Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 4.djvu/210

 1^6 ffEDEBAIi BBFOBTZB. �teenth of April; that the maàffer then anfl there delîvereiï the veSselto Doig to be by him navigàted, etc., as pilot aa afore- said, * * * over the said' Co!umbia river bar and to Astoria, as aforesaid ; that said Doig reeeived the vessel, etc., into his exclusive charge as such pilot," etc. �The indietment further avers, in substance, that the night was too dark to admit of the vessel being safely navigated ; that it was the duty of said Doig, as pilot as aforesaid, to detain the vessel outside the said bar until she could be navi- gated in safety; that he neglected his duty in thatbehalf, and that he then and there misconducted himself as euch pilot, and nfegligently undertook then and there to take and navi- gàte the said vessel in said darkness over the said Columbia river bar, and to Astoria aforesaid, and that by reason of his said miseonduct, negligence, and inattention to his duty as pilot as aforesaid, he, the said Thomas Doig, as such pilot, ran the said vessel ashore on Sand island, in said Columbia river, and said vessel was then and there wrecked and lost, and the certain persons, whose names are to the jurors. un- known, were by the said miseonduct, etc., of sàid Thomas Doig, as pilot as aforesaid, then and there drowned ; that by reason of said miseonduct, etc., and the destruction of the lives of said officers, the said Doig became, and was, and is guHty of manslàughter, contrary to the form of the statutes, etc. The section of the Eevised Statutes under which this indictment is drawn, is, so far as is material to this case, in substance as foUows: "Everycaptain,engineer,piZo«, * * • by whose miseonduct, negligence, or inattention to his duties the lif e of any person is destroyed, * * • ehall be deemed guilty of manslàughter." �It is not sufficient, under this statute, that the officer bas been guilty of miseonduct, negligence, and inattention to duty. Human life must have been destroyed. The destruction of life is the essence of the ofifence. Miseonduct, however gross, is innocent under this section unless it be the cause of the manslàughter. It is evident, therefore, that the offender is guilty, not when the miseonduct or negligence occurred, (it may be at the beginning of the voyage or trip of the steamer,) ����