Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 9.djvu/127

Arriving then in the Willamette Valley in December, 1840, and accustomed to the nomadic life of the mountains, it did not take long to establish a residence (with Joseph Meek as his neighbor) on the Tualatin Plains near where the town of Hillsboro now stands, and at first farming seemed the only career open to him. In the testimony before the British and American Commission, Meek states that Dr. McLoughlin re- fused to loan seed grain to him (Meek) but that he did give some to Doc. Newell ; and at another time said that under com- pulsion of Newel] he (Meek) put in his first crop. But Dr Newell appreciated the better value of a location upon a navigable stream and in 1844 (See records U. S. Land Office) removed to the vicinity of Champoeg upon the Willamette RiA^r, where he selected a Donation Land Claim and resided for nearly twenty years. In the winter of 1842-3 he was one of the active organizers of the Falls Association or the Oregon Lyceum (at Oregon City) which was the earliest literary and debating society in Oregon, formed "to discuss the whole round of literature and scientific pursuits." In 1845 he was one of the three directors in the organization of the Oregon Printing Association, which brought out the first newspaper in Oregon, The Spectator. It is of interest to note that these directors adopted the rule "that the press should never be used by any party for the purpose of propagating sectarian principles or doctrines, nor for the discussion of exclusive party politics." This sounds very much like Newell and was intended to hold in check the conflicting interests in the paper. His name, however, does not appear on the roll of the total abstinence society (Washington Temperance Society) formed in Oregon in 1847, although he was not at any time in his life considered an intemperate man; but the name of Joseph Meek, who nearly always drank, heads that list. Dur- ing those years he was a pioneer in the transportation business on the AVillamette above the falls, in proof, witness this ad- vertisement in The Spectator of April 30, 1846 :