Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-27

Don't Know Who They Were.
As stated. everybody is denseiy ignorant
of the personnel of the lynching party. One
well-known citizen, speaking seriously, in
formed me that the lynchers were really
women, who. becoming disgusted with the
delay on the part Of the men in avenging
the murder of the two members of their
sex. finally determined to take matters in
to their own hands.
There is no loIbt however, that the
party consisted of men, and were not more
than twenty in number, Tailor Burch's dec
1arations to the contrary Notwithstanding
Worked Like Professionals. d.
The lynching party evidently knew their
business The rope was tied with hang
mans knot. and looked as though it was
the work Of an expert. This fact caused
Mr.. Samuel Turner clerk of the county
court to remark:
Il know of two men in the county who
can tie knot like that. and they are Capt.
Pivtgord and Jim Wenk'
There seems to be no doubt that the rea-
son for lynching Cooking at this time was
because IL was the intention to transfer
him in few days to the new Jail recently
completed at La Plata.
The authorities were merely waiting for
the plaster to dry In the new structure.
The lynchers realized that once in the jail
ct La Plata Cooking would be beyond their
reach. so they determined to make use of
a golden opportunity and take him from
the insecure Jail al Port Tobacco. the walls
or which. 1t Is claimed, can be easily pene-
trated by mosquitoes.
Guards Removed Last Week.
Up to last week the Jail vas guarded by
two men. Deputy Sheriff Barker and Hugh
Murphy. 1t was costing the county "a per
day for their services. 50 they were releas-
ed from duty in spite of protestations on
the part of Cooking that he was afraid to
IN fha tail
lynching dis appeared some weeks ago and
cooking was but loosely taken care Of
lie was taken by Sheriff Wade three times
daliy TO the house of the latter, about
seVenty-hve yards from the jail, Cor his
meals and was also taken out often for
exercise.
IT seems that the relatives of Cooking
believe him innocent of the crime and MI
John Miller. a brother of the murdered
women, visited the prisoner almost daily
carrying TO him Injuries The lynching
party Kept Its plans remarkably quiet. and
the iynchers will be discovered
Ghostly Apparatus.
An interesting feature in connection with
the withdrawal of the guard from the iail
Is the open statement of Deputy Sheriff Ear
bour that several weeks ago he was startled
by the sudden appearance of two ghostly
hgureS IN white. apparently females in his
room at the Jail Barbour claimed not to
DeneFe In ghosts, nor. he says, is he super
stitious. but adds emphaticaIlv that he saw
the apparitions as stated
Every one with whom I have conversed
seeLls 10 thlnk that the lynching was the
floper Inlns, and 1t is approved upon all
Scdes- Had not John Miller requested that
no extreme measures be followed IL is
Grained that Cooking would have been
strung up on the day of the discovery of
the crime
The men and the rope to end his earthly
lie were on the spot. it is claimed
sheriff Wade is conducting an inquest
over the body of Cooking this afternoon at
the jan 1t Is behind closed DOORS and as
Yet the nature of the proceedings are
secret. r, =
Deputy Harbour Describes It,
About 1 o'clock last night about fftv
masked men called at the home of Wash
1nSton Burch, the jailer in Port Tobacco
went IN and took him out of his closet
where he had hid himself having seen
them through the window before they en-
tered They tied him and carried him to
the Jail AMI made him unlock it, They
then seized Joseph Cooking. who was in
wife and sister-in-law at Hill Ton last
April A rope was put around his neck
he begged them to stop and let him talk
with them. but they told him he had bet
Ter damned sight be saying his PRAYERS"
He was dragged out of the Jail and hurried
out or town across the bridge and hanged
to the rail of the bridge, the lynchers TAX
ing care to lock Burch in the Jail and carry
the keys with them before they departed
with Cooking. About 3 o. clock / got wind
OF what had happened, and walked over
toward the bridge. and found Cooking sus-
pended by a rope, cold in death"
Fear of n Mob.
Cooking was taken to Baltimore April q
IN order to escape the vengeance o. the
mob. and was returned to the Charles
&C unity authorities May q, as his trial had
he set for the day following. His coun-
sci asked for two weeks extension of
time, which was refused and upon the
usual affidavit the case was removed to an
ADJOINING county and would have come I'D
Tor trial in September. There has been
considerable talk Of lynching Cooking ever
since he was returned to Charles county,
but not much credence was given to the
reports
The Crime.
The story Of the crime Is as follows:
Early on the morning of April "a colored
man. Nicholas Jones. went to Cockins's
store al Hill Top to make a purchase and
found the door ajar and the cash drawer
open; hearing groans from the cellar he
went down there and found Joseph Cock
ing tied with ropes about the feet and
slightly wounded. He released Cooking.
VITO urged him to go upstairs and inves:i-
gate. There Jones found Mrs Cooking and
her sister. Miss Daisy Miller murdered in
their beds. in separate rooms.
Cooking claimed that during the night he
had been assaulted by two robbers who
be at and wounded him and then threw him
through a trap door into the cellar. All
the evidence. however, though circums.an-
tial, pointed to CcckiEg's guilt, and he was
arrested and indicted. The state has never
been able to show any motive on Cocking's
part for the brutal murders
story of an Eyewitness.
Special Dispatch TO The Evening Star.
BALTIMORE. Md, June ga travelling
salesman for a Baltimore house who does
not wish his name mentioned, was an in
voluntary witness of the lynching. He
saws: Il had been to Hill Top late in the
afternoon. and game of base ball was in
progress there. Rumors of lynchIng were
prevalent there, but did not give them
much credence. Between II and l o'clock
this morning / was returning to Port To-
bacco. when my horse was stopped at a
little bridge about 100 yards from the Jail
by ID or 81 masked persons, dressed as wo-
men, 1t was claimed afterward that two
were women. L saw the mob had some
body on the bridge with a rope around his
neck All had pistols but no shots we're
fired. and no lights were carried, as the
moon gave plenty of illumination for the
work L heard the leader give the man
with the rope around his neck time TO