Collins v. Howard

• Decision Date: 26 July 1889
• Citation: 18 A. 794,65 N.H. 190
• Parties: COLLINS et al. v. HOWARD et al.
• Court: New Hampshire Supreme Court

18 A. 794

65 N.H. 190

COLLINS et al.

v. HOWARD et al.

Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Sullivan.

July 26, 1889.

Exceptions from Sullivan county.

Petition for an injunction to restrain the defendants from floating logs down the river called the "North Branch," which flows through Grantham, Croydon, a part of Newport, and unites with Sugar river at North Newport. The stream is small, and has, for a part of the way, a heavy fall and very rocky bed. No logs were ever floated down past the plaintiffs' premises until the spring of 1888. The defendants concede that logs cannot be run down the stream, except in high water, which lasts from three to five weeks in the spring, and sometimes for a week or so in the fall. Collins owns a dam and shingle-mill about one-half mile above Grantham village; Dunbar, a grist and saw mill at the village; and Stockwell, a mill for the manufacture from wood of various articles, and a cider-mill, located about seven miles below the village. These dams and mills have existed substantially in their present condition for more than 50 years. The dam and mill of the pulp company, situated about one and one-half miles above Stockwell's, were recently built. The defendants own 63 acres of timber land, situated about two miles above Grantham village, on both sides of the river. They have cut, and now have on the river bank, about 400,000 feet of spruce and hemlock logs, which they propose to drive down to North Newport the coming spring. The entire distance is about ten miles. The defendants have on their land half a million or so of uncut timber. There are over 1,000 acres of heavily timbered lands owned by various parties, so situated that the timber would naturally be floated down the stream from the same point or a point above it, if it can be. Prom other lands in the vicinity, and similarly situated in respect to the stream, timber has been cut in considerable quantities during the past 30 years, and hauled to market by teams. The cost of floating the defendant's logs to North Newport will be about 75 cents a thousand, and the cost of drawing them by teams about $4 a thousand. As an experiment, and for the purpose of determining whether floating timber down the river is practicable, the defendants, in the spring of 1888, cut and floated down 30,000 feet or more of spruce logs. These, in going over Collins' and Dunbar's dams, damaged slightly the foundation walls of their mills. By the use of a boom to turn the logs away from the mills towards the opposite bank of the stream, like damage in the future may be prevented. The defendants were unable to begin the drive so soon as they desired; and owing to this circumstance, to the...