THE KAATERSKILL.
701
ing character. My impressions of the libelant personally, from his appearance on the atand, were favorable to his integrity and honest testimony. But thecontl'll.dicticmsof the libelant as to various circumstances are so many; the libel has so little support from other witnesses; the manner in which the accident is said to have happened, I find to be so difficult to appreciate; and, the libelant being found in the boat, thereis such likelihood:tllat the injury to the knee-pan may have happened from his fall into the boat, if he did fall intQit, as he alleges,-that I find it impossible to hold that the libelant has:-made otlthis case by a fair preponderance of proof. The break of the boat is proved; but that break is not one likely to have been made in the way the libelant describes, .but agrees rather with the defendants' theory. On the other hand, there are circumstances which it would seem that the defendants might have explained l but which they have not explained, especially how the break in the planks of the small boat actually occurred; and, if it occun'ed through any seas: shipped, how any such seas sufficient to break tbe boat. ,;auld hM'eescaped notice at thetitne. Under all the circumstances of the case, I cannot.render any satisfactory judgment; and I must there{ore dismiss the libel, without costs, and without prejudice to the libelant·
THE KAATERSKILL· . HAMILTON
et al.
'lJ. THE KAATERSKILL.
(Dtstrict Court, S. D. NeW York. January 1; 1892,) S.u.vAG_FmE ON .DOCK-TOWAGE':"'MASTER'S SELF-SACRIFICE.
Aib'e·breaking ont abQut noon in a hay and straw store-house, within.5O the at Coxs\Lckie, in the North river, where the large passenger stearnel' Kaat.et'l!lrlli. was lylngiWitnout steam up, tbe ferry-boat Coxsackie, from' joining:S}ip"oumoVingout. fm her own safety,was back to tow the step.mer away, .anli ,thereupon, withip.' two or three mirlUtes, got along-side and towed the steamilr,to'a,plaoeof safety.' 'On contradictory testimony, neW, that the steamer at the the COxsackie took hold of her, wae not. out of the way of ger, and but for b,er help would probably have been greatlr damaged or W):UlUy destroyedj' and the steamer being worth from $100,000 to $140,000; and $8,000 1tew.;$;3,500, a reasonable salvage awardj and it appearing that, wh!m·the ferry-boat',s master went tQ the help of the. Kaaterskill, his own hotel, verynear the burn'ingwat'ehouse, was threatened by the fire, and was afterwards consumed, he/,d, that his t10nduct 'in gqing to the relief of the E:aaterskill, instead of· attending to liis own pJ;opel'ty, belonged to the, Class of heroic and self-sacril'iciD/1,' aetions,and deserved recognition as such;' aud $1,200 of the award was allowed tG him, tp,eferry-boat not having incurred il.ny damage or danger in the service.
In Admiralty. Libel by David M! Hamilton and others against the Kaaterskill to recover salvage. & Benedict, for Wing, Shandy & Putnam, Jor claimant. BRpWN" J. The above libel was filed in behalf of the ownel'S of the and all others.ipterested, to recover salvage for.res-
702
FEDERAL REPORTER,. vol.
48. i
<'lling,. the 's'team passenger':boat 'Kaaterskill .froIQ ·a fire-:whitlhbroke out abotitnoon on Sunday, August 23, 1891, upon the'<iook at Coxsackie,on the North river, where the Kaaterskill was then nfoored·.' ,.iThe fire inated'in,a large' hay artdstraw stor&-house, the easterly end of whi:ch waswithb'f :50 feet of the ·bulk-head where' the Kltaterskilllay;:: The tire wasverympid, and haIf a:"dozen other buildings '.on the dock were speedUvconsumed.The 'Katterskillwas about 285 feet long. Her stem down river,and was within 5 or Gfeet of the line of the was ferry sIip: immediately: below;, $n whioh: the Coxsaekiewas then Personsbo:both boats the fire at about the Same time. The Kaatetsltill:was 'not under sMam; but the ferry-boat: having steam up, out of ',the slip to out bfdangc;. When fr6m 100 to 250 beyond the Kaatersklll j she was hailed by the captairt to come back and help her away. The captain of the ferry-boat' immediately ordered his boat turned ab6ut, and within a (\oU:ple bftninutes, the tide' being low ebb, and near slack; came back 00 the bow ()fthe Kaaterskm; anti made fast to her by a hawser, and towed her downriver OUt" of danger.:'There is great contradiction among the witnesses a8 i tOthe positionof.the Kaaterskill at :the time'when the Coxsackie took hold. I am satisfied, however, that the stem of the Kaaterskill was not down to the lower side of the ferry slip, so that