The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-28
LYNoHING CHEAPER THAN LAW.
MarylandS Double Murderer swung
on by a Mob.

la Platte, Md, June 27.-Joseph Cock
ing. who was awaiting trial on the charge
Of numbering his wife and sister-In-law.
was taken from The Jail at Port Tobacco
early this morning. by a mob Of his fellow
counuans and hanged 20 q bridge The
mob was composed of about thirty masked
men. half Of whom. in addition to their
DISCUSSES, masquaraded in womau's attire.
The rickety old jail building was in charge
Of Washington Burch. an aged coIored
man, who, after some little show OF resis-
tance. handed over the keys TO the crowd.
Cooking, who had been awakened by the
sound OF voices outside, had arisen from
his bed and was partly dressed He fin
ished his toilet silently and followed his
captors without murmur 20 the bridge.
which is about 200 yards from the prison.
After placing a moose about the mans
neck, he was asked by the leader OF the
gang TO confess his guilt, but said he was
innocent and had nothing TO confess.
Asked to make his peace with God, he re-
piled that he did not feel Ike praying.
The men then without more ado pushed
him from the rail of the bridge and the
wretched man dropped ten feet After
watching the body swing slowly to and
fro until they We're satisfied that their
victim was dead, the mob silently dis
persed.
Sheriff Wade who lives about sixty
yards from the jail building, was NOS
awakened by the mob, and knew nothing
of what had occurred until after dav-
light. Meantime, Burch, the colored jani-
tor, came to La Plata and awoke States
a
sutherland and Or. owen, drove 20 the
scene of the hanging and cut down the
body 1t was removed to the jail and an
inquest ordered.
There has been desultory talk Of lynch
ing Cooking since he was returned from
Baltimore on May q, but no one seemed to
give much creGenCe TO the reports. Certain
ly Sheriff Wade took no extra precautlon
to protect the mans $ life.
1t is said that the determination to lynch
Cooking was arrived at after a base bali
game at Hilltop, the scene Of the horri-
bic tragedy, yesterday afternoon. After
the game the advisability of hanging
Cooking in order to save the county the
expense Of trying him was discussed. 1t
Is alleged that the crowd was composed
Of some of the leading residents of the
county and the proposition to lynch was
discussed as calmly as if they were plan
ming a base ball game After all the ar
rangements had been made the men dis
persed and met again near the iau at Port
Tobacco Shortly before midnight. Little
time was lost after the assemblage and in
less than half an hour after their arrival
the crowd disappeared as noiselessly as
they had come.
Cooking was born in England in 1860 For
several years he had been the proprietor
OF country store at Hilltop, a hamlet
nlne miles from this place. on the night
of April %, his Wife, Mrs. Mary Cooking.
and his sister-in-law, Miss Daisy Miller,
were murdered IN their rooms, being beat
en- and hacked TO death with a hatchet
Cooking himself was found lying on the
floor of the cellar, his clothing bespattered
with blood and several scratches about his
face and hands. His feet We're tightly
bound with a piece of rope. His story was
after assaulting aim had bound him and
thrown him into the cellar. He explained
the absence of the cord about his hands
by stating that he had severed it by means
of piece of broken glass.
An investigation satisfied the police that
Cooking was the perpetrator of the crime
and perfect chain of circumstantial ev-
idence pointed to him as the murderer.
He was indicted and taken to Baltimore
for safety, the excitement having been so
great that the authorities feared violence.
After a few weeks stay in the Baltimore
jail Cooking was returned to La Plate for
a preliminary hearing. His counsel asked
that the case be tried in st. Mary cOuu-
ty, and the case was set for trial in the
next term of court at Port Tobacco.
Since his return, Cooking had been mo-
rose and taciturn. He refused to discuss
the murder or his chances of acquittal
on the grave charge against him.
Several theories have been advanced by
residents of the county, but the real mo-
tive for the dastardly double murder has
never been discovered.