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. Ihe Marine Record. in this work, except the mate, wheelsman and lookout, who were at their respective posts of duty. The master says he crdered this to be done so that fog whistles might be OBM1CIAL NUMBERS AND SIGNAT. LETTERS. HT ressuky DeparTMENT, BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, WASHINGTON, July 26, 1886 To the Editor of the Marine Record: Fonowing is alist of merohant vessels of the United States to which official numbers and signal letters were assigned by the Bureau of Navigation, Treasury Department, during the MARITIME LAW. COLLISION—*CHOONER UNDER SAIL AND SCHOONER IN TOW—ERROR IN LOCATING VESSELS BY SOUND—CHANGE OF COURSE IN | More plainly heard and sounds located. He| week ended July 24, 1886: os Gan oe & S ; ; | Omemier Smal clase Tonnage. . ¥OG—LIGHTED TORCH. further testifies that he took the bearings | Oficial Signal 5 District Court, S. D, New York. June 15,|0f every whistle of the Oregon, and that | Number. Letters. Rig. | Name of Vessel. Gross, Net. Home Port, 1886. ‘ when he heard the first whistle it bore south, | is : : SAIL VESSELS. [Continued from last week.] | of the Mott. The next appeared to} 106,430... :Abbie Dees, 89.99 85 5° Lake Charles, La. In the case of the Pennsylvania, 19 Wall; beara little west of south, and another | 126,367: . woeen ke ae o- — Cal : y y y ! ’ . i t,7 | ¢ ’ ‘eo 125, the supreme court said that whatis ,southwest by west from the Mott, fag litre Pens. wage 515 baker ki - moderate epeed ‘‘may not be precisely de- | two or two and one-half points abaft of her 8s 931... [George H. Davenport, 57 36) 54.50\Columbia Falls. Me. pe 4 nable. It must depend upon the circum | beam. In this he is corroborated by others 140,833: ‘Louisa, 6 99) ee Charleston. S. C. , his d| 91.854, ‘Mabel 49) -17: Camden, N. J. : stances of each case. That may be moderate| Of the crew, who heard the whistle, an 91.854: : : sk ‘i ft Gal ivdwuies ‘Rebeoca T, Ruark. 10.51 9 98:' -ambridge, Me, ‘ and reasonable in some circumstances which | noticed its bearings, but eC UENY. not with HOLD ‘ins S feck 1399.40 1361.22 Detroit, Mich. 7 would be quite immoderate in others. But} the care of the master. He ‘says he cone! gear. Whistler, 5 84. 5 §5i Rartatahile, Mack ak urpose of the requirement being to |Cluded the steamer was going west, and OV CNG cee ee :Yolande, 9-77 9 28’ Boothbay, Me. i as : f hi ] } that theref it iets i : STEAM VESSELS. ; i e uard against danger of collisions, very | astern of his vessel, an: a eretore | i i is sm Bearers re : ae . 1 3 h 1 should be aduced was safe for the Mott to keep her course.) 106.427:.............;St.s. | ;AnnaL Sloan, 17-39) 9 79: Buffalo, N. Y. | plainly, 10g |, speod, ‘shio ‘ sand di nea Ot d | 106,428: St. p. :Al Martin, 96.68) 96 68: Cincinnati, O. .4 as the risk of vessels is increased. In Although the courses and distances 0 soun | 107. 420; St. yt. tAnna F. Onen, ---.| 35 32\Vdutigsiown. NW: . the case of the Europa, Jenkins, Rule of the |i® Such circumstances are ap: to be mislead te de fe RE St. p. :Diana, 31.96 31.96: Evansville, Ind. 4 { Road at Sea, 52, it was said by the privy |ing, from the best evidence the master had : St.p. _:Frank'e Folsom, 37.48 36 ale Paul, Minn. ‘ | moter’ ae : 4 ; iSt. s. ‘Fannie, 220.01) = 133 3©: Wilmington, Del. ae | council: ‘This may be safely laid down as of the Appeal Gene and aii “ist.yt. {Hinda, 58.58] 34 90 New Yok. N. Y. <| a rule on all occasions, fog or clear, light or | care he exercised, : think he was jrstifiec St. s. iLeRoy, 7-50) 6.00'St. Paul Minn. t dark, that no steamer has aright to navigate in continuing mi his course. Erroneously St. p :Nantucket, 629 03} 468 51 New Bedf rd, Mass, i be ‘i i 8 is ?Portsmouth, 214.35} 107,18: Wilmington. Del,* . at such arate that it is impossible for her ! locating a vessel by the sound of her whistle St. 8 ith ng , t vent damage, taking all precautions|in a fog is not necessarily a fault. The St p. _/R. E. Phillips, 84 06 79 60: Wheeling, W. Va. 4 oO preven Be, axing B L 21 Fed. Rep. 656 NSE: 3 iZingara, ! 22 14 13 45:New York, N. Y, } at the moment she sees danger to be pos- BEARD, ed. hep. 000. : i ! UNRIGG’D VESSELS, | B a sible; and if she cannot do that without] Lights could not beseen. The master had iChemist, 132.36] 125.75 New York. N Y. i) Mee i is ssel was on iJoe i Ban 74.11: LaCrosse, Wis, q oing less than five knots an hour, then she | t0 be guided by sound. His vesse Joe, : i y oc aa to go at less than five knots an|the starboard tavk, and the circumstances Omaha, : Baie $8 289 66: New Y. rk. N.Y. hour, * * * ’” “And,” says the court | Might well lead him to the conclusion that Jarvis Parren. Commissioner of Navigution, further, “even if it were trne that such a|&Change of course would increase the |= — — ———————— rate [speaking of seven miles an hour] was necessary for safe steerage, it would not justify driving the steamer through so dense a fog, along a route so much frequented, and when the probability of encountering other vessels was so great. [t would rather have been her duty to lay to.’’ In the case of the Western Metropolis, 7 Blatehf. 214, Woodruff, J., held that if the night was either so dark or so foggy that, by slowing, stopping, and backing as soon as the schooner was observed, the collision eould not be avoided, then the steamer was moving at too great speed. The case of the Eleanora, 17 Blatchf, 88, is directly in point upon this question. There, as appears by the opinion of Judge Blatchford, then judge of the district court, (pages 91, 92) the steamer, when the fog was very dense, came on, reduced her speed to five and a half miles an hour. The master, first mate, two seamen, and a lookout were z attentively for sounds of fog s and looking attentively for lights. er the steamer nor the vessel collided ith became conscious of the presence of the ther until just before the collision. Judge steamer had been going at less or had gone. ahead ashort distance, then stopped stilland listened, and thus her speea. or her passage from point ‘point through the intervening space, and jot merely her running rate while in four- ward motion, that ‘moderate speed’ which the statute requires, it is qnite apparent that, blowing her whistle continually, at roper intervals, the blast would have been Powe? beeea by the schooner, and answered by i the fog horn over the starbourd side of the eee : schooner, in sufficient season for the steamer ie to have stopped and backed, and be brought to astand still, before reaching the schvoner. Therefore the steamer was in fault as to her speed. This view was approved on appeal by Mr. Chief Justice Waite, who said: “A simple slackening of speed by a steam- er in a fog is not always enough. She must . run at a moderate speed, and is never justified in coming in collision with another vessel, if it be possible to avoid it. This im- - plies such a speed only as is consistent. with the utmost caution. Having complete con- trol of herself, and being capable of so much damage if a collision does take place, the law has imposed on her the obligation of so di- recting her own movements, in the midst of the uncertainties of a fog at sea, as to be at all times under easy command. If she fails in this, she must suffer the consequences. Her rate of speed must be graduated accord- ing to the circumstances, The more dense the fog, the greater the necessity for moder- ation. Ihe object is to keep her, if possible, under such control that she can be stopped after another vessel, with which she is in danger of collision, may be seen, or other- wise diseovered,.”’ This case in many of its material facts is remarkably similar to that at bar with re- spect to both the speed of the steamer and the duty of the schooner to display a torch light, and may well be considered authorita- tive upon the questions decided. 2. Was the Mottin fault? The testimony i shows, in the first place, that she was suffi- ciently manned, and that the measures which were taken by the master for her safe navigation were such as good seamanship prompted. When he came on deck at 11:80, ae which was at least 45 miautes before the au collision, he took a position on the roof of the cabin, and, after the necessary observa- tions, and before the Oregon’s whistle was heard, he directed the watch below to be called to shorten sail. The mizzen sail was reefed, and the light sails were clewed up. All hands were on deck, and were engaged hazard. The Mott was going at a moderate rate-of speed, and as soon as the master knew of the immediate proximity of the steamer, and perceived that a collision was imminent, be put the wheel of his vessel down, and luffed her up into the wind, Upon the liability to mistake, and the possible causes of mistake, in locating a vessel by the sound of the fog signals, see the very interesting opinion of Judge Brown, of the Southern district of New York, fn the case of the Lepanto, supra. Upon a careful examination of the evi- dence, lam convinced that there was no neglect on the part of the lookout of the Mott in the use of the fog horn. Before the master came on deck, and from the time the fug came on, the horn was suffi- ciently sounded. The lookout stood forward on the starboard side. It is true that the mate and lookout, before the watch below were called, took in the jib topsail and fore gaff top ail, but this was at about 11:30 o’clock, and before the whistle of the Oregon was heard; and, according to the testimony, the lockout was thus engaged only two or three minutes, and the work did not eall. him but a few feet away from the place on deck which he occupied as lookout. When the whistle of the Oregon was first heard the master says he directed the lookout