Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 1.djvu/910

 903 FEDEEAL RBPOETEB, �to move his wlieel; that he immediately looked forward agaîn, and lie saw the huU ot the vessel ahead, and saw it was a steamer, and the boatswain at the s'ame moment exclaimed that it was a steamer, and that she was keeping off; that he jmmediately gave the order to the wheelsman to luff — that is to starboard; that the bark had not then altered her course under the order to keep off; that there was not time to get the wheel over; that under the second order the bark luffed about two points ; that he gave this order to co-operate •with the steamer in her movements ; that if he had kept his course the steamer would have struok the bark on the star- board quarter; that immediately after giving the second order he ordered the rest of the crew called from below, the danger was so imminent. �The testimony of the man at the helm confirma that of the master as to the movements of the wheel; that the wheel was not got over under the first order, and the course of the bark was not altered by it. �The testimony of ail the witnesses from the bark goes strongly to show that the vessels were very near together when first seen; that the speed of the steamer was very great ; that the time after sighting her was very short, and the suc- cession of events very rapid. The testimony of those on the bark is positive as to her course; that it was east by south, the wind being south-west; that until she luffed, just before the collision, her course was not to the southwardly of this ; that she had been keeping that course steadily till she sighted the steamer. �The first contested question of fact is as to the course of the bark before she was sighted by the steamer. I think there is no doubt that those who observed her on the steamer thought she was on a course crossing that of the steamer to the southward when they first made her. This is not only the concurrent testimony of seven witnesses, but the fact is strongly sustained by the order of the master of the steamer to put the wheel "hard a-port." Her bearing from the steamer is shown to have been a very little on the starboard bow, biit nearly ahead and coming towards them, the coursa ��� �