Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1906-09-21
Death of a Pioneer Journalist.

6N0lil vi u IOllOOl OOul
The La Sale (Illinois) Tribune, a
copy of which has been kindly for
warded to- US, states that Edward
Gushing Webster, who was connected
with the early history of Amador
county, died in that city on the LIST
of September last, at the age of II
years. The paper gives the following
interesting "reminiscences of pioneer
newspaper days in Amador county.
AS The Tribune has previously men
toned, he had been resident of La
Sale continuously from the year 1855.
He came there in company and in
business association with the late
Charles Boynton for the purpose of
establishing The La Sale Press. At
that time the development of the
coal fields in this neIghborhood, the
talk of iron industries, railroads built
and projected, canal and river trans
portation and enthusiasm among
eastern capitalists, combined to pre-
sent a rosy picture OF La Salle's
future as second Pittsburg." Hav-
ing returned from the gold camps of
California. where he went in 1S49 as
youth of twenty, to pay brief visit
to friends and relatives in NewHamp-
shire, Boston, and New York, in
company with Mr. Boynton, Ia per-
sonal attachment of an unusually
strong kind having sprung up between
them) the prospects" at La Sale
came to their attention and they we're
urged to ioin forces with interested
people in helping along the new town
and its ambitious enterprises. Mr.
Boynton was man of rare force and
ability as writer, according to Mr.
Wehster's view, his admiration for
his friend being boundless. So they
came to La Sale and issued the first
copy of The La Sale Press on Janu-
airy l, 1856.
There are probably few persons who
remember those days and the kind of
paper that Mr. Webster and MIR Boyn-
ton published. Those who have seen
the files will admit that no better or
stronger paper ever came from the
press anywhere. Few of the big
metropolitan papers of today can
show early issues OF equal interest
and merit. No city with ''a future
before it, has been more fortunate
than La Sale in the character of its
initial journalism.
A long chapter of interesting Incl
dents, some of them picturesque,
might be written of the friendship
between Mr. Webster and Mr. Boynton.
They met in California in the town
or mining camp of Jackson, MI
Boynton was the great man of the
place. He was looked upon as the
person to decide all public questions.
Power as a speaker and facile per
had given him prominence. For E
large section of country Mr. Boyntor
was the mouthpiece and the boss
being appealed to from all sides anC
consulted as an authority by the pei
itlcians and newspapers of the state.
1t was one of his pastimes to pub
lish newspaper, the edition being
limited to single copy, written by
hand and tackled up on bulletin
board. Some time after Mr. Webster
reached jackson new paper of sim
liar get-up, called The Owl, made it!
appearance. 1t engaged its esteemed
contemporary, the Boynton produc
tion, in lively and vigorous style
Plainly somebody, either for amuse
ment or irrepressible love of scrap
was challenging the great Boynton
Soon The Owls following and popu
larity swept the town. For a Ions
time the writer of The Owl kept il
the dark, as all owls are fond of do
ing. Finally, Mr. Webster could nc
longer disguise his authorship of it.
Out of wholesome mental respect,
born of controversy and sharp pointed
humor, grew an ardent friendship be-
tween the two men. By their in
fuence and initiative Calaveras
county, California, was divided and
the county of Amador created.
Partly in order to rest after their
lobors in this respect and partly be-
cause of homesickness for a sight of
the east, the two young men sailed
for New York, by the Isthmus route,
intending to return to the Golden
state within few weeks. But it was
Mr. Boynton's fate to die within a
year, of pneumonia, caused by cold
contracted in La Sale, and Mr.
Webster was destined never to see
California again, for which state he
had an abiding affection.
Good for the cough, removes the
cold, the cause of the cough. That
the work of Kennedy's Laxative
Honey and Tar-the original laxative
cough sVrun Contains no opiataS