CHAPTER XXIII.
1839—1910.
THE PIONEER PAPER—THE SPECTATOR.
The following sketch of the pioneer newspaper and its immediate successors, and of the men connected therewith, is contributed to this history by Mr. George H. Himes, one of the advisory board, of this work. The article was prepared originally for the Historical Quarterly. Mr. Himes' unequaled and indispensable work as secretary of the Oregon Pioneer Association, and acting secretary of the Oregon Historical Society, and also publisher of the History of the Willamette Valley, qualifies him to treat the subject of this chapter more thoroughly than any other person.
THE HIMES' ARTICLE.
The first press on the Pacific coast, or any of its tributary islands, operated by citizens of the United States, was the Mission Press of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (the foreign missionary society of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches of the United States), which was sent to Oahu, Sandwich Islands, late in 1821. On January 5, 1822, stands for type cases were made and part of the type placed in the cases. On January 7th, the first impression of the first sheet of the Owyhee spelling book was taken. The name of the printer was Elisha Loomis, who was also a teacher, and went from Middlesex, New York, to join the mission party at Boston, which sailed from that port to the islands on October 23, 1819. When the first sheet of the spelling book was printed, the native governor, Tiamoko, several masters of vessels, and others, were present to witness the scene, the first of the kind in these islands. How interesting to those who carried forward their reflections to the future and distant and endless results. On January loth, Mr. Loomis printed the king's name in "elegant capitals" in the two forms, "Rihoriho" and "Liholiho," so that he might settle the question whether "R" or "L" should be used in spelling his name. He chose the former. On January 12th, Mr. Loomis printed a supply of several kinds of approbation tickets, to be used among the school children. The progress of printing was slow, owing to the difficulties in translating the language. At the end of six months, only sixteen pages of a small spelling book had been printed. Later, in 1825, Mr. Loomis made a statement to the effect that up to that date, sixteen thousand copies of the spelling book, four thousand copies of a small scripture tract, four thousand copies of a catechism, and two thousand copies of a hymn book of sixty pages had been printed; and in this
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