then Postmaster-General of the Provisional Government, and its first printer was John Fleming, who had immigrated to Oregon in 1844. T'Vault did not sit long in the editorial chair, for on April 16, 1846, the name of Henry A. G. Lee appeared as the editor. He had been the original choice of the Oregon Printing Association, but had wanted a salary of six hundred dollars, which was considered too exorbitant. Mr. Lee, a descendant of Richard Lee, of Virginia, did not preside over the editorial columns much longer than his predecessor, for he severed his relations with the issue of August 6, 1846. For two months following, John Fleming, the printer, was the editor of the paper.
Early in October, George L. Curry, who had come to the Territory of Oregon by way of the Cow Prick Canyon, took up the editorial reins and tried to direct the editorial policies with a "firm and consistent American tone." In his attempts to put his theories into practice he was severely handicapped by the seigniorship exercised by the Oregon Printing Association. So strained became the relations between the editor and publishers of the paper that Mr. Curry resigned in 1848. After leaving The Spectator, Mr. Curry decided to start a rival newspaper and accordingly bought about eighty pounds of type from the Catholic Missionaries. Having no press, and being unwilling to wait until one could be secured from the East, he constructed one of a rude sort chiefly out of wood and scrap iron. The type which he had purchased from the Catholic Missionaries, and which had been used to print religious tracts in French, had but few letter "w's." This obstacle was overcome by whittling a number out of hard wood. The typographical appearance of the paper printed with an occasional handmade "w" may well be imagined.
Curry's paper was called The Free Press and lasted until October, 1848, when it ceased publication, largely on account of the wild rush of subscribers to the mines in the Territory. Incidentally, it may be said that Curry was appointed Governor of the Territory of Oregon in 1854 and held that office until 1859. On January 1, 1861, he joined forces with S. J. McCormick, of The Portland Daily Advertiser, started on May 31, 1859. The first daily, however, was The Daily News, begun by S. A. English
