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THE MARINE RECORD. ae MARITIME LAW. THOMAS vs. STEAMSHIP FLORENCE. U. S. District Court, Southern District of New York. SALVAGE—TOWAGE—STEAMER WITH BROKEN PROPEL- LER SHAFT—AWARD.—The steamship Florence, when out two days from Newport News, broke her propeller shaft, but by means of her sails, had arrived at that point within 140 miles of Sandy Hook. Here the steam- ship Parkmore, from Baltimore to Liverpool, came up in answer to the Florence’s signals of distress and towed her to New York. The Parkmore was delayed by the towage about five days; there were no especial circum- stances of difficulty or loss, and no passengers aboard . either steamer; the Florence was getting near Sandy Hook, where abundant help could have been had; since the passage of the harbor act of Feb. 13, 1893, a vessel is authorized to deviate for the purposes of salvage; the Florence and cargo were worth $240,000; the Parkmore and cargo $460,000. Held, that $8,500 and expenses should be awarded as salvage, Brown, J. At about 6 p. m. of Saturday, October 24, 1894, the libelant’s steamship Parkmore, bound from Baltimore to Liverpool, went to the assistance of the steamship Florence, in answer to her signals of distress, and thereafter took her in tow and brought her to the harbor of New York, where they arrived off quarantine at 1:20 p. m. of the 29th. The above libel was filed to recover salvage compensation. The Florence had left New Orleans on October 6th, bound for Bremen, with a cargo of cotton and cotton seed meal. Meeting with bad weather, she had subse- quently put into Key West, and afterwards coaled at Newport News, which she hadleft on October 22d. On the 24th, at 1.30 p. m. her propeller shaft broke in the stern tube, at a point 7 feet 3 inches from the aft end. She was at that time somewhat out of the course of most ocean steamers, but setting all sail during the following three days, making about 50 or 60 miles a day on a zig- zag course, she had arrived to within about 140 miles of Sandy Hook, when the Parkmore sighted her and took her in tow as above stated. A new manilla hawser was supplied by the Parkmore, which was once broken dur- ing the night in a rough sea, and the towage was nec- essarily suspended until the morning. The Florence also steered badly, which added somewhat to the diffi- culty of towage, and the towing bits on the starboard _ quarter of the Parkmore were torn away. The actual time of towage was about 33 hours; and the time from sighting the Florence until anchorage in New York, about 44 hours. The whole detention of the Parkmore occasioned by her deviation was between four to five days. Neither vessel had passengers on board, except that the Parkmore had some cattlemen in charge of the 400 cattle that formed a part of her cargo. The agreed value of the vessels and cargoes were: The Parkmore, $175,000, her cargo $285,000; the Flor- ence in her damaged condition, $60,000, her cargo $170,- 000; total, Parkmore and cargo, $460,000 ; the Florence arid cargo, $240,000. The extra expenses incurred by the Parkmore, including pilotage, port charges, coal, pro- visions, feed for cattle, and injury to her cable and bitts amounted to $1,845.42. Her ordinary charter demurrage was about $300 per day, and her officers and crew num- bered 38. . The general circumstances of the salvage service were not such as not to call for very high compensation. Aside from the circumstances above mentioned of the breaking of the cable and the bitts, there were no special circum- stances of difficulty or loss; and the work of connecting the cable with the Florence in the rough sea was mainly done by the men belonging to the Florence. In fixing the amount of the award in this, as in all other salvage cases, I have endeavored to apply the rule laid down by*Mr. Justice Bradley, in the case of The Suliote, 5 Fed., 99, 102, as one of the best expressions of the objects to be kept in view in salvage awards: “Salvage,” he says, ‘‘should be regarded in the light of compensation and reward, and not in the light of prize. Thelatter is more like a gift of fortune conferred without regard to the loss or sufferings of the owner, who is a public enemy, whilst salvage is the reward - granted for saving the property of the unfortunate, and should not exceed that which is necessary to insure the most prompt, energetic, and daring effort of those who have it in their power to furnish, aid and