy of the
Clondyke News. the first paper pub
lished in Dawzon city, has just reach
ed this Office and below is given some
excerpts from it showing the local news
of the new gold fields:
With This issue the ClOndyke News
makes its first appearance. 1t is not
an easy thing to serve as editor and
cOmpositOr, as reporter aud business
manager and devil on the only paper
in town of five thousand Inhabitants.
We, as pioneer publisher have been
obliged to be all tuese III ngs; for the
printer We brought with Us has himself
taken a claim and is too busy sacking
his gold to care to wo longer In LEAD
ard there is neither devil nor business
manager to be hired for wages in all
the ClOndyke. Because of these things
we are later with the number than we
had promised. Nevertheless we are
the first.
The News intends to maintain the
lead it has secured. 1t proposes to
print all the news, to give the Latest
information concerning prospects in
the Yukon, and to devote itself to all
the interests of the region. In return
it asks the support of all. The News
also proposes to pursue course indie
pendent in every respect. Any one
who does not like this paper may have
his money returned to him by applying
1T the office.
The COMING OF THE NEWSPAPER
When, in The course of human events,
IT becomes necessary for free people
to lay out a new town, the first need
they feel is for a newspaper, and they
never have to wait long IOr it. Dawson
has been without newspaper longer
tina n most new places, owing to the
difficulty of transporting the outfit.
That obstacle being overcome, the
newspaper makes it's appearance quite
as though the town were started yes
terday.
We arrived from St. Michaels with
the outfit for the News on the Alice,
the first boat up the river this season.
We had reduced the plant to its light
est weight, leaving much OF our stuff
ON the island, or we should not have
secured passage so sOoD. Ben Bost-
wick came with US, he being an expert
printer; but On our arrival he found q
claim, and we we're obliged, single
hanned. not only to land our material,
but to con struct a house in which to
lodge it. Our present abode is 12x14
feet in size on the ground, eight logs
high, and rooted with logs, moss ald
cdTth. w Z are pTOuo VI IL, lOT We Dul1G
it.
Our present outfit consists of about
loo pounds of BREWER body type, 25
pounds of leads, rules and Furniture, 25
pounds of display type, and eight cases.
Instead of composing stone, we
brought with us a sheet of zinc, which
we tackled over the top of a homemade
table. Our press s of the ''army" pat
tern, with bed 14x20. It weighs only
about 100 POUNDS. With perhaps %
pounds of odds and ends, sucn as icks,
galleys, ETC., the above constitutes our
present outfit. ALI told it weighs less
than 80 pounds, which is doing re-
ma rkably well for a printing plant.
We brought up 250 pounds of paper BE-
sides.
Our first issue represents more labor
than our friends would think possible,
did they not live in Dawstn n. We have
been our own carpenter, our own edi-
tor, our own printer and pre- ssmau, our
own subscri ption solicitor, our own ad-
vertising agent, our own everything.
we have had from eiGh-
teen to twenty hours of daylight IN
which TO work, this being the sunny
season when days are longest.
TIE News is not always to remain its
present size. We have on til re road from
Odn TrdDcl- Gu d ulOu6Tn preSS-d5 gOOu A.,
4 press as can be bought for money.
We have now in ST. Michaels awaiting |
an s horse power en- |
CINE, GoldIng jobber, and some 5000
pounds of other material. 1t is not i
likely that any of it will reach here
until next spring. By that time our
new building will be ready for. occu-
pancy. Till then we must get along as
best We can with what the gods have