• CHAPTER XLII NEWSMEN AND NEWSPAPERS Beginnings of Arizona Journalism at Tubac and Fort Whipple Two Journalistic Duell that Were Bloodless How Editor Bagg Evened an Old Score Newspapers Known in Every Section H opes and I deals of the Frontier Scribes. 'fhe first printing press in the Southwest was brought to Taos and Santa Fe from Mexico in 1834, and there is extant one of its first impressions, a proclama­ tion of Governor Perez, dated June 26, 1835. Probably from this same press was printcd the first newspaper of New Mexico or Arizona, El Crepusculo (The • Dawll), published by Padre Martinez in 'faos. It had a life of only four weekly numbers, of which the first was printed November 29, 1835. There appears to have been no very lively demand for news in those days. In 1840 in Santa Fe and for three years thereafter was published an official paper, La Verdad (The Truth). It was succeeded in 1845 by 'El Rayo de Nuevo Mejico. The Santa Fe Republican made its first appearance September 4, 1847, with its text .divided between English and Spanish. It was published by Hovey & Davies, with G. R. Gibson as editor. December 1, 1849, Davies and Jones started the New Mexican, but the present publication of that name dates back only to January 22, 1863, when it was founded by Charles Leib. It became a daily as . " far back as 1868. Sonora had a periodical publication as far back as 1850. It was La Sonoriense, published at Ures, especially for printing official announce- ments. • ARIZONA' S FIRST NEWSPAPER Arizona's first newspaper was The Weekly Arizonian, the initial issue prob­ a.bly in March, 1859, for the editor of this history has the eighteenth number, printed June 30. It was a decidedly neat four-paged paper, four columns to the page, r eading matter and advertisements set in small 1ype, very well dis­ played, considering the period and the remote location. In the issue at hand, a well-written editorial declares unfeasible the plan for a separate territorial government for Arizona, liS called for by a convention held at Mesilla on June 19. It was frankly stated that a territory such as proposed ,vould be under the control of the Mexicans, a situation far from agreeable. 011 left, office of Tubac Arizonian, 1859 The Arizona YIi ner's first office, 1864 One of the advertisements called for the return of a Mexican peon, who Prescott's Pioneer Journal & had run away from his employers, Hoppin Appel of Tubac. In the news Office of the Phoenix Semi-Weekly Herald, 1879 columns was much of interest: A party from Tucson had returned after explor-' FRONTIER JOURN ALIS~1 ing the Pinal Mountain region, where two of the expedition had" died from eat­ ing wild parsnip. A soldier at Fort Buchanan had been drummed out of the I 500 " • • • • - ARIZONA THE YOUNGEST STATE 501 service after having been whipped, having had his head shaved and having been branded with a red-hot iron with the letter" D," standing for deserter. The people of 'fubac, following the. killing by Mexicans of ~ oh~ Ware, had organized their own civil government, wIth James Caruthers. as JustIce of the peace. The • first case was that of a Mexican who on conviction of theft was given fifteen lashes at the hands of the new constable, N. Van Alstine. The printing material, including a hand press, was bought in Cincinnati and was brought in by way of Guaymas. The paper was owned by the Salero Mining • Company, but the plant was in charge of the Wrightson brothers, with whom • was associated Col. Ed. Cross, who appears to have done much of the editorial • work. Colonel Poston was, at least, a valued contributor and is understood to have written much of the editorial matter at one time or another. Cross, a New England man, had political opinions very much at variance • with those of Sylvester Mowry, a local mining magnate, and the two soon clashed, after Mowry had been attacked violently in the editorial columns of the Ari­ zonian. So Cross was sent a challenge, which was accepted promptly, with rifles as weapons. Mowry's second was none other than Bill Oury of Tucson, while J. W. Donaldson acted for Cross. The toss was won by Cross and Mowry was placed with the sun shining in his face. Both missed at the first fire. At the second fire Cross missed and Mowry's rifle failed to explode. Mowry then, as was his right, coolly rep rimed his weapon and raising it to his shoulder aimed it at his opponent, who stood calmly with his arms folded, awaiting what seemed inevitable death. This continued for possibly half a minute, when Mowry raised the muzzle of his weapon and fired it into the