166 Years Ago
George West, who founded the Colorado Transcript in 1866, also published an earlier newspaper. The Western Mountaineer ran from December 1859 – December 1860. Fortunately, every issue is available online. The Mountaineer provides some interesting insights into life in Golden in its earliest days. The October 25, 1860 issue is a great example.
West’s friend William Byers (editor of the Rocky Mountain News) had recently lost his house in a fire. This caused West to think about Golden’s vulnerability. He wrote an article pointing out that we had no fire-fighting equipment and no water supply system. He wrote that the town needed to organize a bucket brigade to draw water from Clear Creek.
A “bucket company” can and should be formed, and the expense to each man would be trifling. Nothing would be needed save that each member come to the scene of the conflagration provided with one or more buckets for passing water from the stream to the fire….
It would be well, too, to form a “hook and ladder” company, and provide it with proper means for tearing down buildings contiguous to those in flames, and which might be the means of aiding the progress of the devouring element.
Fires will occur, and no one knows how soon Golden City may be doomed to suffer from a conflagration. When it does occur we may be favored by fortune as was Denver the other evening, and lose only a single house, or we may be doomed to see half our city in ashes. Let us take the proper precaution, and when a fire does occur, confine it to as narrow limits as possible.
Speaking of West’s relationship with Byers: the two of them often addressed quips to each other in the columns of their newspapers. Much of the time, I don’t know what they’re talking about, but I found this one funny:
APOLOGETIC.–The Daily News takes exceptions to our remark last week, that nearly all the disturbance in the late Convention was caused “by about half a dozen of the Denver delegation.” We will retract, and put it four or five of that delegation. There, BYER, that lets you out.
Western Mountaineer – October 25, 1860
