| Fort Worth Daily Gazette, April 22, 1890 Fort Worth, Tex., 1882-1891 |
 |
| Capt. W. L. Couch Succumbs to the Wound Inflicted by J. C. Adams A Party Organized to Lynch Adams—He is Taken to the Wichita, Kan., Jail for Safe Keeping Biography of the Most Prominent Man in the United States in Regard to the Great Oklahoma Movement |
| Special to the Gazette |
| Guthrie I. T., April 21—Capt. W.
L. Couch an old pioneer, and widely
known as organizer of the Oklahoma
movement, died this morning at 3
o’clock. His death was the result of a
wound inflicted by J. C. Adams with a
Winchester rifle on April 4. When It became known that Capt. Couch could not live twenty-four hours a party was organized to lynch Adams. United States Marshal Walker was informed of this and yesterday boarded a train with the prisoner for Wichita. He was placed in jail there. Couch was widely respected. CAPTAIN W. L. COUCH The most faithful friend Oklahoma ever had was Captain W. L. Couch. He was born in Wilkes county North Carolina November 20, 1850. After the war in 1866 he moved with his fathers family to Johnson county Kansas where he received a common school education and was married in 1871. He commenced his battle with life on a farm near Douglas Kansas where he remained for six years. In 1876 he moved to Wichita Kansas and engaged in the livestock and real estate business. He rapidly accumulated property and at one time was the owner of several of the best business lots in Wichita and 1400 acres of good farming lands in Sedgwick, Sumner and Butler counties. He was a warm supporter of David Payne the celebrated Oklahoma boomer and when the latter died in 1884 his mantle fell upon Capt. Couch. He greatly assisted Payne financially in the organization of the famous Oklahoma colony in the winter of 1879-1880. In 1883 the colony was reorganized and in February of the same year invaded—600 strong—the Oklahoma country. They located on the North Canadian river about 1400 miles southeast of this city. The wagon train of this colony consisted of 119 teams all under the immediate supervision of Capt. Couch. Capt. Carrol of the Ninth United States cavalry arrested the colony, escorted them to the Kansas line, were they were liberated. In August of 1883 the colony was called together again at Arkansas City and reorganized. Payne was elected president and Capt. Couch vice-president. These positions they held until the death of Payne in the following year when Couch was made president. From the time of his election as vice-president of the colony in 1883 Capt. Couch was the leader of every organized invasion or attempted settlement of Oklahoma. He directed the movement of the settlers in the field and kept Payne fully informed, who agitated the matter in the newspapers. They believed that they might establish the right to settle in Oklahoma without legislation and if not the general agitation of the matter would force congress to a consideration of the question. Captain Conch devoted many weary years in the labor of leading colonists into the new country In August 1888 he lead two hundred people across the border into Oklahoma. They were all arrested and led to the Kansas line and liberated. The next movement was that of the invasion of the country by about thirty men on horseback under the leadership of Couch. They successfully evaded the military for thirty days but were at last arrested, confined in the guard house at Fort Reno for a time and then sent to Texas where they were released. In April 1884 Couch brought over 600 settlers into the country and located them before the military discovered that they were in the Territory. Capt. Couch and sixty-four others were arrested and ejected from the country and the remainder of the colonists voluntarily departed a short time after. In May of the same year Couch again marched across the line at the head of over 200 settlers. They located on the Cimarron river but were allowedCapt. W. L. Couch to remain only a short time. Couch was arrested, taken to Fort Reno imprisoned for a few days and then turned over to the civil authorities in Kansas where he was tried by a United States court and released In November 1884 a few days after the burial of Payne. Capt Couch with 200 boomers marched into the promised land and laid out the town of Stillwater. What transpired there caused congress for the first time to seriously consider the question of opening Oklahoma to settle ment. The company at Stillwater was attacked by the military. Capt Couch refused to surrender claiming that he had been tried by the courts and acquitted for invading Oklahoma. The military, being largely outnumbered, retreated and waited for reinforcements. The colonists held out for over thirty days or until Gen Hatch, with eight companies of United States troops, was sent out against them Capt Couch still refused to surrender. Hatch cut off his supplies and starvation compelled the colonists to abandon their position which they did in an orderly manner, marching to Arkansas City, where Couch was arrested by the United States marshals The case was tried and again dismissed by the courts. The Stillwater difficulty caused so much excitement that congress, then in session, passed the act just before adjournment authorizing the president to enter into negotiations with the Creek, Seminole and Cherokee Indians for their Interest in the Oklahoma and Cherokee Strip lands. In March 1885 Couch went to Washington in the interest of the boomers but received no encouragement that he country would be opened to settlement at any near future period. After this Captain Couch devoted over four years time in Washington working for the opening of Oklahoma. Triumph finally came but it was long deferred to the brave, indefatigable man, for it was only in the closing hours of the Fiftieth congress that the required legislation was secured. Captain Couch was a quiet, upright, fearless, undemonstrative man. He was the first mayor of Oklahoma City and, through trying times, discharged what he considered to be his duty regardless of the fear or favor of any man. He spent the years of his life, and his money, in Oklahomas cause, and died a poor man. He leaves a widow and five children, and 60000 people in Oklahoma, to mourn his loss. His untimely death is a territorial calamity. |
All rights reserved. Commercial use of material within this site is
prohibited.
The copyright (s) on this page must appear on all copied and/or printed
material.
© 2012 by Logan County Coordinator, OKGenWeb
Last Updated, 2012