The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-04-26

Prominent Ell Reno Man Was
Severely Beaten BY Officer
of Another City
Special to Daily Leader.

Special to Daily Leader.
FL Reno, Okla, April 26,--State-
,ments made bS.,l railroad men and
4aTfliqg men. coupled with the vie
TINS story. say an assault was infiict-
ed upon A. A. Cowden at Clinton
while on an east bound Choctaw train
coming from Sayre to this city.
The assault was committed by
| Charles Cole, now a deputy sheriff or
Custer county, who served jail sent
ence here for stealing Frank VANS
horse. Cole was assisted by his
brother, who held gun over Cowden
and another deputy sheriff stood idly
by and let them commit their murder
oiis work.
A. A. Cowden, formerly night chief
OF police, has been resident of III
Reno for over ten years, and is law
abiding citizen.
Mr.. Cowden, whose eyes are black
and blue, with deep cut on his head,
! and one thumb chewed up, tells the
story as follows Il was called to
Sayre, in Beckham county, to testify
against Charles Cole. who is a dep
! uty she. if, | believe in Custer conn-
lty. or probably in Washita county,
who was over in Beckham county
running down some bootlegger cases,
as an imported velyetfoot. He was
| crossrexamined on the witness stand
! by the defendants attorney and asked
IL he had ever served a Jail sentence
| lie testified that he had never serv-
| ed a jail sentence in his life and was
arrested but once and that was for
| lighting, and paid his fine. Through
my brother at Elk City the attorneys
had learned that Cole had served a
| jail sentence here. so the attorneys
| telephoned me TO come TO prove that
Cole was perjurer. | went TO Sayre
and testified of having arrested. him
here for stealing Frank VANS horse
and that he served seyei Al months In
Jail here for the crime. When return
ing from Elk City where | stopped
to visit my brother, the train was
on stopped at Washita Junction, and,
looking out through t upCn window
noticed George kin a. " 10 works
at Wilson and Phelps store here,
standing on the platform. He hol.
lowed to me and stuck my head out
OF the window to talk to him. While
conyersing with him, all at once felt
a singing, binding blow on the side
of the head and as started to turn
was pinloned down on the window
sill and blows rained all over my
head. Stunned as was grappled
xpifh aSsailantc m
pin Charles Cole down on the seat. |
heard him say Why don't you shoot?
and turning | saw his brother stand
| ing over me with a Al drawn upon
me. | appealed to the crowd not to
let him kill me, as was unarmed,
and so badly beat up that | could not
protect myself. Standing idly by was
a sheriff, or deputy sheriff, who
would not move a step to arrest them
when asked him to, and would not
arrest them when the conductor OF
/ the train asked them to- Even after
/ beating me up and drawing the gun
on me. Charles Cole jumped on me
/ from behind and tried to assault me
again. but pushed him OH | had
no protection against their attempted
murder, and could get none from the
sheriff, who stood and watched the
assault and would take no hand /
! believe that Cole and his brother got
on at Foss, and were going TO alight
/ at Clinton, and me not suspecting
they sneaked upon me-
| Chief of Police w. p. Mccartney
bears out the statement OF Mr.. Cow
I den that Cole stole VANS horse here
and served several months in jail