Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-03-18
VERMONT PHOENIX, 49, 1893

gallons of hard cider; that he went to the
! house, got some eggs, sugar and a six-quart
tin pail, brought them out near the wagon
| shed and mixed up about six quarts of egg
nogg; they all drank freely Of the c)ncoc-
ton aud get to feeling pretty well; one OF
| the Young men went after the cows and
then they all turned in and helped Potter
! do his milking; the milk, together with
the pail about half full of egg nogg and the
| jug Of cider, was carried into the house,
| upstairs, into Potter's part of the house,
where they continued their drinking and
became somewhat hilarious, the said Clar-
ence f. Dix becoming more intoxicated
than the others.
About s o'clock the three young men,
Dix, Plumb and Busby, went to the pond,
got into the boat and started to row down
the pond, home That after they had got
out a short distance, Plumb, not liking the
manner in which Dix and Busby were
managing the boat jumped out and swan
and waded TO the shore, and then started
to walk home along the east shore; that
Dix and Busby continued in the boat and
after they had got out some 40 rods the
boat was overturned Dix was a good
swimmer and struck out for the east shore,
but before reaching it he sank and was
drowned Busby not being able to swim
chung to the boat and was rescued later in
the evening by those whom Plumb had
notified of the catastrophe. The body Of
Dix was recovered about 2 o'clock in the
afternoon of the next day.
PLAINTIFFS evidence further tended to
show that she was married to the deceased
Dec. II, 1896 and that the September fol
lowing the accident child was born and is
still living, That Dix was a young man
who worked quite steadily at farm work
and provided well for his family that he
was II years old, and had had much TO do
with boats and knew how to row and man
age them in the water. The plaintiffs evil
dence further tended to show that Potter
sold cider and other Intoxicating liquors to
various persons in his part of said dwelling
house, and that the defendant Mason had
knowledge that he was using his part of
the house for that purpose.
The evidence on the part of the defend
ant, Mason, tended to show that he had
no knowledge that Potter sold liqour or ci-
der at said dwelling house; that Potter
was single man, boarded and kept his
trunk at Mr.. Gillett's, but lodged in the
house on the farm he had leased. That he
never knew of his having any cider on the
premises but once and that was about the
first of June when Potter was blowing
land; that against Masons advice he went
OFF and got jug of cider and had it out
in the field where Potter and his hired man
drank it.
That the defendant Mason was also
without any family and was away from
said farm a good deal of the time: that
I h.a I
and did not return till July TO- After his
return to Nottingham and on July "A he
made a settlement with Potter under the
terms of which Potter surrendered all
rights under his lease for the remainder of
he year, and that Potter was to vacate the
premises and remove such things as he had
there in day or two. That pursuant TO
said settlement and surrender Of the lease
the defendant Mason on the 18th Of July
engaged one Joseph Dix to look after the
premises and milk the cows when he Ma
son, was not at home. That on that same
day, July -, Mason went to Monroe
Bridge, Mass, intending to return in few
days, but while there was taken sick, and
therefore he went to Lowell, Mass, where
ne could be taken care Of al the house of
Mr.. Hamilton, his brother-n- law. where
lie had been confined TO the house ever
since with kidney trouble and nervous
prostration, and, therefore, could only give
his testimony by deposition. Edgar Bus
by, one of the young men in the boat, who
had been summoned as witness for the
plalntlif but was not called to testify, was
improved as a witness for the defence, and
he testified, among other things, that the
pail OF egg nog- and the jug of cider were
not taken into the Mason house at all while
they We're there. but that whatever was
drank on that occasion was out doo-s near
the wagon shed, and that no liquor or ci-
der was furnished to any of them by Pot
ter within the Mason house. That the
boat was overturned while he and Dix
were endeavoring TO change seats. That
all OF them were somewhat intoxicated,
but Dix more SO than the others.
Chase and Batchelder for the plaintiff.
o. +. Buttertield, Waterman, Martin Il
Hit for the defendant.