Connecticut western news., 1879-07-09
Diamond Cut Diamond.


 Once upon & time a man in Cumber land, who had made business of pur-- chasing lumber upon the stump, bought of young heir section of forest, or rather, the timber thereon, agreeing to pay for 1t as soon as his aUorknae7a should hdVe cut tue last tree. We'll, the work men went at it, and for many weeks chopped away at prod1gious rate, get ting down and hauling away vast amount of valuable timber; but the last tree they did not touch and there it stood-stood until the death of both the contracting parties, and the money for the timber which was truly cut had never been paid.
 Over in Northumberland, years after that, another youthful heir was left ill possession of vast forest of fine timber; and to him came contractor who wished to purchase the timber upon the stump to cut 1t at his own expense; and to pay TOT 1t as soon as he had cut down the last tree. The young man knew that the offer, if made in good faith, was good one, and he closed with it at once. They went out in the forest with sur veyor, had the lines run, the courses and distances exactly set down, and the contract drawn up; after which the youth went about his business, while the timber merchant gathered his chop pers, and his oxen, and set them at work in the forest.
 When the crew of the contractor had got very nearly half through the lot marked out, the young heir went one night, with few of his trusty servants, and set at the work of moving the stakes which had been set down on the line the surveyor had run out by his instru- ments. The workmen who were cutting down the trees had commenced at one corner of the hundred acre lot-more o1 less-and were to work through to the opposite corner of the quadrangle, chop, ping clean as they went and it was tc the far angle that our young owner turned his attention-that point at which the chopping was to cease and there he caused the stakes to be pulled up, and to be moved several rods further on putting them down at considerable distance beyond the bound of his owr land. The work was done so that nc man could detect it, except upon careful measurement, and then the youth and his servants retired.
 The weeks passed on, and in time word was brought to the young man that the choppers had stopped work, and left the forest. He went out and found it as he had expected. The contractor had al. lowed his men to cut away until they had reached to within half dozen trees or so, of the extreme angle of the lot, and had then bade them stop, leaving, as he supposed, some ten or fifteen trees in all, great and small, not cut The owner called his servants again, and when they had moved the stakes back to the places where the surveyor had originally placed them, To and behold the timber actually purchased by the lumberman had been chopped clean off - and more, too
 A few days later, our young friend called on the contractor, through his attorney, for the money due for timber, by him bought and carried away. The contractors answer was that no money was due, according to contract, as he had 7ot get cat dOaO7a the last tree!
 To this the young man answered " Come and see !'
 The contractor came and saw. Al first he was puzzled; but finally the light broke upon him, and his first i'm pulse was to get angry, and try to break things; but he knew that he had been caught in trap of his own setting, and his wisest course would be to own up, and pay the contract price-which he did