to blow long and distinct blasts, and that this was done, The second mate and the lookout went out on the jibboom, and furled the jib topsail while others of the crew were doing other work ‘on deck, but during this time the mate had the horn, and continued the blasts at short and regular intervals, This was about 12 o’clock, and a careful review of the evidence satisfied me that there was no want of diligence in the use of the horn from the time the fog came on, soon after 10 o’clock, down to the time of the collision. The Mott did not show a torch light, and, under the decisions, this, I think, was a fault which throwe upon her a share of the responsibility for the collision. Section 4234 of the Revised Statutes provides that every sail vessel ‘‘sball, on the approach of any steam vessel during the night time, show a lighted torch upon that point or quarter to which such steam vessels shall be approach- ing.” Itis only where it clearly appears that the exhibition of a torch light could not have served any useful purpose, or given any additional information as to the position or course of a sailing vessel, that the Omission to comply with this section can be held to be immaterial. The Margaret, 3 Fed. Rep. 870; the Leopard, 2 Low. 241; Kennedy v. the Sarmatian, 2 Fed. Rep. 911. If it is doubtful whether the exhibition ot a torch light would or would not have con- veyed information to the steamer for avoid- ing a collision, then the doubt must be re- solved against the vessel which failed to comply with the statutory requirement. . I cannot find as a fact in this case thata torch shown by the Mott would not have been seen by those on board the Oregon; and for this reason, if for no other, I must find the Mott guilty of contributory fault. The Crawford, 6 Fed. Rep. 911; the Excelsior, 12 Fed. Rep. 208. The witnesses differ as to the distance a light could be seen on the occasion in ques- tion. The second mate of the Mott says the lights of the steamer could not be seen plainly 200 teet away. The lookout says a toreh light could not have been seen through fog more than the distance of a vessel’s 100 feet. The master of the Oregon thinks it might have loomed up 500 feet oft. The waster of the Mott knew, from the repeated whistles, that there was a steamer iu the neighborhood, He could not locate her, but he had ocvasion to know that it was possible she might be near by, although the sound of her signals indicated that she was going off to westward. It was an occasion for the greatest precaution, In the case of the Eleanora, supra, the schooner had her colored lights set and burning, but Judge Blatehford found as a fact that they were not seen at any time from the steamer, nor could they, or the lights of the steamer, have been seen, in such a fog as prevailed, at any uveful distance. The master of the schooner came on deck very shortly before the collision. The per- sons on deck were listening and looking. They had a fog horn, and it was being blown at proper intervals. In the opinion of the court, Mr. Chief Justice Waite said that the schooner ‘‘was sailing in what she knew, or ought to have ktiown, was a common thoroughfare of approaching steam vessels atthe time. Their fog signals were heard from various directions, and she was head- ing ona course crossing their regular tracks. The statutory tule isimperative. * * * No sailing vessel has a right to disregard this regulation because she thinks it unim- portant. If she knows of the approach of a steam vessel, she must exhibit the light, or take the risks of loss occasioned by its absence. * * * ITfexhibited, possibly the the torch might not have been seen far enough away to have done any good, but such a possibility furnishes no excuse to the vessel for its »bsence. Nothing short of an absolute certainty that it could do no good, to be established by proof on the trial, will justify an omission to obey the rule. Ina fog, all vessels must do all that is required of them by law or usage. While more is de- manded of a steamer than a sailing vessel, it is as important that the sailing vessel should obey the rule prescribed for her as that the steamer should not neglect those which are to govern her, Actual safety is depen dent upon astrict performance by each ofall their respectiveduties, * * * It was not proper to assume that the torcb- light would have done no good. It was her duty to exhibit such a signal, and, under the circumstances of the case I cannot but consider it a fault that she omitted to do so.”? Applying to the case in hand the rule thus laid down, the conclusion must be that the Mott cannot be exonerated from faultin the respect named. As the Oregon and the Mott are both found to have been in fault, let there bea decree dividing the damages. V—_—_—_——— LITERARY NOTICES. Tue Avuaust Century.