Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 1.djvu/901

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

BUÏTGE V. 6TEAMSHIP UTOPIA. 89S �don to New York. Bhe waa a passenger and fi-eigliting steam- ship of 1,700 tons, and running in a regular Une. Her length was about 350 feet. The bark waa loaded with a fuU cargo of petroleum and stavea, and was on a voyage from New York to Eotterdam. �The libels aver that the bark, when she sighted the steamer was sailing east by south, with ail sails set exeept the stud- ding sails, and that the wind was south-west, and that the bark waa making a speed of seven miles an hour, or there- about. �The anawers aver that the wind was about south-west, S. W. by S., and blowing a good full-sail breeze. An attempt was made upon the trial, on the part of the claimants, to ahow that the wind, at the time of the collision, waa S. W. by W. J W. ; but by a great preponderance of the testimony it was shown that the wind was not at ail to the westwardly of Southwest, and this effort to show that it was so bas no support in the proofs, and is in conHict with the answers. It must therefore be taken as a fact in the case that the wind was south-west. �The faets of the collision are thus stated in the libel: "The weather was very foggy, and a competent lookout waa atationed on the bow, by whom three loud blasts of a fog- hom continued to be blown at very short intervais, and by whom, also, a càreful lookout was kept. A competent man was also at the wheel, the master was walking on the main deck, and the boatswain and a seaman were also forward, and ail were listening carefully for signais, etc. At a few minutes past 5 o'clock the lookout descried through the fog the sail of a vessel right ahead, and immediately reported such sail right ahead. �"The master, hearing the report, ran to the forward deck and saw the sail ahead, and for a moment he aupposed it to be a fishing vessel at anchor — that being a locality where the presence of auch a veasel at anchor might reasonably be ex- peoted. On that supposition he called to the man at the wheel to put the wheel to starboard, but almost immediately, and before the order to starboard could be obeyed, he saw ��� �