The Nacoochee v. Moseley

This is a libel in admiralty, filed in the district court of the United States for the southern district of New York, by Edward S. Moseley and others, as owners of the fishing schooner Lizzie Thompson, against the steamer Nacoochee, to recover damages for the loss of the schooner and her outfit, and the property on board of her, in consequence of her being sunk by a collision with the steamer in March, 1883, in the Atlantic ocean, off Cape May, in the state of New Jersey. The libel alleges negligence on the part of the steamer, and absence of fault on the part of the schooner. The collision took place in the day-time, in a fog. The answer of the steamer alleges that she was not in fault, and that the collision was due to negligence on the part of those on board of the schooner, in not having the fog-horn properly sounded, and in not putting the helm of the schooner hard aport when the steamer was seen to be within 40 or 50 feet from her. After issue joined, the libel was amended by joining as libelants the master and crew of the schooner, for the loss of their personal effects. The case was heard by Judge BROWN, and he made an interlocutory decree that the libelants recover one-half of their damages, his opinion being reported in 22 Fed. Rep. 855. On the report of a commissioner, a decree was entered in the district court, May 19, 1885, in favor of the libelants, for $5,379.14, being one-half of their damages, namely, $5,110.57, and their costs, $256.65, and $11.92 interest. Both parties appealed to the circuit court, where the case was heard before Judge WALLACE. His opinion is reported in 24 Blatchf. 99, and 28 Fed. Rep. 462. He filed the following findings of fact and conclusions of law, which are contained in the report in 24 Blatchf., but not in the report in 28 Fed. Rep.:

'Findings of facts: (1) The steam-ship Nacoochee, belonging to the claimants i § a propeller of about 3,000 tons burden, and about 310 feet long. Her propeller is a right-handed propeller, and her engines are compound and reversed by steam, and can be so reversed in 12 seconds. At full speed her propeller makes 62 revolutions a minute, and the speed attained is between 13 and 14 knots an hour. When running at half speed she would forge ahead 600 to 800 feet, after reversing her engines, before beginning to go back-wards. (2) On the 16th of April, 1883, she was bound on her regular voyage from Savannah, Georgia, to the city of New York. She was in all respects in good order, well and sufficiently equipped and manned with competent officers and men, and was blowing her fog-whistle at least once a minute. The wind was moderate and the sea calm, but a dense fog hung low down over the water. At about half past one or two o'clock in the afternoon of that day, as she was on her usual course, north half east, off Cape May, about 10 miles to the south-east of the Five Fathom light-ship proper, and going at half speed, between six and seven knots an hour, and making 30 revolutions of the propeller to the minute, she overhauled and sighted the schooner Lizzie Thompson, and passed to the eastward of her, at a distance of about two or three hundred yards. The Lizzie Thompson, owned by the libelants, was a fishing schooner, returning from the fishing grounds, with a full fare of fish, and bound for New York, having on board sixteen men at the time the Nacoochee passed her. She was going about four knots an hour, with all sails set, upon a course of north-north-east, with the wind south-south-east, blowing at the rate of 8 to 10 miles an hour. But two men were on the schooner's deck, A. J. Small, one of them, acting as a lookout and blowing the fog-horn, and Samuel Kimball, aged twenty, at the wheel. The other fourteen men were all below deck. (3) At this time, when the Nacoochee was passing the Lizzie Thompson, the fog-horn of the schooner was heard upon the steamer and the steamer's whistle was heard by those on the schooner. Most of the schooner's crew came on deck and saw the steamer till she disappeared ahead in the fog, and then went below. The steamer continued her course north half east until those on board heard what they supposed to be cries of distress on their starboard beam. This was about half-past two o'clock. These cries were heard by the captain and others on board the steamer. After some conference with respect to these cries, and several persons agreeing as to their apparent character, the steamer's helm was put hard to port, and she swung around until she headed a south-south-east course, when her helm was steadied. Very soon afterwards the schooner Lizzie Thompson was suddenly sighted, looming up in the fog on the steamer's starboard bow, about 500 feet away. (4) The captain of the steamer immediately ordered the engines reversed full speed astern, which orders were immediately obeyed, and put into execution within about 12 seconds, but a collision occurred between her and the Lizzie Thompson, the schooner's port quarter aft of the main chains and about ten feet from the taffrail colliding with the bow of the Nacoochee, which penetrated two or three feet into the schooner, causing the schooner to sink in a very few moments. All her crew were saved and taken on board the steamer, which then resumed her former course N. 1/2 E., and pursued her way to New York, arriving there the next morning. (5) The Lizzie Thompson had continued on her course of north-north-east, after the steamer passed her for the first time, without change up to the moment of collision. The fog continued and was dense, and the same men were on deck, Samuel Kimball at the wheel and A. J. Small on the watch and blowing the horn, and all the others were below deck, including her captain, sitting around. All the sails were set, and she was sailing at the rate of about four miles an hour. (6) Just before the collision Lookout Small, on the schooner's deck, saw the steamer appearing through the fog and bearing dow o n them on their port side, about 400 to 500 feet off. He then shouted, 'A steamer is coming into us,' and the men below then came upon deck. Florence McKown, her captain, who sat in the cabin, when he heard the watch sing out, 'A steamer is coming into us,' told the man at the wheel to keep his course, and jumped on deck, and saw the steamer approaching on the port quarter. No change was made in the schooner's helm, and she continued her north-north-east course up to the very moment of collision. (7) After the steamer had turned to go to the supposed cries of distress the captain took his position in front of the pilot-house. A seaman, Andrew Johnson, was on the lookout, standing right up forward as far as he could get; the second officer was on watch in the pilot-house; and the quartermaster was at the wheel. All of them heard the fog-horn of the schooner and immediately after saw the schooner appearing through the fog off on the starboard bow, about 500 feet away. The captain gave his orders to back full speed astern, and took his position at the stem of the steamer and called out to those board the schooner, 'Port the helm.' (8) That, when a screw vessel like the Nacoochee is going through the water at the rate of six miles an hour, and the engines are reversed 'full speed astern,' porting the helm or starboarding the helm has no effect at all on the vessel while she is still going ahead. The Nacoochee had not attained backward motion when she struck the schooner. (9) That, immediately before the collision, the two vessels did not sight each other through the fog at the same moment, but that the Nacoochee first sighted the Lizzie Thompson when the latter was about 500 feet distant, and the Lizzie Thompson first sighted the Nacoochee when 400 to 500 feet distant.

