Arizona state miner., 1923-10-20
WCKENBURG ARIZONA SATURDAY, OCT. 90 1928,

The above heading taken from the
Phoenix Messenger will no doubt be
quite interesting to the newspaper
fraternity of Arizona, to which the ed
itor and publisher of the Wickenburg
state Miner points with pardonable
pride, in that it enables him to
resurrect historical memories, retro
spect of early days, when as mere
STRIPPING, he came to Arizona, in 1879,
and worked as "two-thirder" on the
Tucson Daily Star for that veteran
Journalist, L. C. Hughes.
AS matter of history, H. B. Wat
son, began his career as a printer, in
Lacrosse, Wis, on Pomeroy's Demo
crat, where he was the proverbial
In all his meanderings and publica-
tions, he has been a steadfast Demo
crat, never seeking position as
writer or editor of a Republican news
paper Whether this was due to in
Thence inbred while in employ of
Brick" Pomeroy, or a natural ab-
sorption of Jeffersonian doctrines, is
only conjecture. The fact remains
that now, at the age of 68 years he
is still of that political faith, and
publishing genuinely democratic
newspaper. Before completing his
trade the removal of his parents to
Red Wing, Mimi, prevented him from
engaging in the profession again until
he ran away from home and came to
the Coast some years later. In 1878
he found employment with d. H. Ber-
dine, at Stockton, Calf, where he
tegan publication of The Working
man, campaign paper in interest
of the Workingman's Party who had
nominated w. H. Stevens, later gov
ernor of the State of California. The
Pajaro Valley Sun, Montery Cali
fornian, Randsburg Miner and Selma
Enterprise, were all publications orig
mated by him. In 1879, after visit
TO his eastern home, he returned
west by way of New Orleans, to San
Angela, Texas. Here he worked long
enough to get horse and pack mule
and started for Arizona
PUBLISHED TUCSON DAILY IN 1880
Coming over the old ButterfieId
trail, he had many adventures and
some narrow escapes from Indians in
the neighborhood of Rio Mimbres en-
route to F't Bowie. At the old San
Simon ranch he did a little might
riding" at $45 month and, after six
weeks, set out for Tucson, where he
arrived July 8, 1879. Here he asso-
ciated himself with the Star for sew
eral months, and the following year,
1880, began the publication of the
Tucson Daily Record, financed by
Granville Oury, Charles Shibell and
S. w. Carpenter The Record cured
a breach in the democratic ranks,
and Oury became the first democratic
territorial delegate, thru success of
the objects for which the Record was
started
In 1881, Watson was pressman for
the Tombstone Epitaph, which was
set up and printed in a tent ON Fre-
mont street Among the printers
there were the Nash brothers and two
"subs' as they were called in those
days, named Talt and Harrington
besides the publishers which were
Charles Reppy and Tom Sorin, two
st. Louis printers.
NARROW ESCAPES FROM APACHES
Between the Epitaph and Nugget,
published by Harry Wood and A. E.
Fay, Watson was irreguIarly employ
ed, until j. B. Jourden, of the Lom-
poe (Calif.) Record, came along and
employed him to go to GaleyVille,
over on Turkey creek, in the Chira-
cahuas, where they started the Galley
vile Journal When the town of
Galeyville was raided by Indians, a
year or so later, Watson was well on
his way back to Tombstone. or he
might not have been in Arizona today
to tell of it here.
In the intervening years he has