Breezy Journalism

In 1878 Leadville had no newspaper ! tvorthy the name, and people were pathering there by the thousands. At that time I was the foreman of the Denver Tribune, and in looking the situation over 1 became. in common with scores of others, possessed of a desire to ti 11 one of the long feit wants of the new i community. After talking it over with a couple of fellow printers and fignring j np the cost we agreed on a local habitation and a name. There was nosuch thing as a house to be had in Leadville at that time. I couldn't even find a room. Finally I secured a lot trom a squatteront on Harnson avenn -. It was way off in the sagebrush, and 1 selected it because it was cheap. After a great deal of difficnlty and nsing what influence I conld with the sawmills I got together luraber enough tobuild a one room honse to accommodate the papor. It was almost ivnpossible to get carpenters or people i v ■ ' o would do any kind of labor. j y v, as in pnisnitof carbonates. ilowever, after something of a struggle the house was put np, and I was notified of the shipment of the office appurtenances from the St. Lonis type fonadry. Being a practical printer and awareof oursornewbat straitened financial condition, the purchasing partner had bought jast enough of _ the varions kinds of material to get ont a small dail}', which we called The Evening Chronicle. One partner was made business manager, a second took the mechanical department, while I was selected to do the editing. I was managing editor, city editor, telegraph editor, set up a little type, made up forme and attended to a few other trifles. All of us worked together almost tmceasingly day and night. Handreda cf firms were being estabished in Leadville with not a line of rinted matter in any shape - not a leterhead or even a card. We had lesa han $25 in our treasnry when we printed our first issue and knew we nmst depend on our job office for a revenue. We jot it. It was not "Howmuch does itcost?" n Leadville at that time, but "How Boon can I have it?" We knew how te ;ive it, and we learned how to charge. Sverybody else was doing the same hing, each in his own line of business. Onr stock of job papers was limited, and correspondingly short counts were ;iven to customers. The editor and ausiness manager assisted with the jot work at night, ran praeses. sawed wooá and kept np fires. As a sample oí charges I will teil you of one order we filled. We had no particular hours of labor, but were generally on our feet from 16 to 20 hours out of the 24. After a day 'e work of this kind we were just shutting down one night when a gentleman came ín and said he wanted 25 cards printed iminediately . He was running soine sort of a game at Torn Kemp's theater, and this game requiied cards with figures, one figure to a card. He said he didn't care what they cost so hehad them by 8 o'clock. It was then about 7. and we accommodated him. He was waiting when the messenger, who was arnaed with the bilí, arrived. "Have you got them?" he said. "How mnch are they?" The messenger was afraid the ma would f all down if be pronounced the amonnt, so hehanded over the bill. The sporting man pulled from his pockets a wad of greenbacks and hamled over twe tens and a five - $25 for 2-3 cards. As the mesenger started to go away the man said: "Hoidon. Now, look here, I'm a gambler - that's the way I make niy living - but isn't this bilí justa little high?" You ueeded to know something about running a newspaper in those days. There was no lack of material, bnt it was not all easy sailing in a mixed crowd aggregating some 40,000 people from all parts of the world and all classes of society. There was not what conld be called a large proportion of evangelista in the crowd either. One day we were notified that we wonld have to move. In fact. a forcé of men presented themselves auel declared their willingness and intention to assist us in the speedy transfer of our goods and chattels to green fields and pastures new. They ilidn't have furnitore vans, but they had some very ngly looking gnus stickiDLT out of their pockets. We didn't see it that way, so Davis elipped out and got two or ;hree rifles and as many more revolvers and came back. We closed the doors and announced our intention of reinaining where we were. This kind of thing was repeated several times, but finally quiet was restored, our tule resting in our fjrearms. I had paid $100 for that lot, and it was Dow worth $10,000; henee the contention . I believe I have written more inurder? and shootings in-a given length of time than any otber newspaper man in the country. Ono day we had four, which we spread out over four editions of the paper, the issue which consolidated tht four having a scare bead in type an inch long, " tiell Let Looae." While Leadville at that time was pretty rough, with plenty of shxiting and killing, there has never been a more generous.open hearted, honeetaud faithful class of people than these rniners. They gathered round and supported us grandly, coming to onr rescue as often as our little property was attacked. When we entered upon our second year, we had hosts of friends, a reputation which can almost be called worldwide and money enough to put ns on good