Barnes v. Pleasanton

Richards, Chief Justice.

Under the common law rule, it was the duty of every person, subject to the exception of cattle being lawfully driven on the public highway, to keep his cattle on his own premises, by fences or otherwise, and if by reason of his failure to do so they strayed upon his neighbor’s lands, they were trespassers and the owner was liable for any damage occasioned thereby. Vandergrift v. Delaware Railroad Co., 2 Houst. 287; Carey v. Schweitzer, 3 W. W. Harr. 211, 134 A. 52.

When this country was first settled, there not being much land under cultivation, cattle were generally…