In a collision which occurred upon the Mississippi River between
an ascending and descending steamboat, whereby the former was
destroyed, the collision was chiefly owing to the neglect, by the
ascending boat, of the rule which requires the ascending boat to
keep near the right bank and the descending one to keep near the
middle of the river.
Moreover, the ascending boat had not a sufficient watch, and in
other respects its officers were to blame.
The facts of the case are stated in the opinion of the
Court.
The district court held that both boats were in fault, and
divided the damages and ordered judgment to be entered against
The Magnolia for $17,900.
Page 59 U. S. 464
From this decision both parties appealed to the circuit court,
where the judgment of the district court was reversed, and the
libel dismissed with costs. The libellants, who were owners of
The Autocrat, appealed to this Court.
MR. JUSTICE McLEAN delivered the opinion of the Court.
The libellant charges, that on a trip from New Orleans to
Memphis in the steamer
Autocrat, with a full cargo and a
great number of passengers,
The Magnolia ran into her,
forward of the wheel on her larboard side, which caused her to sink
in less than ten minutes; by which the boat and cargo were lost,
and the lives of several passengers.
On the hearing in the district court, it was held that both
boats were in fault, and under the well established rule of the
admiralty, the damage was divided. From that decision an appeal was
taken to the circuit court, which reversed the decree of the
district court. The appeal now before us is from the circuit
court.
As usual in collision cases, there is some conflict among the
witnesses in regard to the facts of the case, as well as to matters
of opinion.
On the 9th of February, 1852, the steamboat
Magnolia,
descending the Mississippi River, one hundred miles above New
Orleans, about five o'clock in the morning, landed to wood, on the
left bank of the river, at a place called Col. Robinson's wood
yard. Before the boat left the wood yard, when the pilot was on
deck and about to take the helm, his attention was called to an
ascending boat, which was near Bayou Goula, a mile and a half or
two miles below. When first seen, the ascending boat was running to
the right bank of the river.
There is a bar on the left side of the river about a mile below
the wood yard. The course of ascending boats is to cross into the
bend, just above Bayou Goula, and keep up the right shore some six
or seven miles. This course was taken by
The Autocrat,
averaging, generally, less than one hundred yards from the right
shore.
On leaving the wood yard,
The Magnolia backed out on
both wheels, her bow being fast on the shore; as she came off both
engines were stopped, and then the boat went ahead on both wheels
to check her up. As soon as this was done, her stern being opposite
the wood yard, the larboard engine was stopped,
Page 59 U. S. 465
to let her come round by the action of the starboard wheel.
The Autocrat continued up the right bank until she came
opposite, or nearly opposite, to Col. Butler's residence. At this
place she was within less than one hundred yards of the shore, when
she changed her course to the left shore, nearly in the direction
of the wood yard which had a few minutes before been left by
The Magnolia. The river at this place is about three
quarters of a mile wide.
In rounding,
The Magnolia passed the middle of the
river, but as her bow was thrown down the stream,
The
Autocrat, turning suddenly to the right, approached her with a
speed of some ten or twelve miles an hour. As
The Autocrat
approached, by a tap of the bell she signified her intention to
cross to the left bank, and before the bow of
The
Magnolia, whose bell was rung two taps, indicating the same
direction. Seeing the imminent danger,
The Magnolia rang
her bells to back, and it is stated by her pilot, that when the
collision happened she lay upon the water, not having a descending
movement of more than at the rate of a mile or a mile and a half to
the hour.
The Autocrat struck her with so much force as to
turn her bow up the stream. In less than ten minutes
The
Autocrat sank in deep water. It was not more than five minutes
after
The Magnolia left the wood yard, until the collision
occurred. The pilot says
The Magnolia was brought round,
as soon as could be done, by the action of her starboard wheel.
The nose of
The Magnolia struck
The Autocrat's
guard near the forward part of the cylinder, on the larboard side,
and the hull, at the other end of the cylinder, and brought up in
her wheel. The collision took place not far from the middle of the
river, somewhat nearer to the right bank than to the left. After
the boats were separated, the machinery of
The Autocrat
continued to work for a few minutes, her course being directed to
the right bank, on reaching which, she went down.
Entire accuracy of witnesses as to the direction and position of
the boats in a case of collision at night, is not to be expected.
The peril is too great and absorbing to note and detail the events
as they transpired, by the officers and hands of either boat. The
leading facts being ascertained by the weight of the testimony,
when properly considered, will lead to a more just result than by a
minute examination of the evidence.
