Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/685

Rh existed then under the designation of Oregon included the whole region west of the Rocky mountains between the 43d and 48th parallels of latitude. Within this region at the present time lies the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, part of Wyoming and a larger portion of Montana. Portland, when the first number of The Oregonian was issued, had probably 600 inhabitants. The Oregonian has been a witness and the main chronicler of all the growth of this great region, containing now over 200,000 inhabitants; and Portland remains the most considerable city in it.

The modern state finds a history, or transcript, of its life in the growth of the newspaper. In the olden time there was no newspaper to record the birth and growth of states. The state grew and the newspaper came later. But in the modern time the newspaper appears in the beginning, and its work and its growth are coincident with the progress of the state.

So The Oregonian appeared with the very beginning of development in the Pacific northwest. American pioneers had, indeed, been in the country ten or fifteen years, but their number was too few to constitute an active social organization and living community. But, as Portland began to grow into a village the ambitious men of the place were resolved that there should be a newspaper to make her name known, to record her growth, to advocate her interests, to carry her message to the world. She must have a newspaper, moreover, to set forth her attractions to the country, to represent its possibilities, to prove to all who would read that here was a seat of coming empire. The time had come for Portland to reach out for trade, to exert her position in respect to external and internal commerce; and in the early part of the year 1850 William W. Chapman and Stephen Coffin, two citizens who took a leading part in all undertakings to establish Portland, determined to visit San Francisco on various business of this character, and one considerable part of their purposes was to make arrangements for establishing a newspaper here.

On this errand they were in San Francisco on July 4, 1850. There, and about that date, Mr. Coffin happened to meet Thomas J. Dryer, a native of Ulster County, New York, who had recently arrived in California. Mr. Dryer had worked on the country press in his state and was a vigorous rather than a polished writer. He had brought with him to California a hand printing press and a small lot of printing material, and was looking for a place where he might start a newspaper. Mr. Coffin introduced him to Mr. Chapman, and the two explained to him that they wanted a newspaper at Portland. Mr. Dryer at once consented to come to Portland. "Now we shall have a paper at Portland," said Mr. Chapman, "and we will call it 'The Oregonian.

As soon as practicable, Mr. Dryer's press and material were shipped but did not arrive at Portland until November. Messrs. Chapman and Coffin took great interest in the forthcoming journal; they assisted Mr. Dryer in furnishing a publication office; they sat up all the night preceding the issue of the first number; and there was a series of solemnly amusing ceremonies as the first paper came ofif the press. It was a sheet of four pages, six columns to the page, and was to be published weekly.

On the morning of December 4, 1850, the first number was delivered through the town by Arthur and Thomas, sons of Mr. Chapman, and by Henry Hill, stepson of Mr. Coffin. The subscription price of this little paper was $7 a year. Mr. Chapman hired a man to go on horseback and deliver the first number as far as Corvallis (then Marysville), on the west side of the Willamette valley, with instructions to cross there and deliver it on the east side on his return. Thus The Oregonian was given to the world. The office was at the northwest comer