Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 2.djvu/817

 810 FEDERAL REPORTER. �his opinion that under such a state of the case the Calkins could strike the Mason from forward aft. The witnesses who were on the vessel at the time of the collision are not wholly united in recollection or understanding of the precise man- ner in which the Calkins struck the Mason, and it cannot be assumed, as an absolute certainty, that the blow was received wholly from aft forward. It is, however, true that some of the libellant's witnesses so state. The question, as put to experts and answered by them in the negative, assumes that the position of the Mason on a S. S. W. course remained unchanged to the very moment of the collision. It assumes the vessels to be a certain distance apart, and that the Calkins described a circle in her movement after crossing the Mason's course, and in such movement came up into the wind's eye, or nearly so. Now, it is to be borne in mind that the wheel of the Mason was put hard down when a collision was imminent, so that she was coming up in the wind and could not have been pointing S. S. W. at the moment when Btruck. Both vessels were in motion, and the Calkins was moving under a helm that had changed her course from N. ^ W. to N. E. by E. ^ E. It is by no means certain, from the testimony, that she ceased luf&ng even at that point, because it is evident that the luffing movement was most persisently adhered to, and even when the hail of the two vessels was exchanged the master of the Calkins renewed his order to put the wheel hard down. So that, from these movements of the two vessels, it would appear that in this respect the .question put to experts omits conditions which existed in the case. Further, the distance that the vessels were apart cannot be stated with certainty. If nearer than supposed, the movement of the Calkins would be less descriptive of a circle ; and it is evident from the testimony that her change of course was abrupt and decisive, and was made under full eail and speed, as stated by one of respondent's witnesses. If the Calkins could make such a movement and strike the Mason on a S. S. W. course, from forward aft, then it is not difficult to understand, especially if at the moment of col- lision the two vessels were pressing up into the wind, as the ����