What was the duty of the respective boats, when they first came
within view of each other?
The Magnolia was at the wood
yard on the left bank of the river;
The Autocrat was near
Bayou Goula, crossing over to the right bank of the river, about a
mile and a half below the wood yard.
Although there is some contrariety of evidence in regard to
Page 59 U. S. 466
the usage which should govern the respective boats, occupying
the positions above stated, yet the weight of the evidence clearly
establishes the rule, that the ascending boat should keep near the
right bank and the descending one about in the middle of the river.
Each boat was bound to keep a vigilant and competent watch, and to
slacken the speed of the boat and stop it, as the danger becomes
imminent. This is dictated by a common prudence of a qualified
pilot.
The principal fact relied on to show fault in
The
Magnolia is that she left the wood yard, and described too
large a circle in rounding; that the larboard wheel should have
made backwater, which would have reduced the circle and have thrown
the bow down the stream in less time.
After a misfortune has happened, it is easy to see how it might
have been avoided. If
The Magnolia had remained at the
wood yard some eight or ten minutes longer, there could have been
no collision. But this is not a fair mode of trying the case. Had
the officers of
The Magnolia a right to expect that
The Autocrat would not depart from her course, and if she
had not done so, could the boats have come in contact? It is clear,
if the ascending boat had continued near the right bank of the
river, there would have been no collision. This is an important
fact. Admit that
The Magnolia passed the middle of the
stream in rounding, still ample space was left for the ascending
boat. One-third or even one-fourth of the river, the water being
deep, was sufficient for this purpose. The testimony shows that at
least one third of the river, along the right bank, was open for
The Autocrat.
But it is said that the pilot of
The Autocrat, seeing
The Magnolia was rounding off from the wood yard, had a
right to conclude that it intended to cross over to the right bank.
This was a little after five o'clock in the morning; daylight was
breaking, but the stars had not disappeared.
Being acquainted with the locality of the wood yard, and the
general course of the river, the pilot of
The Autocrat
must be presumed to know that a large boat could not round in a
narrow circle. His inference would naturally be, that the boat was
rounding from the wood yard, and not to cross the stream. But admit
that the direction of
The Magnolia was doubtful -- it was
the duty of the officers of
The Autocrat to slacken her
speed, and even to stop her engines, until those doubts were
removed. No such precautions were used.
The Autocrat, by a
great pressure of steam, was propelled onward, changing her course;
and in attempting to pass the bow of
The Magnolia, came in
contact with her. Her pilot had hoped, it seems, to pass her stern;
but to any prudent man, either attempt would have been
considered
Page 59 U. S. 467
a dangerous experiment. His great error, however, consisted in
leaving the way established by usage; such to him would have been
the way of safety. Every deviation from it in meeting a boat is
always hazardous and often fatal.
There was another defect in not having an efficient watch on
The Autocrat. This is indispensable, especially in
navigating our western rivers. The captain was asleep; the watchman
did not occupy the proper position; there, in fact, was no watch to
direct or advise the pilot; he seems to have been left to the
exercise of his own judgment, unaided by suggestions or facts from
any quarter. This is enough to charge
The Autocrat with
fault.
Leaving the wood yard by
The Magnolia, under the
circumstances, was not charged as a fault in the libel, nor was it
so stated in the protest.
The Magnolia had an efficient
watch at the proper place for observation, and an experienced
pilot. She rounded in the ordinary way. While the pilot of
The
Autocrat was a mile from
The Magnolia, he ascertained
that she was a descending boat. Still under the impression that she
intended to run down the right bank, the course of
The
Autocrat was so changed across the river, in the direction of
the wood yard, as to bring the boats in conflict. Had the pilot of
The Autocrat designed to produce a collision, he could not
have taken a different course from the one he did take. From
intimidation, or some other cause, he showed a culpable defect of
judgment, and a disregard of the established usage.
The Magnolia seems to have taken every precaution she
was required to take to avoid the collision. She was in her proper
place, near the middle of the river, moving down the stream with
less force than the current. If
The Autocrat had met the
crisis with the same precaution, a collision could have caused
little or no damage.
The decree of the circuit court is affirmed.
MR. CHIEF JUSTICE TANEY, MR. JUSTICE WAYNE, and MR. JUSTICE
DANIEL dissented.