succor. Any- thing beyond that would be foreign to the principals and purposes of salvage; anything short of it, would not secure its objects. The courts should be liberal, but not extravagant; otherwise, that which is intended as an encouragement to rescue property from destruction may become a temptation to subject it to peril.” See The Alaska, 26 Fed., 597, 613, 614, and cases there’sited; The Leisic, 20 Blatch., 268. See also The New Orleans, 23 Fed. 909, 911, and The Dapuy de Lome, 60 do. 921, 925 as tothe encouragement of salvage services through stiitable rewards to masters and crews. I have carefully considered the circumstances urged by counsel, including the possible danger from the wheel, had heavy storms been encountered; and on the other side, the fact that here there were no passengers on either vessel; that the Florence was not wholly help- less, but under sail, and was getting so near Sandy Hook that abundant other help soon would have been offered her; and also the further circumstance that since the passage of the Harbor Act of February 13, 1893 (2 Sup. R. S., 81) a vessel is authorized to deviate for the purposes of salvage, without incurring any responsibil- ity to cargo for so doing; so that less consideration than formerly is now to be given to the value of the cargo of the salving vessel. Taking all the circumstances into view, my conclusion is that the sum of $8,500 will be a suitable award, besides the sum of $1,845.42 for extra expenses as above Stated, which sums are accordingly allowed. Of the sum first named 4-5 will be awarded to the owners, and but 1-5 to the officers and crew, from the fact that the additional labor imposed on them was comparatively small, From’ the latter sum $500, is awarded to the master, and $150 to the chief engineer; and the residue of the 1-5 to the other officers and to the crew in proportion to their wages. Decree accordingly, with costs. January 2, 1895. eo AMPL!TUDES. The following approximate amplitudes of the sun’s rising will be given each week in this column during the season ®mavigation. A’ second bearing of the sun may be taken at sunset by reversing the bearings to read west instead of east, as for example, N. E. by E. for a sunrise bearing would read N. W. by W. for a sun- set, or BE. 30° N. to W. 30° N. LAKE ERIE AND S. END LAKE MICHIGAN, LAT. 42° N. Sunrise. Bearing (degrees). Bearing (points). MU Gr eee Ky. 32° N. NE. by E. % E. JithynOese eae eee E. 30° N NE. by BE. & E. END HURON AND CENTER LAKE MICH- LAKE ONTARIO, S. : IGAN, LAT. 44° N. Sunrise. Bearing (degrees). Bearing (points). Duly oc es EB. 33° N. NE. by EK. % E. July On cae eas E. 31°. N. NE. by E. & E. N. END LAKES HURON AND MICHIGAN, LAT. 46° nN. Sunrise. Bearing (degrees). Bearing (points). JUS ency ree neers E. 34° N. - NE. by E. Fl yedlOe nics csvset EK. 33° N NE. by E. % E. LAKE SUPERIOR, LAT. 48° N. Sunrise. Bearing (degrees). Bearing (points). Sly eee aes EF. 36° N. NE. % E. Tuliy Owes anne K. 34° N NE. by E. With a compass correct magnetic, the difference be- tween the observed and true bearing will be the varia- tion for the locality. If there is any deviation on the course the vessel is heading at the time of taking the bearing, the result after the variation is applied will be the amount of deviation on that course. rr GAS BUOYS. Commander Charles V. Gridley, U.S. N., inspector of the tenth lighthouse district stationed at Buffalo has received two Pintsch gas buoys which, it is understood will eventually be located at the most exposed points on Lake Brie, between Buffalo and Erie. They are the first two buoys of this character that have been ordered for the lakes, although they are being used with success at various seaports and by,the principalforeign maritime departments. The gas buoys are made in different sizes and capacities but they will burn steadily for 176 consecutive days and experience has demonstrated that they cannot be extinguished by the most violent gale or the wildest sea. Each buoy weighs 5,860 pounds, iseight feet six inches in diameter, and 20 feet long. ‘The light rides 11 feet above the water, and on-aclear night can beseen a distance of from eight to ten miles from the deck of a ship. The light-house board approves of these aids to navi- gation and is prepared to furnish them on the Great Lakes as aids to navigation; but congressmen from the lake districts have so far failed to fully appreciate the necessity for the use of them, aud Congress has not