September 20, 1894: William Cook

Today we learn about an Oklahoma lynching. We start with an article before the lynching found in the September 19, 1894 edition of The Wichita Beacon (Wichita, Kansas):

A Bandit's Marriage.

MUSKOGEE, I. T., Sept. 19.—Deputy Marshal Smith of Fort Smith, who visited the camp of the outlaws under the guidance of the sweetheart of one of the band, to persuade Cook to quit his outlawry, passed through Muskogee, en route west again yesterday. He procured a license from the clerk of court here for the marriage of Bandit Chief Bill Cook, to Miss Martha Pullman of Sapulpa. Their ages  were registered in clerk's office as 22 and 19. Cook is a Cherokee but his sweetheart is a white girl, and under the laws of the United States a marriage license is required.

Our article about the lynching comes to us through the pages of the Lincoln Daily News (Lincoln, Nebraska) dated September 20, 1894:

Indian Bandit Chief Lynched.

GUTHRIE, Okl., Sept. 20.—[Special.]—William Cook, the bandit chief who procured a license yesterday at Muscogee to marry his white sweetheart, Martha Pullman, was lynched this morning at Lincoln, a small town a hundred miles from here. Cook is a Cherokee and an outlawed bandit. Some horses were missing after Cook was known to be in the neighborhood and they fixed it on the desperado and started after him determined to cut short his career. They captured him this morning and hung him in the woods.

Thank you for joining me and as always, I hope I leave you with something to ponder.