In September 1852, Cowan "met with a serious accident while kangaroo hunting.... His horse ran him against a blackboy and injured him so severely that he was conveyed to his residence in a senseless state".Inquirer, 29 September 1852, p.2. This occurred about from York. He received several severe contusions about the shoulder and ribs. The "native who accompanied him" helped him reach a house from where he was taken to York.Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News, 1 October 1854, p.2.
