Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/543

 528 FEDBBAIi BEPOETEB. �would have swept the float, and everything connected with it, away. That a few boats remained fast, does not tend to prove that the entire tow might thus have been saved. The enormous strain of so many loaded boats, under the force of the storm and flood, must have been virtually irresistible. Nor is it probable the tugs could have held them, or rendered any essential aid, Ijy taking the hawsers. The attempt made by this means, directly after the attachments to the float gave way, failed. The tugs could do little more thau save themselves. �As respects the third specification, (principally relied upon by the libellants,) the witiiesses who speak directly to the point are in serions conflict,— those ealled by the libellants saying that the logs and cieats were rotten and unsafe, and those ealled by the respondents saying they were Sound and secure. Viewedin the light of this direct testi- mony alone, the fact would be in doubt, Considering the opportunity of theseveral witnesses to see and judge, it could not be said that the weight of^evidenoe is with the libellants. Viewed in the light of surrounding circumstances, also,i — the overhauling of the float some months before the accident, and the slight repairs required after this event, and the more significant fact that the tow was held for a con- siderable time under great pressure, and broke away only when the storm and flood had reached their height, — the decided weight of the evidence seems to be with the respondents. �No debatable question of law is involved in the case. The re- spondents were bound to the observance of such vigilance and care as the safety of the boats ealled for, under existing circumstances. They could not anticipate such a contingency as arose, and were not, there- fore, required to prepare for it. It was not only extraordinary, but, 80 far as the witnesses know, unprecedented. Under ordinary cir- cumstances, — in such weather as the respondents were justified in expecting, — the boats would have been entirely secure, When the extraordinary emergency arose no adequate provision for it was prac- ticable. �Unfortunate as the libellants have been, they have no just claim on the respondents for compensation. The libels must, therefore, be dismissed, with costs. ��� �