Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-12-16
INTRREs MARITIME DE-
CIsION.
The Damage Occast9ned by the Ail-
fated steamer w heless-A Question
of Salvage.


kline, Judge, resulting from damages caused
by the steamer Wheless, which was destroyed
by fire at her wharf In this city, settles some
important questions OF maritime law
Judge Erskine in his opinion has 80 cue
emily and intelligently presented the main
features of the case that any explanatory
preface is unnecessary; we therefore pre-
sent the decision in full, satisfied 1t will
be read with great interest:
In the United States District Court. Southern
District of Georgia. Lib for salvage: h.
j. Dickerson ct al VS.. schooner p; y. LILY En,r3
psny of Pennsylvania VS.. the same.
ERsKINE. J.
On the 18th of last April. H. J. Dickerson and
others, as owners Of the steam tugs Forest City
and Pepiamin Bramell filed a libel in this
court and upon certain alleged grounds there
I'm prayed a decree for salvage. against the
schooner B G Terry and cargo. whlcn cargo
consisted of crude sulphur and empty barrels.
and on the 9th of the same month. the Amerl-
can Dredging Company lodged an intervention
against the same properly and likewise asked
for a decree of salvage. The schooner mas neen
sold and the proceeds deposited in the registry.
At the opening of the cause it was agreed that
the value of the schooner, or rather her pro-
ceeds. should be put at S2,5Oo; the crude SUI,
phur at S. 750 and the empty barrels at $l,5a4
-aRgregating 1874
II was not questioned by the respondents
claimants OF the schooner and cargo-that the
aid rendered hy the steam Jugs was salvage
service but they contested the legal right OF
the bell nts with whom is included the inter
venor) TO be awarded the QudntUnl of compen-
sarion demanded.
The steamboat Wheless partly laden with
cotton bales on deck. while lying at q wharf in
the city OF Savannah. caught on fire, and shont
fifteen minutes afterwards left her mo rings,
and the wind being sOuthweStarlv, drifted in a
direction nlf1m
contact with the schooner b. G. Terry. lying nc
anchor midway the river with her head up
stream, striking her on the windward or port
bow abreast the forerigging; the ves7els be-
came entangled and hoated with the stream
and ebb-tide until brought up, near the left
bank bv the Terry's anchor which, on the
approach OF the burning Steamboat. was hove
up; but when they collided the chain was p i'd
out, and the anchor again took the bottom and,
l apprehend, dragged awhile. Presently the
steam tugboat Bramell came to the wind
ward and ahead Of the Wheless-she and the
schooner being then on fre-and towed her
away from alongside the Terry. just at the
time the Wheless was being tOwed on, the
flames from her and from three bales Of cotton
which had fallen from her decK upon that of
the Terry, were sweeping the schooner, and
had set on fire her sails, rigging, sDars. waist.
and parts of her upper works, which burned
rapidly. and continued to burn, until subdued
and extinguished by the tug NJ. 7. White, aided
. by the Bramel and Forest City.
The lihellants assert a derelict salvage That
during the entire time of the service of the
steamtugs respectively, TIE Terry was
abandoned by Irer crew, without any intention
on their part of returning to her, or any hope
| of saving or recovering her by their own exer-
TONS If so abandoned, she was derelict,
although she was afterwards sa7e1 by the
| crew that left her, they having Unexpectedly
| received assistance q Parsons on Shipping
and Admiralty
In this case the master and mate and two OF
three of the crew twica returned on board the
| schooner before the fire-at least in one in
| stance-was subdued and extinguished. but
there is no pretense that they saved or as
| sisted to save the vessel.
First, as to the abandonment: 1 shall i've
| the substance of the testimony on this ques
| ton. The dispositions are lengthy, and many
portions relate a variety Of matter not peril
cause. 1t appears from the evil
| dence that the steamboat Wheless,
| about fifteen minutes after the flames were
| seen from the schooner b. Q Terry, foated
| from the wharf il he direction of the schooner
! then lying at anchor near the middle of the
river, with her bow uD stream. and struck hel
| on the port bow abreast the forerigging AS the
WhelesS approached her she lowered boat
and got il ready; that about the time the
| Wheiess came alongside of the Terry she was
burning very fiercely, and set the Terry on fire
but the fire on the steamboat alb tted as the
burning tton bales dropped from her. two oil
three falling upon the deck of the schooner
that the flames from the Wheeless then lying
| alongside, were flying across her, so that the
l
board: that then the master, mates, Hates anC
the rest Of the crew left in the already prepared
| small boat, and subsequently took a position tC
/ windward of the Ere,
shorty after the steam tugboat Bramel
had hauled away the Wheless. the master, g
mate and one or two of the crew returned &c
| The Terry-no steam tug being then present
for the purpose, not of resuming possession
| of or dominion over the schooner; but, On
| the contrary, as the master and first mate
| state in their testimony, they went on board tc
| bring away their own clothes and other prop
/ erty The fire. however, was then sc
| hot that they were forced to leave the vessel
without getting all their things;" and when
| they next boarded her the steam tugboat NJ.
