The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-18
Landed at What is now Devils
Lake on June IA,
1882.
IS A CANADIAN BY BIRTH.
Beat John Burke for District
Judgeship and Later
Reelected.

Lake, who Is spending few days in the
city, is one of the pioneer products
OF the state and his life would read
like romance, were it written with
all Its details in connection with his
work in the state. He is a Canadian
by birth, and, after taking his course.
in college and reading medicine for
two years, packed his earthly pos
sessions in his pocket and took the
first opportunity for North Dakota.
He landed at Devils Lake before the
town got there, and becoming rather
lonesome waiting for it to overtake
him, he went out to Grand Harbor
where there was no harbor and filed
on claim. He lived on the claim
as required by law because there
was no other place to spend the time.
The date of his arrival at Devils
Lake is marked in the Ayers Cherry
Pectoral almanack which he kept dur
ing the time, as June IA, 1882. While
residing on his claim he concluded
that the law was about his proper
sphere and borrowing Blackstone he
began getting confused as to what
the law was. Judge Morgan, now
OF the supreme court. who sits at all
sessions unless legally disqualified,
gave Cowan pointers and at the end
of two years he succeeded in getting
Il permit to tell the people what they
should and should not do. About this
time two other things happened in
his life. He proved on his claim and
got married and so far there has
never been any attempt to question the
merits of either. Returning to Devils
Lake, which had decided to become
a town, he taught school for few
months in order to get money enough
to buy code, and then he took his
law library down town one morning
under his arm and opened his office,
the principal act of which was the
unlocking OF the door. Later when
the boys who are now the leading
business men of Devils Lake decided
to turn the regular teacher out of the
school, the future jurist was selected
to finish the job, and the second day
he threw three of the future business
men of the city head foremost down
the stairs and completed the school,
Judge Cowan became early impressed
with the advantage of earning d
salary fixed by law and to this end
he made application for admission in
to the Office holding class, and passed
without being blackballed. He was
elected to the Office of county super
intendent, and later decided to accept
the election as states attorney, q
position which he held for several
years to the terror of the law breakers
Then he became attorney general of
the state, and from that passed with
the ease and grace of a bride to the
district bench where he first defeated
a man named John Burke who has
been recently mentioned in state poll
tics, and two years ago he received
reelected without opposition. Per-
sonally Judge Cowan is one of the
most genial and pleasant men to be
found in lifetime. He is open
hearted, sincere and never forgets
a friend, and it is one Of the jokes
which is sometimes told against the
judicial dignity that when sentencing
and old timer who had been guilty of a
number of attractions of the law that
the judge feelingly referred to the
friendship that he had had for the
culprit for many years during their
early days in the country. On the
bench Judge Cowan is vigorous. and
aggressive and is something more than
a listener. He directs and his de-
cisions are usually we'll founded.