LeMars (Iowa) Sentinel, Thursday, August 11, 1881
A RUMPUS IN WHICH BILLY'S WERE USED

The COWAN boys of Stanton, came to town last Saturday and Ed and least
took too much bug juice.  There is lots of lip and fight in LeMars
bugjuice.  About dusk the boys started for their team to go home, and Ed
had considerable to say.  Marshall ALLINE suggested that he lower his
musical voice a little but that just roused the fighting end of the
liquid.  Quicker than you can say scat he broke for the Marshall and
evolving a billy from his shirt sleeves, or somewhere else, began
playing around the Marshalls' ears.  Yank CALDWELL made a flank movement
on John and beat tattoo on his scull with a big cane.  Walt CHAMBERLAIN
danced out of Bowmans with a billy and paid his respects to John.
Moriss stepped up to John and asked him to go along with him.  He did
so.  And that is Johns' contribution to the show.  Jim was more
belligerent.  But another detached headed by John GUTHRIE who finally
took him in.  Meanwhile the Marshall and Ed were waltzing around as if
seeing which was the strongest and victory finally perched upon the
Marshalls banner.  An excited mob of several hundred added dramatic
effect to the scene.  The Cowan's were triumphantly marched to the
Mayors office and his honor assessed Ed $3 and cost for his being drunk.
A further charge of resisting an officer was made against each of them.
Ed waved examination and gave bail in the sum of $300 to appear before
the Grand Jury and the other two gave bonds in $200 to call on his Honor
the Mayor on the 22nd.  It seems to us that the Marshall might make
better use of his strength than test it against every rowdy he has to
arrest.  The row raised in making the arrest is immensely bigger than
the row the Marshall seeks to quell.  If it is necessary, let him
promptly knock the recalcitrant fellow down and tote him to the caboose
in a dray.
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LeMars (Iowa) Sentinel, Thursday, August 11, 1881, published in the same paper
JOHN COWAN'S STORY

John COWAN, one of the young men implicated in last Saturdays
rumpus,stepped into the Sentinel Sanctum and said he had no purpose,
nor, so far as he knows, had his brothers any purpose to raise a row.
He was perfectly sober, but said that Ed wa a little off, and that he
got noisy.  Their team was near Caldwells barn and he and his brother
Jim were taking Ed to the wagon.  If they had not been interrupted, they
would have been out of town in a few minutes from the time the row
began.  He thinks the Marshal had met Ed before, anyhow as soon as the
Marshall spoke, Ed got wild and went for him.  Before he, (John) even
understood matters, Yank CALDWELL hit him on the head with a big cane
flourished a billy over his head.  He begged of CHAMBERLAIN not to
strike him, when John MORRIS came up and he walked off with MORRIS. We
inquired where his brother Ed got the billy?  He didn't know anything
about it.  He didn't know he had a billy until the row was over.  John
says he tries to be a peaceable citizen.  He has no desire to figure as
a rowdy, or be considered one.