The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-07-26
FAMOUS SLEUTH,
Remarkable Career of Gen, D. r
Cook-He was Feared by
Bad Men.

}sim up. II necessary get him first,
But generally, when the man is found,
e will not be ready. A talk and nm
kdcrstanding will remove causes Of
sculty.
n'ive a desperate no opportunity
IN tv a pistol. My motto has al
was pm: 'lt is better to kin two
may be to have one kill you.'"
s'aleme''o principles faithfully liv-
The "rHpugh forty-five years of
as Follows \the frontier as a peace
! R"nS>' OF 'eW'>>.aade General Day.
i gallant pirate (Nfnd foorod DT w..
not long afte the :ytba who,o poo,'s'
York with ow 5oim tho C,naI;"s Jtns y
ct. and by hor'rX@ers, 'nS says 's"sS;a" the sa"
? ~ ""'''' "''''"| ~ e. AS brigadier
@!'"'%i tGa!!!!'ts'Hl'my, Indian scout,
United States marshal, chief Of police
Of Denver in the lawless days, sheriff
of Arapaho county and head of the
Rocky Mount ain Detective agency, he
created Il name that was a terror to
the bad men of the border. Though he
was >cnty-onc years old when he
died IN his Denver home last week,
there arc still men living in The West
who hcaved sigh Of relief when they
heard the dauntlcss peace officer had
f".I"wrd the Guide across the rance.
General Cook had little respect for
the professional 'bad man, and
mcmhcrS Of that class knew it. In
his time he had arrested more than
5000 Of them, bc"inninw with his ear
crr in Denver in 1859 Among them
were between fifty and scventy-fvc
murdrrrrs, all gun fighters and pro-
fe>Si"nal terrors on the frontier. who
boa>tcd Of the notches on their gun
barrels.
Through SO many dangers General
Cook escaped unharmed to an ad-
vanccd age. He explained his good
fortune through the curious fact that
he was left-handcd in handling wea-
rons. Time and again the. desperate
bordermen, waiting for first chance,
had watched Cook IS right hand while
to get the drop. Then sud-
denly Cooks unguarded left flashed
out with a forty-four on a bewidered
prisoner.
Cook did more to drive outlaws
from Colorado and keep the peace
thm any other man in the Western
country.
An Indianan by birth, born in La
Porte. where some Of his relatives still
live. he early entered on the adventur-
nuS career to which Il love Of peril at
tracted him. EIc came to Denver in
the ordnance department until 1863.
One Of his exploits was the cxtcrmi-
nation of the Reynolds "ur,rillaS dur
in" the war. Captain James Rcy-
nolds. Il Texan, with Il courageous
band Of riders. came north toward the
close of the war. intending TO take
and destroy Denver. On The way
they burned number Of New McNi-
can and Colorado villages Of pro-Cn-
ion Sympathizers. They were met by
Cook and his rangers thirty miles
south Of Denver, near Elk creek. and
a pitched battle enSucd. The Texans
were routed with loss of nearly all
their forces, and five Of their captives
were shot. One escaped. however, and
told Il story that has led TO a never
ending hunt for buried treasure.
1t seemed that the guerri}las on
their way north. had attacked and
captured a Mexican treasure train.
from which they secured $4,000.
mostly in "recnbackS. These they burr
ed in locality on Elk creek, intcnd-
IN" TO return and secure the treasure
after they had destroyed Denver. The
determination Of the band lost the Sc
crc;, and because The only survivor
was never able TO describe the place
where the fortune was buried, II re-
mains safe to this day, Cook hunted
for the treasure often, and every sum.
mcr parties spent weeks seeking II.
One Of General Cook 5 most notable
exploits was the quclhn" Of the Chi
ncsc riots in Denver in 1850. Feeling
against the Chinese who then lived
here in great numbers, grew /" such
pitch that mfurialcd mobs captured
Chinese on the streets and strung
them up 10 telegraph poles. The law
lessncss grew to such an extent that
the sheriff and the police were power
1c!S and the Chinese mlartcr, with