Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 4.djvu/354

 3^Q. ;/F8DBflAIi BBPOBXBB. : �the exercise of reasonable skill! and care on the part of the master of the tug? This question is clearly and concisely answered by the district judge in his opinion, which I adopt : "Was there carelessness in taking the Dudman along? If, . as alleged, her steering qualities were so bad as to render her virtually unmanageable in the river, and the respondent was aware of this, there was. That she was a bad steerer — indeed, very bad — is abundantly shown. The witnesses agree respecting it. The master of the tug says she 'steered badly; sheered ail over the river going down, first on one quarter and then on the other of the Eebecca;' and the mate of the tug says she 'steered wildly going down the river.' Captain Wilkins, called by the respondent, says she steered so badly that it required two boatsto take her down the Schuylkill; and when the respondent ïset and took her in tow on this occasion she was being thus conducted by the joint efforts of two tugs. That the respondent was aware of her peculiarity in this respect is equally clear, He had towed her before, and knew she steered badly; he so testi&es. It does not appear that he ever towed her in company with another ves- sel before this occasion, or atteffipted to do soj and, if he had been without such previous knowledge, what he observed in passing down the river should have warned him of the danger of taking such a, tow through the narrow, shallow channel near Newcastle. �"And while a proper regard for the libellant's safety forbade taking the Dudman along, in my judgment it especially for- bade taking her astern of the libellant'a vessel. Without con- sidering the order in which two vessels of unequal draft, with proper steering capacity, should be placed in a tow, (about which decided opinions were expressed by the court in Th» Morton, 1 Brown, Adm. 139; The Zouave, Id. 110; and The Sweepstakes, Id. 509 ; though practical seamen, as the evidence here shows, seem to disagree respecting it,) I feel no hesita- tion in saying that to place this unmanageable oraft behind, in passing through a narrow, shallow channel, was calculated to produce disaster. The width in the bight, ai places, doea not exceed 70 yards, and the depth, with the tide as it was ����