Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 8.djvu/647

 THE FABNLEY. 633 �bow. This light, as the vessels approached each otlier, drew slightly to port. The pilot, after awhile, thinking it prudent to widen §ome- what the distance between the courses of the two vessels and to show his red light deoidedly to the schooner, ported her wheel. Almost immediately afterwards the schooner seemed to be falling off in the same direction. At first both her green and red lights were dis- played to the steamer, and then her green alone. As soon as the change in the course of the schooner was made, the wheel of the steamer was put hard a-port, but the engines were not stopped. �The difficulty is in relation to these claims, The testimony on both sides is positive. It was undoubtedly the duty of the steamer to keep out of the way of the schooner, but it was equally the duty of the schooner not to embarrass her in her efforts to that end by an unnec- essary change of course, When two sailing-vessels or two steam- vessels are meeting end on, or nearly end on, so as to in volve risk of collision, the statutory sailing rules require both to put their helms to port, so that each may pass on the port side of the other. Eev. St. § 4233, rules 16, 19. The supreme court bas said that ships would be meeting end on, within the meaning of this rule, when they were approaehing each other from opposite directions, or on such parallel lines as to involve risk of collision on account of their proximity. The Nickols, 7 Wall. 664; The Dexter, 23 Wall. 69. I am satisfied from the evidence that, under this rule, these vessels were approaeh- ing each other nearly end on, This may be fairly inferred from what is said by the witnesses on both sides, -when taken in connection with the admitted facts. It is not pretended by those on the schooner that the steamer was seen at any time more than one point over their starboard bow, and she kept that position without any change at all until the vessels were within three or four hundred yards of each other, and probably less, according to the statements of the witnesses. In that time the vessels together ran more than a mile. So, on the steamer, the schooner, when miles away, according to the statements of the pilots and others, appeared to be almost directly ahead. When her red light was first seen it bore less than a point over the port bow, and it at no time opened much, if any, more than a point in that direction. According to the testimony from the schooner, the first indication of any change of course in the steamer was when the red light appeared, and it was but a very short time after that before the bow of the steamer came across that of the schooner. Then the schooner starboarded her wheel, and the steamer had only time to get far enough by to recoive the blow midships or thereabouts. The tes- ��� �