Arizona republican., 1906-10-15
TWO TEXAN BOYS COME ON WILD GOOSE CHASE
An Itinerant Preacher and Alleged Phoenix Lawyer Had Spread the Gospel of the Paradise Valley.

There is an old scalawag who calls himself Rev. John E. McLendon, claiming to be a resident of Phoenix, who ought to be taken into custody, or, at least, restrained. He is operating 1 in southeastern Texas. Two young men, M. B. and c. c. Hutson of Cen ] tralia, Texas, arrived in the city on ! Saturday morning on a wild goose ! chase, sent here by M'Lendon. They 1 said they were the forerunners of a ! colony consisting of six families of ! thirty-five of forty persons, who are preparing to come.
 | MLendon is about seventy-five years | of age and claims to be a minister of ! the gospel of the Christian church and also a practicing attorney of the bar | of this county. He has been preaching 1 in southeastern Texas for some time refusing to accept any pay for his 1 services. When he is not preaching he | is talking of the delights of the Para 1 disc Valley under the Verde irrigation l project. He seems to have no mer- cenary motive, as he has tried to raise
 no money and he disclaims any connec- ! tion with the project. beyond that of
 the owner of land under it.
 He tells that it is already in opera ] tion and that his farm is producing oranges. lemons, bananas and about everything that can be raised in a tropical climate. He said that land | could be had for S1.25 an acre under a | forty-year contract and that water was ready to be turned on the land at SIS year There was hardly a limit he said, to the possibilities of production What was wanted in the valley was
 more people of the right kind. For i those who were not able to buy farms i there was abundant work on the farms already esta blished. For those who did not care to follow agricultural pursuits there was ready employment ! in the numerous power houses of the 1 company which were spread all over | the territory.
 Phoenix was described as the prin- ] cipal town and it was in most respects an admirable place. There were no | flies, fleas. mosquitoes. saloons or 1 schools. There could never be >any saloons, for, he said there was some
 thing in the atmosphere which made | it impossible for people to drink whis- | key or any other violent drink. Going into the details of acquiring ! land, he said that every male mem l Der of a family could take up 16O 1 acres on which there was nothing to be paid for the first five years. After that | until the expiration of the fOrty-year ] contract interest would be charged at : the rate Of five per cent per annum | This gospel of Paradise Valley set ] whole Texas communities in the vicin- ! ity Of Centralia and Trevant in an up- 1 roar and the citizens began trying to ! sell out preparatory to moving. One 1 man. George Hooper, did actually sell. ! and was likely to start any day. The 1 rest of the colOnists were going to wait 1 until they heard of the advanse guard. | On their arrival in town Nessrs. | Hutson were surprised to learn that mo- | body had ever heard of Rev. John B. 1 MLendon. That was strange. for he had said that his family lived here and | that he would have 70 return shortly as he had several cases on the docket | of the federal court Che did not prac- ! tice in any of the inferior courts)
 i / The Hutson brothers also learned | that there was no farming going on in l Paradise Valley and the date of the beginning of agricultural operations there was rather indefinite. They ac- ! cOrdingly wired the rest of the colon ists to stay in Texas.
 The trip has been a very expensive one to them. One of the brothers was l robbed of thirty-five dollars on the l way. They are waiting now for money to retlur m-cayinIn. ;sieGVOERNmb to return on. They did not bring much 1 with them but had arranged for funds
 to be sent them for the expected to have some fence building to do. and other fixing up about the farm on which they were going to settle in Par adise Valley They will return to Texas the latter part of the week. They have no intention of inflicting bodily harm
 upon Rev. John B. MLendon. but. they are desirous of telling hi mwhat kind I ! ps al ia hay ink ho fc don they say. does not look like a man
 who would fabricate that kind of story. He is described as a rather tall
 man, though now bent and feeble with 1 age.
 Speaking of misrepresentation ! GeOrgiana Owen. a corored woman. has just returned from a visit to her former home in Georgia. She said that while she was there the colored people of that community were thrown into a great state of excitement by the ap- pearance of man who went through the neighbOrhood saying that he had just come from their distant relatives iB Senegambia and that they had ask ed to be remembered to their American cousins. They also sent word to them to come to Senegambia and make a wis it to the home folks.
 The agent further told them that 1 that was the real place to live; that ! there were rivers of mOlasses on the | banks of which fIOurished fritter trees. | He had formed the acquaintance of | Senegambian prince or king. who was : an uncle or something to most of the 1 colOred. people living in that part of ! Georgia, and he had been especially insistent upon thir coming. One of those mOlasses rivers flowed through his dominions.
 |. This agent undertook to take as
 many of the Georgia people as cared to go. to Senegambia for $40 apiece. Ev- ! erybody who could raise the fare was preparing to go and in consequence, the mule market was glutted as was