Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1876-09-27
Washington County Court.

the court. have also adjourned TIL Thursday,
when Il is expected they will report u rumor Is
true the Investigations Of this honorable body
have resulted in some indictments out OF the
usual line, and there viii be CONSERVATION among
persons accustomed to pursue their wicked paths
unframed. In the past II Magoon and either Of
the Greens are tried, it is expected that the Grim
inal business Will occupy the attention Of the
court for nearly fortnight when that is ended,
a recess will be taken tin Tuesday, November.
49, in order to make way for the general term Of
the supreme court, which will begin October 2ith.
TIM NoWrnfmtp LANp CASH,
the beginning OF which was noticed in last weeks
report lasted till Friday afternoon three days.
Like all disputes involving the title Of land Il was
hardly fought, and great many witnesses testi-
fed, several Of them quite od-Mrs Keziah
Smith, who testified for the plaintiff, being sew
cnty-eight, and it was amusing IN hear the utter
dsagreements Of these veterans upon the situa-
ton Of tho channel Of Dog river half century
ago, which was the great issue in the case one
old gentleman testified to catching bushel Of
trout in the east channel, called, at o certain
time, while another grandfather was positive that
Mt that very time no water whatever ran in that
channel In order TO get proper understanding
of the ease, It L. necessary u go back little into
history. The lots. whose boundary Is In dispute,
were originally one, and known as lot Z, first
range. In Mortified, which was laid out In the
original survey Of The town as two hundred acre
lot In 1912 Samuel Gibson, the proprietor Of
lot Z, sold one hundred acres on the west side Of
il to Samuel Fisk, and ia the deed described the
east line Of FislSs, which ran through the middle
Of the original lot as follows Beginning at the
north line and following mp the river as it now
runs thirty rods or more 10 point on the east
bank TO a stake and stones, and then runs parallel
with the lot lines to the south end IN ISL he
decided the east half Of lot 40. 7 to q man named
/ Briggs That deed described the west line o.
/ Briggs lot (which would be Of course the east
line Of FisSs lot described abovel as beginning
at the north line and following up the river as it
now runs about FORTY rods 10 o stake and stones,
etc. tisks Dot was eventually decided to the
/ father Of Lyman and stephen Cochran the latter
/ plaintiff ina the present suit Twenty acres IT,
the southeast corner Of Briggs lot bordering on
the Cochran or Fisk LOTT passed and is now ia the
| possession Of George stanton, of Koxbury. The
rest Of il also left Briggs hands In 1871, 1862
and 1853 It was in the possession of Rodney Slack,
and is now owned by Thomas Elliott the defen-
dant In the present suit The great question Of
fact in the present case was occasioned By the
words In the deeds, where the Dog river now
runs Il IS claimed by tine plaintiff that the Dog
river has had three channels that previous 20 the
ireshet of 1880 IL rods east Of its present
course, in what is called the east channel e"
that from 1880 TO 1850 Il ran in the middle chan
mel. so called, and that freshet In that year
caused it 70 occupy rs present channel The de-
PENDANT denied that the east channel was ever
the real bed Of the river and that it was never
flowed except In seasons Of high water Each
side put in as witnesses several old people In it, be-
half, also who as has been noticed above contra
dicted each other fatty While this was the main
issue Of fact upon which evidence was introduced.
the defendant raised some rather tough law points,
10 support or defend which some evidence was
given. The first WA, as follows Lyman Cochran,
now deceased whose brotherand administratorthe
present plaintiff is, brought suit against stan
ton 10 settle the location OF the line between their
farms. This was arbitiatcd by Judge Nelson A
Chase and Judge Wright Of Warren; Judge He
man Carpenter being counsel ion Cochran, and
Messrs. Joseph a. Wing aud George NJ. Fisk
being counsel for Stanton. Both the submission
and the award we're in writing, under seal hut it
was substantially conceded that Rodney Slack,
xho owned defendants lot at that time, believing
since the line between Stantons lot and Cochran
was a continuation line between him aud Cochran
that the arbitration could be employed to put an
end to any dispute between him and Cochran
about boundaries became party to the suit aitel
the execution Of the submission; that he paid
part Of the expenses and that, in 1868, he an,
CofInn, a lessee Of Cochmns lot, with Cochran
consent went and built fence in accordance
with the line established by the arbtrators, which
fence still stands; has been occupied up to by thu
owners of Slack lot ever since, and is some rod
west Of the line as now claimed by the plaintiff
During the progress Of this arbitration, by tn,
way, Mt Samuel ellison, the original gH1utor OF tw,
lots put in an appearance. lie had been hote
keeper in New York for many years and had 30
been on the ground during that time. On the day
Of the survey by Judges Chase and Wright
although the stake and stones mentioned in BIZ
deeds to Fisk and Briggs had long disappeared
he was able to designate the place where the
formerly were, and pointed ont the direction il
which the line ran, remarSing that the surveyor
would ind the line trees marked In a peculia
way with three hacks and that in counting tn
grains in the wood the hacks would be found L
be forty-tvo or forty-three years old 1t turne,
out exactly rs he had said, aud the line was so es
tablished by thearbitators most remarkablein
stance OF local knowledge and memory of spots in
credible in fact ifnot atested to by unimpeachabl
witnesses now living 1t was claimed by the dc
PENDANT that Slack and Cochran having agreed t
abide by the result of the arbitration between Stan
ton and Cochran, that the question Of the boundar
between their farms because res ddjuiicata, or
~.
rendered and could not now be re-opened; an
that the present suit by plaintiff was therefor
estopped. The court ruled, however, that a
transactions in regard TO the ownership Of Ian
must be in writing, and that paro agreements coul
not be made binding upon parties The court q
lowed the evidence as to this agreement to go
the jury having weight in regard IL the tru
q situation Of the line The second point made b
the defendant was, that this being an action {
trespass upon the free hold charging the defent
/ ant with unlawfuliy entering upon the plaintiff
farm, and cutting down certain trees, the plaintiff
e was bound to prove himself in actual possessio
q OF the premises upon which the trees were slit
A ated at the time Of the alleged trespass; that
j, had not only failed to do this but that there wa
Z proof, by the evidence OF Rodney Slack that III
. defendant had been in peaceabe possession Of III
q ground for thirteen years. The court seemed I
4, think that this was point well taken. Bat III
10 objection was not made til the evidence ha
= been closed; and Judge Redfeld remarked thu
A after spending more than two days he va
T. determined that the jury should settle the lin
r. between the two FARMS and he therefore directe
i. the arguments to proceed. Judge Rodfeld mad
d a very clear and exhaustive charge to the iur!
II II was very diIicult for any not verse
in the law to comprehend but it is not too muC
n 70 say that the courts charge so sifted the ey
dence and applied it to its appropriate part OF III
q case, that it was almost impossible for misundo
~ standing TO occur The jury went out at aboi
II four o'clock on Friday afternoon and agreed
six O'Clock Saturday morning They returned
/ verdict in favor of plaintiff for one cent which
II the case involved the title Of land carries all Il
costs with it, and they also found in accordan'
with the courts instructions, the following speci
@ verdict q" In this case the jury say that they fin
r the division line beginning on the north line
II lot No. 7, first range in Mortified, at the we
5 bank of Dog River thence up Dog River and Il
a east ohannel--the channel as it formerly ran
II point forty rods ON the east bank Of said cha
d mel; thence southerly in line parallel with Il
q lines Of said lot to Stantons north line as deed,
from Samuel ellison to Samuel Fisk Noyemb