Cole finally bought him out—­his right, and ‘betterments;’ and gave him a horse and harness, and we went down to Square Punderson’s, to git writin’s made, and he wa’n’t to home, and none was made.  Basil took the horse and left, and Cole moved into the old cabin.  I knew about the slash fences, and ketched a spotted fawn once, hid in one on ’em.  I used to cross over by the big maples, by the spring run, where Coles’s two children were buried, to go to my traps.”

Bullock was put under a sharp cross-examination, but his story was not shaken.  He had a plenty of good-natured, lazy force, and took care of himself.  A witness brought in a short section of one of the apple trees, which had twenty-nine rings showing its age, which made a sensation.

Several other witnesses swore that when they were boys, they used to hunt for cattle, on the bottoms, to the north of Cole’s land, and often got on to the old tree fences, to listen for the cow-bells.  And Bart rested his case.

One branch of this defence looked ugly.  The defendant had not clearly proven that he in person took possession of the land in time to perfect his title by adverse possession.  But he had shown another man in possession, of some of the property, at least, and claiming it, and he had purchased this right, whatever it was, had gone in under him, and so succeeded to his possession, and right, if he had any.

This took the plaintiff by surprise, and when the defendant rested, he and his counsel were on the alert to meet it.  A note came in from the outside, and the plaintiff and his counsel retired under leave of the Court, for consultation.  Meanwhile Judge Markham and the President, who had taken much interest in the case, engaged in an earnest conversation.  Then Judge Markham came down from the bench, and calling Bart to him, shook him warmly by the hand, and introduced him to Judge Humphrey, and his associates.  All of which the jury observed.

Upon resuming the case, the plaintiff produced his depositions, and proved that the defendant’s grantor, John Williams, Junior, was the reputed natural son of Williams, of the Land Company, &c.; also called witnesses to show that Cole came into the county in 1818.  An attempt was then made to impeach Bullock, which failed.  Ward was then put on the stand, and swore that he met Basil Hall, on a certain time, who told him that he had no claim, right or title to the land whatever.  He also swore that he saw Hiram Fowler at work, mending the tree fence, on the north, the summer that Cole came in.

Bart, who had evinced rare skill in the examination of his own witnesses—­a more difficult thing, by the way, than to cross-examine those of an adversary—­put him through a sharp and stinging cross-examination.  Under pretence of testing his memory, and of showing bias, he took him over the whole course, and it appeared that if he ever had the conversation he claimed with Basil, it must have been after his sale to Cole; and got from him such damaging statements, that it could be fairly claimed to the jury that the whole case was prosecuted in the interest of Ward.  If so, this would exclude his testimony wholly.  This was in the dark legal days, when not only were parties excluded from giving evidence, but a pecuniary interest in the result of the suit to the value of one mill, would render a man incompetent as a witness.