air. Thereafter, it is told that the pair became sworn friends. Mowry soon after assured himself against hostile newspaper criticisms by purchasing the Arizonian. • There is a tale, here repeated without any guarantee of its' truth, to the • efIect that two of the Tubac printers, Jack Sims and George Smithson, were charged with complicity in a stage robbery, that Smithson was killed while • resisting arrest and that Sims was discharged after an able defense by Grant • . Oury. According to Sam Hughes, the Arizonian ended its career in Tubac in 1860 (Bancroft makes it in the following year) and the paper was brought to Tucson . J. Howard Mills is said to have edited it for a while after the change, possibly representing Mowry's friend, W. S. Oury. S. R. DeLong supplements the story • by telling how the plant was utilized for a few weeks by a traveling printer named Pearce, who proved over-bibulous. Then DeLong bought the material and published the Arizonian himself. L. C. Hughes tried to buy the paper, but . found that it was for sale to anyone except L. C. Hughes . • .The Arizonian's press is now in Tucson, a sacred relic in the rooms of the • A~ona Pioneer Society, after service in handling the first issue of the Tucson • CItIzen, utilization 'on the Tucson Star and Dos Republicas and in the printing of the first and many subsequent copies of the Nugget, Tombstone camp's first paper. It was given to the Pioneer Society by William Hattich of the Tomb- . _ne Epitaph when he abandoned the Arizona newspaper fi eld in August, 1913. • Aceording to some correspondence in the Arizona Republican, the first news- • • III northern Arizona was the Mojave Dog Star, which came off the press 1, 1859. The editors and proprietors 'Yere Montgomery, Peters and • • • 502 ARIZONA THE ' YOUNGEST STATE Johns. Montgomery stands for Montgomery Bryant who afterward was a colonel in the regular army; Peters otherwise was known as Peter R. Brady, who at the time was post trader at Fort Mojave, and Johns was Dr. John J. lVlilhau, an army surgeon. 'l'he paper was issued more , for pastime than other­ , wise, its ostensible object being to correct the free love tendencies of the Mojave Indians. ~ ~ NORTHERN ARIZONA JOURNALISM • • ~fl1~::1 The next newspaper came with the territorial government, the material ::::r'a°I-J ::;O~U1 "'~~<'- brought overland, purchased by Governor Goodwin and Secretary McCormick. o<'-p.o- ..., ~ ..., '":l 0 This material included a Ramage press, understood to have been m.ade in Phila­ ,!O 0 p ::1 ~ (.) .. "':j delphia as early as 1825, and in use in Prescott as late as 1880. It was in the "'d''''.. 0 Ed =-- ::! U1 big fire of 1900. Its bed was recovered, however, and lately was in use as an im- ~ l"j-- ~ ;-:; \ ~ ~~. ~.. • t:-< ;-:; posing stone in one of the Prescott printilfg offices. The first issue of the Arizona • U1 O· • l"j Miner came out March 9, 1864, and the very first copy that came from the Qt,~ ~ ..... t""'! P --' ........... ~ press still is preserved. The nominal editor was Tisdale A. Hand, though it is -~~ -- ;-:; Z~"'d 0 understood that "Dick" McCormick was responsible for much of the editorial • to-: tJ' - 0 ES matter. The paper's date line told of its publication at Fort Whipple, which ?'-"'d~ ,~ 0=-- ~;:. ~ then was at Postle's ranch, near the later better-known Banghart place, and o CD "'. ..., ~ "'d • ~ r" ~ near the present railroad station of Del Rio. As was the fashion of the times, o .)1 0 ~ ..., =-- U1 it had a motto, "The Gold of that Land is Good." It was a neat little sheet, ,p. ~ U1 "'d 1" tj > with four columns to the page. Advertising occupied only a 'Single column. ' 0..., U1 '" ~ U1 'l'he news mainly was of Indian depredations, in which the pluck and audacity ~. i:II- :; 0 ClQ 0 ~, of the Pinal Apaches made them foes much to be feared. ~ ... '" 0 > -- ::! >-3 When the military camp was moved to Prescott, the newspaper came also . ~ >-< F - 0 • ~ Its first issue in Prescott, in June, 1864, was with the press set up between two '" r"' Z i:II - log walls, without a roof, on the western side of the plaza. Soon thereafter • S 0 - 1" I=j Hand was succeeded by E. A. Bentley. ~ -- t:-< > '"9 • ~ The Miner's lineal successor still is in existence, the Daily Journal-Miner, .... >-< :; N .,... 0• a consolidation of two papers, effected in August, 1885. For years it has been 0 0 '";>;' i:II Z lmder the management of J. W. Milnes. - >• "'d OQ'" ~ Of the many who were associated with the publication of the sheet in any­ ~ ro- 0- <? '" ::! ~ thing like pioneer times, only two survive, A. F. Banta, who was employed in ~ ~.