13. And the defendants Herman Meier and Carrie Meier also answering said bill of complaint show to the court that they and their relatives and grantors have had a deed of the property which they now occupy adjoining the Shiawassee River and a part of the Byron mill pond, so-called, for the past forty years; that all the land which they now occupy and claim an interest in they have had the open, notorious, peaceable, hostile and continuous possession for the whole of said forty years without let or hindrance from any person; and they show to the court that if the plaintiff claims that he has any paper title to any part of said land that they are entitled to have the same removed as a cloud upon the title of their property; that for the most part where the Shiawassee River passes through their land it has well defined banks and is a public stream of water in which the plaintiff has no proprietary right and has no right to occupy its banks or any part thereof. And these defendants show to the court that during the past twenty years the Byron mill pond, so-called, has been practically a muddy basin, having some low or swampy spots in which decaying vegetation and debris collect and foul the air of the whole neighborhood; that said pond as it now exists is nothing but a miasmatic mud-hole, breeding disease and endangering the health of the whole community; and they ask that in the decree that shall be made in this case that the deed which is a cloud upon their title, if there is one, shall be removed and that the said empty and muddy mill pond shall be declared to be a nuisance and ordered to be drained out and kept free from stagnant water and miasmatic conditions.

14. And the defendants Fred L. Ruggles and Effie Ruggles answering say that the property which they now occupy adjoining said Byron mill pond has been in the open peaceable, continuous, notorious and hostile possession of these defendants and their relatives and grantors from the time that the Village of Byron was platted, and that plaintiff and none of his grantors have had any possession or right to possession of said property during said time, and if plaintiff has any paper title thereto, the same is a cloud upon the title of these defendants, and they ask that the same be removed by this court when the final decree is made in this case; and they also ask that the menace to the health of the entire community in the form of said mill pond be ordered drained and kept free from stagnant water.

15. And these defendants, further answering, deny that the plaintiff has any right to the water in the Shiawassee River different or other than that of these defendants who own land adjoining said river; and they deny that the plaintiff has any right whatever in the real estate belonging severally to these defendants; and they deny each and every material allegation in said bill contained not herein more specifically traversed or denied, and they ask that the rights of each defendant be determined and that they be protected, both in their property and in their health and person, from the attempted legal encroachment of said plaintiff, and they ask that they have a decree for costs against said plaintiff and such other and further relief in the premises as the proofs in this case shall show that they are entitled to. Carrie Meier, Ernest Kelsey, Mary Kelsey, Emma Spangenberger, Perry Hadsell, Helen Hadsell, John N. Ripley, Minnie Ripley, Edgar Caulkins, Kilea Caulkins, Robert Coats, Elsie McGee, Lucy Kirkendoll, Henry Faul, Charles Fritz, Henrietta Fritz, Frances Campbell, Fred L. Ruggles, Effie Ruggles, Herman Meier.

By A. L. CHANDLER & E. F. WILSON,

Attorneys for said Defendants. A. L. CHANDLER & E. F. WILSON, Attorneys for said 20 Defendants.

(d) Answer of T. J. Provost, et al.- (Caption.) The answer of the above named defendants to the bill of complaint of the above named plaintiff.

These defendants saving and reserving unto themselves all manner of exception to the bill of complaint of the above named plaintiff filed in this cause, for answer thereunto, answering say:

These defendants deny each and every allegation contained in the plaintiff's bill of complaint.

ALBERT L. NICHOLS, Guardian Ad litem of all of the above named defendants.

(e) Answer of Defendants William Miles, et al.- (Caption.) The answer of the defendants, William Miles, Frank Alden and Adah Alden to the bill of complaint filed in this cause.

The defendants, answering said bill of complaint, or so much as they are advised it is material or necessary for them to answer, answering say:

1. These defendants have no knowledge as to whether Samuel W. Dexter was the owner of a piece of land such as described in paragraph one of said bill of complaint, but they are informed and believe, and charge the truth to be, that since these defendants received their deeds of the property mentioned in such conveyances no person ever took possession of or occupied the land mentioned therein but themselves.

2. These defendants, further answering, say that they have no knowledge, information or belief concerning the varous deeds set forth in said bill of complaint further than stated in said bill, and from such statements they have no information from which they can affirm or deny the existence or correctness of such deeds, and they leave plaintiff to his proof; and they aver the truth to be that plaintiff never had more than a flowage right to any of such property and that such right was surrendered and contracted down to the natural banks of the Shiawassee River, and the claim of plaintiff that he has a mill pond formed by said stream is a mere subterfuge to perpetuate a nuisance and mud-hole in the Township of Burns and try to hold the same for speculative purposes to the injury and detriment of all of the lands adjoining said Shiawassee River in that part of the Township of Burns.

3. These defendants, further answering, deny that the blue print attached to said bill of complaint shows a correct survey or representation of any existing state of facts in and concerning said mill pond for the thirty years last passed.