McCarthy

This is an action for partition of about 8,000 acres of timber land in the state of Washington. The action was transferred to the United States District Court on account of diverse citizenship of the parties. Referees were appointed by the court to make partition, and their report dividing the land into two tracts and assigning one tract to the t appellants and the other to the appellees was excepted to by the appellants, but after hearing evidence thereon the court overruled the exception and confirmed and adopted the report and decreed partition in accordance therewith. The appellants assign as error the failure of the trial court to refer the matter of the partition back to the referees, because, as it was claimed, the referees, instead of acting upon the stipulation of the parties as to the evidence to be considered by them, “took into consideration certain field-notes procured from outside sources, namely, from the office of James D. Lacey & Company, and based their conclusion as to partition, in part upon the same.” It is sufficient upon this assignment to say that the question as to whether or not the matter should be again referred to the referees with additional…