she was by no means at that time out of extreme danger. The paint on the starboard, side of the Kaaterskill was blistered.. Many of the spiles on the north side of the ferry slip were' scorched or charred. Had not the afterwell out of.the way of part of the bulkpart of the head at the tIme when the easterly end of tho hay and straw store-house fell in, I haveJ:lq doubtthat she would have immediately taken fire from the mass of flame and heat which that fall let loose; and in that event she must have been very injured, if 110t wholly destroyed, as she had no adequate means of'putting out fire. ' The evidence shows that the eng of that. building feU in from 2 to 4: after the Coxsackie began towing the Kaaterskillaway. For, the fast steamer the General was about am'iIe and abalf'u.p river when.the fire 'broke o,ut, and came d'own at arrivingnt the ferry slip within 5 minutes; and at that time, as 'her witnesses, testify, the east end of. the had already fallen., The witnesses for the Kaaterskill say that, at the time when the Coxsaekie took hpld, the Kaaterskillhad beel), shoved away from the bulk-head first by band, and afterwardsby,the use of poles, probably about 10 or 12 fee,t. I(that was her position, she was probably in the 6uter margin of the eddy, which upon the ebb-tide makes up along the bulk-head, and had begun to set a little down river with the slight ebb there. Wh'enthe ferry-boat passed outo£ the slip, however, the Kaaterskill had not been moved; ahd in the sllort interval of a couple of minutes before the Coxsackie oook hold other it is not credible that she could have been shoved out by handand'got down river the considerable distancewpich many of her witnesses testify to. I find, as sworn to by the the Coxsackie, that when they came up and took hold of the Kaaterskill she was not so far down as to prevent the
THE ANNIE S. COOPER.
703
Coxsackie from entering her own slip had she chosen. Her whole afterpart was therefore liable to take fire as soon as the mass of flame should pour out from the east end of the falling warehouse, not more than 60 ;The service rendered by the Coxsackie;was therefore oithe :vaIl1e to the I<aaterskill. She was in ext1;eme danger; ing;"butrt1;le help of the Coxsackie, in my judgment, could saved injury, jf D!lt destruction. Though the Coxsackie was a her V;ery of only 'iH tons, worth about $8,000, she hL!dbeen employed;.before to assist the in moving, and her service ill t4js .instance was sufficient for the purpose. The I;lervicewas, however, short, probably less than halfan hour all told, and without danger to the Goxsapkie. One circumstance, however, m.ention. The master 0£: ,the ferry-boat,Who was apart owner oCher, was also the owner pf an ,hotel situated witb,irl;7l> feet of the burning warehouse and threateneq the fire. ,4cting upon the selfish.motives that are apt ofxnost men under such circulDstances, he would, to control, ferry-boa,tas Soon as possible to the nearest point of after safety; have,J;las,tened to look A.fter the safety of his hotel, without ing tQ:a:.elp others. Instead of doing this, he answered the; sumof and, after this salvage service, dropptld her in the sbreamjf,l$ BQ9n as she .was safe, and hurJie4 'to his hotel, to find it consumed. "Tliisconduct pelollgs to the cIasso(sel£.sacrificing and heroic actjonSj' Q.ll.'dshould. be compensated as such. ·'l'he Kaaterskill was worth.from $100,000 to.$140,OOO. I think. $2,500 will be a moderate 3ndsuitable for the service rendered, of which $1,200 should be awarded. to,the for the reasons above £ltated,$l"OOO to the owners oithe C9:xsackie, $300 to the other two officers ofthe Coxsac1de, in proportion to t!lj:),ir wages, with costs. A decree may be entered accordingl,y.
TaB ANNIE S. CooPEB. Umn (1)Istrlct STATES 1I·· THE
S.
CooPER.
E. D. touiriana.
December'15, 1891.)
BIIIl'PING REGULATIONS-LIGHTs-ToWING Loa-RAFT.
Rev. St. U. S. § 4233, rule 4, providing that "steam-vessels, when towing other vessels, shall carry two bright white mast-head lights vertically, in addition to their side-lights. so as to distinguish them from other steam-vessels, "applies to a steam-tug towing a raft of logs, though such raft may not come strictly within Rev. St. U. S. § 8, declaring that" the word ·vessel' includes every description of water-craft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. "
In Admiralty. Libel of information against the steam-tug Annie S. Cooper for failure to carry the lights required by law while towing a log-raft. Libel dismissed.