Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-12-06
THE SWAIN UTOPIA.
HISTORY OF A DISPUTE
 OVER MILLIONS OF ACRES.

How General swann Went to Europe to
 Further Ills Scheme His Imprisonment.
 A Whole Town and Thousands of Farms
 Involved.
 The noted land suits of II. c. King of Boston, ill which hundreds of people, hamlets, towns, timber companies, farm CTS and miners in Logan, Mingo, Nc Dowell, and. i'll fact, nearly all of tho southwestern part of West Virginia are concerned, have come up for trial in the United States court before Judge J. J. Jackson. There are fully 20 attorneys engaged. The entire town of William son, ill Mingo county, is at stake, and i thousands of farms on which genera tions have been born, lived their allot- ted time and died are in jeopardy The suit is for fully ,500, GOO acres of land, and originally was part If the Swann land grant for 4,500, GOO acres i'll Ken tucky, Virginia and West Virginia.
 The Swann grant was the cause of a suit of the most romantic character. General James SWann, who WAS Reye= lutionary hero, was granted the above i. 500, coo acres by the house of bur gesses of Virginia in June, f706 Swann was q native of Boston and protege of tho old commonwealth of Virginia. He conceived the idea of building up Uto- pia in the vast territory granted him and went to France to consult with his old friends m the French army. His former comrades became entranced with | the scheme and through them Swann 1 vas introduced at court, where he be- 1 came acquainted with the royalty of 1 Europe. Among those who contributed to Swann's Utopia were kings, dukes, princes and lesser nobility almost with outnumber. The old documents and pa pers in the archives of the court, yellow with age, are written in French and bear the signatures of men and women who were at one time at the head of governments or leaders of the fast and frivolous courts of Europe.
 Unluckily for Swann, his appearance i'll France was at a time when that country became identified with Napo- leon, who had just returned from the east and had established himself as first consul. h a few months Paris was thrown into confusion. Money became scarce and the financiers demanded pay ment of credits. Swann, who had par tieipated too deeply i'll the follies of that court found himself in debt over 1 ,000, GOO francs. Swann creditors de- manded payment in cash or mortgages on his American possessions. He refused to do either, and was cast into the noto- rioua prison Pelagie, where, under the then prevailing French law, he was, with the exception of deprivation of freedom, supported in the manner i'll which he had lived while at liberty He had his wines from the south of France, his cuisine was supplied by tho best cafes of Paris and his apartments were luxurious in the extreme.
 Swann remained prisoner for ten years, and was released during the noted .three days, ? when the prisons were torn down or the doors thrown open. He was released only to die of broken heart three years later. His lands were forfeited, but were reconYeyed by Vir- ginia to the heirs.
 Meanwhile settlers by the thousand located or purchased, towns grew up and generation after generation was born, lived and died on the lands,
 which they had purchased i'll good faith
 at delinquent or other sales, until all
 the country covered by the great Swanr
 Utopia was owned by settlers to tht
 number of hundreds of thousands.
 The celebrated H. O King suit, which is of absorbing interest to thou
 sands, is for part of these lands. Othel
 suits for BOO, GOO and 400, 900 acres O
 similar character depend upon the resul of the present suits St Louis Globe Democrat.