called upon the appropriation committee for the money with which to purchase the gas buoys, or at least as many as could be used to advantage. CUTTING GASKETS. Some engineers think they cannot cut out a pair of compasses, a sharp knife and plenty of time. In many instances none of the requisites are at hand. For a plate flange lay the sheet of packing smoothly in position and with a ball pene hammer cut through one of the bolt holes; twoor three fairly struck blows will drive out a circular piece of packing, anda bolt may be put through the hole. Another bolt hole is cut out diametrically opposite the first, and a second bolt placed in position; then proceed to cut out the rest of the bolt holes, then trim off the outside of the flange, striking with the face of the hammer, making the corner of the flange do the cutting. After this is finished the inside of thecutting may becutout. It does not improve the engineer’s temper to find that he has forgotten to cut out the, center of a flange gasket, and has to take down one of two connections to remove the fragments of rubber after steam pressure has torn a hole through it. For a hose union, cut a circle with a pocket knife then slip over the end of the union and twist the pack- ing back and forth a few times with the fingers. The shape of the union will be plainly marked around the under side of the packing. By following the line thus marked with a knife, a neat packing can be quickly cut out. A pipe union can be cut ina similar manner, ex- cept a little hammering is needed around the outer sur- face of the sheet of packing to mark thereon the shape of the gasket. A cylinder head gasket, when one is necessary, may be marked in the same manner ‘as a flange gasket, after which it is better to strike the circle with a pair of compasses and carefully cut away with a knife to avoid possible damage to the cylinder head. Steam chest packing may have the bolt holes cut with a hammer, but care should be used or the threads will be damaged so that the studs will not go in place easily. —The Tradesman, LITERARY NOTES. Mr. Poultney Bigelow, a guest of the German Em- peror on his yacht at Kiel, will supply an article on the fetes for Harper's Weekly. The article will be richly illustrated. The high-water mark of pictorial interest in the Napoleon Life, now running in The Century, is reached in the July number, which will contain among its illus- trations a picture by Myrbach, of Bonaparte and his generals at the Tivoli Garden in Cairo; a spirited pic- ture of the Battle of Aboukir, by Checa; and ‘‘Jose- phine at the Door of Napoleon’s Chamber,’’ by Pape, all original drawings made especially. for this work; also reproductions of Gerome’s ‘‘Bonaparte in Egypt,” Sergeant’s ‘‘Kleber at the Assault of Acre,’ ‘*The As- sassination of Kleber at Cairo,’’ by Callias, Bouchot’s “Bonaparte at the Council of the Five Hundred at St. Cloud,’’ ‘Installation of the Council of State,’ by Couder, aud portraits of Cambaceres, Lebrum, Joubert, Gohier, Barras, Lanusse, and Kleber, and of Napoleon as first Consul and as a member of the Institute. “The Design, Construction and Maintenance of a Marine Boiler’’ is the subject of a very interesting and instructive pamphlet of some 30 pages, prepared for the assistance of captains and officers intending to take examinations prescribed by the British authorities for steamship certificates. It is illustrated with diagrams gaskets with- and examples of useful computations, and presents “much data that has resulted from the observation and experiment of recent years. London, published by the Shipping World, Kiffingham House, Arundel street, W. C.; price 3 pence. —_ rrr ro) AMPHIBIOUS. In the French River country, for towing logs on the lakes and swamps inthe rivers, they use a steamboat called an ‘‘alligator’’ 30 feet long, 10 feet beam and 3% feet sides built strong and with three standing keels eight or ten inches below the bottom. ‘These are steel shod something after the style of a sled. The equip- ments are paddle wheels on the side, anda drum with one-half mile of steel wire cable. The boat is run ahead and anchored to the shore or in the shoaler spots. The cable is attached to the raft and wound up with the drum. When they come to a rapids that cannot be run, the cable is run up on the portage and the steamboat goes overland on the keels mentioned, the boiler being kept level with a screw aud they quickly move over a place a wagon could not run on.