Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 4.djvu/378

368 was printed by the mission people. In fact, the press was in use a great deal until in 1846, when Doctor Whitman sent it to The Dalles, where it remained until after the Whitman massacre, November 29-30, 1847.

In 1848 it was in use near Hillsboro, on Tualatin Plains, for several months, where eight numbers of the Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist appeared, which was the third paper in chronological order.

By this time more modern presses, apparatus and types had reached Oregon and the pioneer outfit was laid aside. Years later it came into the possession of the Oregon Historical Society at Portland.

The Oregon Spectator was the first newspaper in Old Oregon, and the initial number appeared at Oregon City on Thursday, February 5, 1846. A new plant had been procured for it in New York, whence it was sent around "The Horn." Col. William G. T'Vault was its editor and John Flemming the printer. This paper passed through many vicissitudes in the ensuing years&mdash;numerous changes of editors and publishers with frequent alterations in size, now larger and again smaller, until it finally suspended in 1855.

The second paper was the Oregon Free Press, which appeared in March, 1848, under the control of George L. Curry, who later became Governor of Oregon.

The fourth in order was the Western Star, first issued at Milwaukie November 21, 1850, by Lot Whitcomb. At that time Milwaukie, on the east side of the Willamette, a few miles above Portland, was a rival of the latter place for commercial supremacy, but in May, 1851, Milwaukie had fallen behind in the race, and the Star was moved to Portland, and its name changed to the Oregon Weekly Times. It lived much longer than most of the early newspaper ventures of the Northwest. Among its numerous editors were A. C. Gibbs, Governor of Oregon