FARM FENCES. 161 



crops, T am. liable for the damage to him, although my own 

 half of my fence is good, and my animals escaped through 

 my immediate neighbor's defective fence : because, as to all 

 persons except my nearest neighbor, I am still bound to 

 keep my cattle on my own land ; and it is no excuse for 

 me, so far as third persons are concerned, that my neighbor 

 neglected his half of our division fence. Whether my neigh- 

 bor would be liable to refund to me what I had to pay to 

 such distant owner is not yet settled ; but it is established 

 that the latter could not himself sue the negligent land- 

 owner, but only the owner of the cattle (11 Gray, 489). 

 Nay, so far is this rule carried, that although such third per- 

 son did not keep up his own fence, and the cattle go into his 

 land through his own fault, he can still make me pay the 

 damages; because he is not bound in law to keep up any 

 fence at all, except as against his nearest neighbor, and not 

 against my cattle farther bff. In other words, if A., B., and 

 C. own three adjoining lots, and A.'s cattle stray into B.'s 

 land through B.'s neglect, he has no remedy against A. ; but 

 if they stray still farther, on to the land of C. also, and there 

 do mischief, C. has a claim for the damages against A., even 

 though the animals went tlirough his own broken-down 

 fence. A. must keep his animals at home at his own peril. 



For similar reasons, if A. turns his cattle into the highway, 

 and they come on to your land from the road, either because 

 your front fence is defective or altogether gone, you have a 

 remedy against A. for all the damages you sustain ; for you 

 are not obliged to have any fence on the road, except to 

 keep your own cattle in, and A. must keep his own cattle at 

 home. And so stringent is this rule, that if other people in 

 roaming over your grounds, hunting, fishing, or berrying, 

 leave your bars down, by which your cattle escape into the 

 highway, and thence come into my cornfield, you are re- 

 sponsible to me for all the damage, although not actually 

 ill fault, if you kept all j^our fences up (30 N. H. 143). On 

 the other hand, if you are carefully driving your cattle along, 

 the highway, and without your fault they break away from 

 your control, and run into my adjoining land, and you drive 

 them out as soon as you reasonably can, you are not responsi- 

 ble for the damage done ; for you had a right to drive them 

 along the highway, w'th proper care and attention (114 