/ L White was lying on her windward or port
| side and throwing a stream Of water on her
| from a steam fire pump hose: Nor, on this
| visit. did the master or any of the crew resume
| possession of the yes ell or cargo, or Indicate
| any intention to DO so, or assume any au
| thority whatever. (Wave's r 65.)
| such are the most material facts on this i'm
| mediate question. as they appear in the evil
| dence principally as they were stated by the
! master and mate of the Terry, and the witness
/ Hates; and they being undsput d. and upon
these facts, am of opinion that this is case CT
| derect, in the sense of the maritime law. For
| a care full perusal of the entire evidence, more
| especially on this particular subject has salts
/ fed my mind that when the officers and crew
| of the schooner left her after the burning
steamboat had come alongside and set her on
| fire. they abandoned and deserted her Dtlte
| amino reUertendi, due Spe recupeTGndt, and
without any intention to return. CThe Lama,
/ L Wall, 1867 If, however this is not, in the
| exact and technical meaning of the term, a
| case of derelict, nevertheless it may well be
| considered a case of quasi derelict. equally
meritoriOus. and 1t may not be foreign 10 re-
mark here. that a vessel may be quite derelict
| on navigable streams and tide waters, as well
| as on seacoasts or on the ocean.
| Secondly. as to the salvage service of the
/ Rramell, White and Forest City respectively
| Some twenty minutes subsequent to the col
4 nd VVh Wnal0CS' were
| still in f lmes. the Bramell came from the
| windward and took position forty yards
| ahead Of them, and sent boat TO the
| Wheless and attached line TO her. This
/ cone, she towed her from alongside the Terry,
| and down the river to the fats, distance of
nearly half mile keeping herself as well to
| windward as possible. Not long after leaving
| her on the fats the Bramell returned to the
| Terry and at once began to throw a stream of
water on her. There is diversity in the evil
| dence as to the time she reiurned to the Terry,
| and as to the then state of the fire. Hudson.
| master of the White testifies tn ''about half
| an hour from the time she toWed off the
| Wheeless she came back and commenced
| playing a stream OF water on her; the fire was
| pretty well under control when she cane. "
| Darby, senior master on the White,
/ saws that "she came back in half an
| hour, or an hour after we
| had been working, and had got the fire smother
| ed: considered it out" Hyer, master of the
| Terry, says: 1.-The White. think, played half
an hour on the Terry; the fire was almost ex-
| tingulShed when the Branch came up. his
mate says that when the second tug Dram
| ELL came up, "the fire WIS nearly extinguish-
| ed" His steward says: 1.-THE best of the IRE
/ was then out" And Hates thinks the White
| had been there about twenty minutes when the
Bramell came up, and the fire was then pretty
| well out" When the White saw the Wheless
1 on fire at the wharf, she hitched on to the tug
/ boat Lightning. owned also by the American
Dredging Company, and towed her to the Oil
| Company's dock. There casting her loose the
White steamed to within fifteen feet on the
| weather side, of the Terry, which was then
burning very rapidly, and played two inch
| and three quarter stream Of water from a
steam firerpump hose on her waist And Hud-
| son testhes that the IRE was then so hot tnat
| it scorched the paint on the Whitei and that
the fire pump used could throw good body Of
water thirty feet Quenching this fire she
| came alongside and hooR ed on TO chain plate
| and continued throwing the stream or
| water against the fire on her
| deck midship-house, hatches-one teiDg
nearly burned through-spars ard rigging
| until The fire was subdued and extinguished
| In these services the Bramell and the Forest
| CITY rendered some assistance to the White.
| Immediately after the steamboat and
| schooner coIlided they drifted with the stream
and tide toward the left bank of the river until
the Terry's anchor brought them up nearly
alongside the steamtugs Forest City, CommO
dore Foote and Constitution, then lying at
| wharf hard aground, and none with steam up;
and they being to leeward, the names from the
entanRled vessels, or from one or them, set the
Forest City and another tug on fire. The evil
dence as to the aid given by the Forest City to
| overcome the fire on the Terry discoses thatit
was not until il was under control ard alnosG
exfipgufshed by the White that the Forest City
then within ten feet of the Terry's star
board bow-as she endeavored to subaGe the
Ere cd herself and the other boats, would
throw q little WateF occasionally on the Jlo-
boom OF the Terry from Der hand pump, which,