Arizona republican., 1915-08-16
WARL|kE RUMOR
 CHASED DOWN
Alarming Story That Mex ican Campaign Against United States Involved a Dynamite Attack Upon the Roosevelt Dam

A chase by q sheriffs posse yester-
 day afternoon after a rumor and a road
 runner, both travelling in the same di-
 rection, resulted in the running down
 of the rumor but the roadrunner when last seen was still running, occasionally
 turning and looking back to see if the
 posse was still game. It was not
 The excursion was not in vain;
 though the rumor turned to nothing
 spasm of uneasiness in the town of
 Glendale and the country northeast of
 it for four or five miles was quieted
 and citizens were given a chance to
 sleep last night.
 For a day or two a rumOr had been
 floating about that Mrs. Anastacia Or
 tega. who resides with her husband on
 the ranch of H. E. Atha had received
 a letter from her father in Mexico in
 which he said that two Mexicans were
 about to leave for Arizona to blow up
 the Roosevelt dam.
 Deputy Sheriff Rudd of Glendale
 came to town yesterday afternoon and
 reported the state of uneasness at
 Glendale. It appeared that a young
 man by the name of Spillman who had
 been employed on the ranch, had c0n-
 stituted himself sort of Paul Revere
 and had come to Glendale to spread
 the news of the war. The deputy sher- if himself was not greatly impressed
 and, for that matter neither was Shrr-
 fir Adams hut tine sheriff believed that
 the matter should be iny estieated. He organized q posse consisting or himself, Deputy Sheriff Rudd, Deputy Sheriff Murphy Deputy Sheriff George Brawncr and the secret service agent of The Republican. A hurried run was made to the Atha ranch where the fore
 man was seen. He said that Mrs. Or tega had told his little girl about the coming of the MeXicans: he was not sure that sha had said anything al0,ut | the receipt of the letter but that was | a strong point in the story that MT 1 Spillman had spilled; he had seen the letter but not being a Spanish scholar. | he was unable to read it.
 The little girl, bright child, was next interviewed. She said that Mrs. 1 ortega had told her that a couple of MeXicans would come and blow mp the canal and drown all of us" When she was asked how the conversation had 1 led to this alarming intelligence she | said that she and Mrs. Ortega were talking about the war
 A visit was next made to the Ortega cottage but there was nobody at home l but a swarm of bees. It was learned | that Mir. and Mrs. Ortega had been seen crossing a field in rr~rtherly direction. The pursuit was resumed and it was here that the road runner appeared on | the scene and kept just out of the way of the automobile as it went through fields and narrow lanes. The bird pointed out the route to Mr and Mrs. Ortcga who were at length found seat ed on the bank of a lateral It was there that the rumor was run to earth Mrs OrteSa laughed: she said that the little girl had come to her cottage, and they were talking aout the war. It was the military opinion of the child that the MeXicans would be quickly licked if they showed up around here. Mrs. Ortcga jOkingly told her that the MeXicans would not come in force but that if two of them should blow up the canal' there would be no people left in the valley to fight. The posse
 returned to the automobile and the
 roaGrunner which had been waiting some distance away flirted it's tail and proceeded to more important business than escorting a sheriffs posse on such
 @ shadoWy errand.
 The cortege returned to the city by the way of Glendale to drop Deputy
 Sheriff Rudd out and to allay the ap- prehenson that Paul Revere Spillman had aroused