206

charged with having attempted it) would have
been pleased with the destruction of his press
and the ruin of his family.³⁰

Samuel Alexander Harrison, writing in the Star,
states that Cowan had fallen into habits of dissipation³¹
and when, in the last issue of the Herald, Cowan informs
his customers that

Prom the peculiar situation of the editor of
this paper, he hereby informs his subscribers
and advertising customers that its publication
will be suspended from this day until further
notice,³²

Harrison thereupon indulges in the hope that the
editor was not in jail!³³

As far as is known, the Herald was never issued
again. James Cowan applied to the General Assembly of
the state for release from his debts. His name ap-
pears in the list of debtors from Talbot County who
were released,³⁴ and nothing further is known about
him. He probably loft Maryland, for no record of his
later activities remains; but where he went, or under
what circumstances he continued his life, are still
problems for the historian of Maryland Journalism.

30 Herald and Eastern Shore intelligencer. November
13, 1804.

31 Easton star. June 23, 1874.

32 Herald and Eastern Shore intelligencer. November
13, 1804.

33 Easton star. September 8, 1874.

34 Maryland, Laws, statutes, etc. Laws of Mary-
land, 1804, chapter CX.