—In keeping with the season, the *‘Midsummer holiday”? Cen- tury is noticeable for richly illustrated arti- cles and fiction, Of the former, the opening paper is an entertaining description of ‘Al- giers and its Suburbs,”? A sketch portrait of John Burroughs is the trontispiece of the number, and Miss Edith M. Thomas con- tributes a short paper on “John Burroughs and his Last ‘T'wo Books.”? Charles G. Le- land gives the romance of “A Gipsy Beauty,” the famous Charlotte Cooper, whose portrait by Leslie is reproduced in a full-page en- graving. In the seventh part of ‘“The Min- ister’s Charge” Mr. Howells reveals his country hero, Lemuel Barker, troubled with a sense of doing menial service and anxious to be understood as not engaged to Statira. In the war series, “he Battle of Fredericks- length. The master places the distance at|burg” gives scope for varied and stirring illustration. General James Longstreet con- tributes the title paper and the Confederate view. The Union assaults upon the memor- able stone wall are described by General Darius N.Couch, who was virtually in com- mand on the field of *Sumner’s ‘Right Grand Division;’’? General William F. Smith writes anecdotally of the part taken by “Franklit’s ‘Lett Grand Division,’ ?’ There are five full-page pictures among the thirty-four war illustrations of the number. Dr. Washington Gladden writes of the ques- tion, ‘Is it Peace or War??? as regards the relations of capital and labor. St. NicHoLas For Aucusr goes out of doors to seek congenial topics for its read- ers, who are spending their vacations by the ; Sea, awong the mountains or in country homes. ‘he frontispiece, by Mary Hallock Foote, gives us a bright glimpse of child- life at the seaside, while the opening article, “A Rocky Mountain Hermit,” by Alfred Terry Bacon, is a delighttul account of a Robinson Crusoe summer spent among the ; birds, the beasts and the mountains of Wy- ~ oming. Ripley Hitehecosk, who wrote last month about ‘Fly-fishing for ‘Vrout,’? con- tributes in‘ A Royal Fish,’?’ a description of the methods and the joys of salmon fishing. A new and original outdoor gaine, called “Regatta,” is described by Frank Bellew. In spite of its nautical name, it is played ashore, though it has a strong sea flavor. The “Work and Play” department is also of an amphibious ‘character this month, and contains ‘*A Rope Yarn, spun by an Old Sailor,’’? C. W. Miller, who describes some of the most useful knots and splices em- ployed by mariners, but applicable to ter- restrial purposes. Of the serials, ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy,” is continued in an in- stallment in which the plot against the, hero is still further developed. Rose Lattimore Alling carries “Nan’s Revolt” torward in twoclever chapters. “The Kelp-gatherers’’ find strange things cast up by the sea. Horace E. Scudder takes ‘George Washing- ton” through the year 1783, pee A MODEL YACHT TO BE BUILT. The recent narrow escape of the crew of the yacht Arrow makes the building of safe yachts an important consideration to the lovers of yachting in this city. Captain D. P. Dobbins has for some time been prepar- ing plans for the building of a yacht for some young men, relatives and acquaint-— ances of his, who wished to rely on his knowledge of marine architecture to secure for them a boat which would combine speec with safety. This Captain Dobbins intends to do, and if his present plans are carried out he will have a model yacht. The plans are all ready except the model, which will ; not be selected until after the great yacht _ race soon to be held in the east. The cap: tain has a strong liking for the model of the Puritar, which is neither a “skimming- ; dish” like the Alarm, of the Buffalo Yecke ue Club, nor a deep-keel bout like the Genesta, but combining the best points of the two classes. ‘lhe new boat will be built of such a size as to enter the first class in the yacht. club, her length being 30 feet and her beam _ 8 feet. She will have a regular cutterric- — ging, with main sail, forestuysail and jib, gaff topsail, jib topsail, and spinnaker. ‘Th pattern of the Dobbins lifeboat will. adopted to a certain extent in the yacht. " will be double-decked, the space below the water line deck being made solid with Lake _ Superior cork pine, a dry deck, as it -is called, being built several inches abo thi The principal peculiarity about her constru tion will be this solid bottom bel water line, and the insertion of tw concave sliding keels running throug extra heavy oak standing keel. These will be worked by gearing, under the trol of the man at the helm, who dle both easily. A steel centerbo d also be placed in her, but this will be ta’ out of her when she sails in race rear ere relied upon to The ballast, if any may be needec sist of lead bolted ms the. _ standing keel, rp slab of lead run coutrol of the man at th placed between the two being had with it by the oe PAPEL ase!