New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1903-07-15
!; WAS QUlCK-1OUCH ARTISTIDEA1H IN TERRIFIC BLAST
C.. Wesley Cook Given Short SEN
tence at Mankato.
Is Man Who Passed in New Ulnl as
C. w. MCGOWAN.
Sheriff VIM. Julius Unidentified
Prisoner Thursday.

SneI1H WIN. JULIUS lnQenLlHeQ
Prisoner Thursday.
Small loans and quick retreats were
the specialties Of c. w. Cook, alias G.
w. MCGOWAN, who surrendered him
self to the local authorities two weeks
ago. He was a ''quick touch artist"
of ability and during a brief career Of
crime in the southern part of the state
managed to get himself into no end Of
trouble. Cook is now serving a short
sentence in the Blue Earth county jail
at Mankato and while in that city
Thursday Sheriff Vim. J. Julius visit
ed the bastile and easily Unidentified the
prisoner as theman who appeared here
with a tale of having defrauded the
merchants of Marshalltown, Ia.
It seems hat he had been in the en-
ploy of the Lyceum Comedy company
as an advance man. When he joined
the troupe he gave the name of G.
Wesley Cook, but says that is not his
real name, whichhe refuses to disclose.
He was with the troupe two weeks and
while making dates for the cOmbina-
ton drew $40 in expense money. This,
him in the style to which he was &C
customed and he made a. practice of
borrowing small sums in almost every
town he visited. Es
The week before he was here he
reached Mankato. He made arrange
ments for the appearance of the COM
pany and tried to purchase three
watches to give away to the most popu-
lar peOple.in the audience. The Man
kato jeweler, however, was wary and
declined to advance the tickers unless
he received his money, and Cook was
also turned down in an attempt to
draw upon the Ninth National Bank
of New York City, a financial institu
ton that does not exist. Still he was
successful in passing few worthless
checks and in making loans for
amounts ranging from 50 to ST..
When the company got to Mankato
the manager, W. Potts, learned of
Cooks actions and Immediately dis
charged the fellow. He took the first
train for Wells, where he left an I'M
paid board bill, and then came on to
New Ulm. Here he did not try any of
his crooked work but at the next town
visited, Fairmont, he carried through
several of his schemes.
His Fairmont escapade consisted OF
billing the company for an engage
ment of three nights and then having
programs printed at one of the news
! paper offics. Next he procured three
gold watches and gold case, the
jeweler being improvident enough to
| allow him to take the valuables from
the store to exhibit to the business
men. He never returned with the
tickers and half a dozen persons who
had advanced him small sums saw him
no more. '.
From Fairmont Cook fed to Usage,
Ia, where he was located by Sheriff
Williams of Mankato. He was placed
under arrest and upon being brought
back to Mankato was arraigned on the
charge of giving a worthless check for
So. SOC drawn on the First National bank
to Geo. Atkinson, a iveryman. He
entered a plea of guilty and the
municipal judge sentenced himto thirty
days in jail. H.
Besides the Fairmont affair Cook is
also wanted at Marshalltown Ia,
Usage, Ia, Wells and Owatonna and
upon his discharge it will only be a
question of which sheriff is him
first. When taken at Usage he had a
gold watch, two razors and three
diamond studs in his possession but
the Fairmont watches were missing.
I These, he says, he lost to a number OF
! circus fakirs while gambling with them
at Usage.
The Mankato Review says of him
! that he is almost total wreck from
liquor. His long .debauch has be.
muddled his intellect and his memory
is very cloudy. He has occasional fits
of delerium tremens and suffers greatly
Cook still insists that his home is il
+ New York City but this is discreditee
and he is thought to be from Missouri
Sheriff Williams will have his picture
, taken to decorate the rogues' gallery