'Conclusions of law: (1) That the steam-ship Nacoochee was in fault, contributing to this collision, for not going at moderate speed in a fog. (2) That the schooner was in fault, and in this respect, namely, that she was sailing too shorthanded in the fog, and was guilty of negligent navigation in having but one man forward charged with the double duties of a lookout and blowing the horn, and one man astern, who was a youth of 20 only, at the wheel, all the other fourteen men, including the captain, being below deck. (3) The decree of the district court is affirmed, without costs of this court to either party.'

The claimant of the steamer filed six exceptions to the refusal of the court to find certain facts as prayed by the claimant, such exceptions being based on the ground that the facts so requested to be found were proved by the evidence, and not contradicted by any material evidence in the case, and that, therefore, the refusl of the court to find the same was an error of law, as a finding against the evidence. The claimant also excepted to the first conclusion of law and to certain findings of fact as being unsupported by any evidence; also to the refusal of the court to make four several conclusions of law, as prayed for: (1) That the steamer was not in fault as contributing to the collision; (2) that the schooner was in fault, because she was sailing at the rate of five miles an hour before the wind, with every sail set, in a dense fog; (3) that the schooner was guilty of negligent navigation, because, immediately before the collision, she did not port her helm in order to avoid immediate danger, when by so doing she could have escaped the collision, and that rule 24 required her to depart from rule 23 on the occasion, and that she was not justified in keeping her course up to the moment of collision; (4) that the libel should be dismissed with costs of the district and circuit courts. There is a bill of exceptions, setting forth the foreging exceptions, but none of the testimony is embodied in the transcript of the record. A final decree was made by the circuit court that the libelants recover one-half of the damages sustained by them, amounting to $5,110.57, with interest from May 19, 1885, being $421.6, and their costs in the district court, taxed at $256.65, amounting in all to $5,788.82. As both parties had appealed, no costs of the circuit court were given to either of them. From the decree of the circuit court both parties have appealed to this court.

Nathan Bijur, for the Nacoochee, etc.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 335-337 intentionally omitted]

W. Mynderse, for Moseley and others.

BLATCHFORD, J.