HOLLAND v. BROWN. 45
to carry their workmen down the river, to assist in loading and unloading ves-
sels. Brown usually acted as pilot, for which he had a license from the United
States inspectors. At this time the owners of the Mikado were under con—
tract with Robert Macintosh, a ship carpenter of Portland, to carry his work-
men to and from their employment between the termini of her route, at so
much a month.
On the morning of October 26, 1886. the Mikado was at her dock with 35
or 40 passengers on board, mostly workmen going to their day’s labor, includ-
ing the deceased, who was then in the employ of Maclntosh as a "liner" of
ships and "handy man. " Brown, the pilot, was not on hand. Arthur Jones,
a youth between 17 and 18 years of age, who is now engaged as fireman on
the Northern Paciiic Railway, and was then employed on the boat in some
subordinate capacity, often took the wheel under Brown’s direction. The time
having arrived for the passengers to go to their work, Jones undertook to
make the trip as pilot. Accordingly the Mikado was started out, head up
stream, and swung around till her bow pointed down stream, at about 250
feet from the west shore and her dock, when Jones observed the ferry-boat com-
ingout of her slip on the way across and down the river to her east shore
landing. He immediately gave one blast of his whistle, to signify that he
intended to pass to the right. The pilot of the ferry-boat immediately re- “
sponded with one whistle, and, instead of porting his helm and passing to the ·
right, up stream, stopped his engines. At the time these signals were given,
the ferry-boat had moved out from her slip about 20 feet, and the Mikado was
about 300 feet above the point where the courses of the two boats, if continued,
would cross eachother at right angles.
The ferry-boat had not yet gotten steerage-way. and was moving directly
across the river at about three miles an hour, while the Mikado was moving °
down stream at about tive miles an hour, with her helm slightly to port. The _
ferry-boat, by force of the impetus already obtained, continued to move for-
ward through the water after her engines were stopped, and the Mikado did
not change her course or slacken her speed until the collision was imminent or
unavoidable, when she ported her helm and stopped her engine. About the
same time the ferry boat reversed her engines.
The port side of the bow of the Mikado came in contact with the starboard
side of the ferry-boat, about 20 feet aft, at an angle of about 45 deg., and ran
under the latter, which pushed the pilotphouse of the Mikado, with Jones in
it, oif into the river on the starboard side.
At and just before the collision took place the deceased, with two other pas·
sengers, was standing on the deck of the Mikado in front of the pilot-house.
One of them saved himself by jumping overboard and the other by springing
up onto the guard of the ferry-boat. But the deceased was caught about the
head, between the guard and pilot-house, and badly hurt, from the effects
of which he subsequently died. Among other injuries, his jaw was broken
and his skull fractured at the base, which resulted in an abscess on the brain,
that was the immediate cause of his death.
There was neither wind nor current to interfere with the action or manage-
ment of the boats, and either could have been stopped, backed, or turned aside
without difficulty in time to avoid the collision. .
From these facts, but one conclusion can be drawn. The management
of both boats was in fault. The first duty of a person in charge of a
vessel, particularly where the lives of passengers are at risk, is to avoid
a- collision by all means. ‘ ~
The Mikado was moving at the rate of 5 miles an hour, and the·ferry·
boat at the rate of 3, when the whistles were blown. The former would