The San Francisco call., 1898-11-15
PILOT MCNEIL
 VIOLATED THE
 ROAD RULES Says the Peters Was Steered Wrong. COLLISION WAS AV0IDABLE SOME POINTED QUESTIONS BY
 INSPECTORS.
COLLISION WAS AvOIDABLE
SOME POINTED QUESTIONS BY
 INSPECTORS.
Investigation Into the Peters-Czar ina Disaster Brings Out Inter esting Testimony-Case
 Goes On To-Day.

Charles McNeil, pilot of the J. D. Pet CTS, spent very uncomfortable three quarters of an hour yesterday morning In the office of the United States Local In- spectors of Steam Vessels. He was on the stand to tell what he knew about the collision with the Czarina, and he became
 badly tangled when pressed to the wall by the questions put by Inspectors Bolles and Bulger He was obliged to admit that he had violated the pilot rules for avoid ing collisions, and his excuse was that if
 he had obeyed the rule he would have gone ashore.
 Page & Bells appeared as attorneys for the California Navigation & Improvement Company, owner of the J. D. Peters, and
 Andross & Frank for the John D. Spreck- els & Bros Company, owner of the Czarina. Hugh J. Corcoran, manager of the improvement company, and John D. SpreckeIs for the owner of the Czarlna, were present.
 Pilot McNeil testified that the Peters left San Francisco at twelve minutes after 6 o'clock on the evening of the day Of the accident and arrived at Point Blunt about IS minutes later. He changed his course along shore and saw red and
 green light ahead, He could not see the approaching vessel and thought it was a scow or a schooner. At that time Cap tain Holdsworth and the wheelman were
 in the pilot house with him. On Captain Holdsworth remarking that the vessel was either a schooner or a scow, the wit
 ness passed the glasses to the wheelman
 That was before he blew the whistle. The wheelman said that 1t was a steamer Pilot McNeiI blew the whistle about two minutes after he had handed the glasses to the Wheelman
 by Captain Bolles, said the pilot rules re- quired that vessels approaching each oth-
 CT head to head, should blow one whistle and pass each other port and port. He was unable to obey the rule because he
 would have had to turn on an angle of forty-five degrees if he had blown one
 Why didn't you stop when you found that you could not give the right signal?'
 asked Inspector Bolles .,.
 Couldn't you stop and blow the danger
 signal?" ~ |. s naoassar,, as
 the renarkabie answer of the witness.
 'aThe vessel had swung about twenty-flve feet, or fully three. points, when she l struck the Czarina.''
 teYou must have been heading consid- erabIy off your original course when you
 came together" was suggested by In
 p"f was headed in shore,' replied Me-
 If you had put your helm aport when you saw the vessel on your starboad bow l you would have passed her without Strik- l ing her" said Inspector Bolles.
 McNeil explained that the Czarina was
 not coming in straight nnet She was
 swung around and struck her on the port | bow.
 In answer to a query by MT Corcoran 1 the witness said that 1t required consider l able time to blow the whistle of the Pet ! CTS. It was necessary to let go of the
 wheel with one hand and reach at arm S l length to work the whistle. He thought
 that if he had stopped to blow four whis- 1 ties instead of stopping and backing the l Peters would have gone farther forward 1 and increased the danger.
 1 Captain w Seaman of the Czarina tes- l tified that when he caught sight of the
 red and green lights of the. Pet
 CTS he blew one whistle, which was
 answered. Then he blew two whistles,
 which the Peters answered with one A l few seconds later the Peters blew two 1 and he replied with one. He could not l give the Peters any assistance because his | own boat was injured by the collision. As
 soon as he saw the lights of the Peters he put the helm to. port. Just before the
 collision he saw the green light of the Peters on the starboard.
 The afternoon session began with the examination of Thomas Holdsworth, cap- tain of the J. D. Peters. In his testimony he showed the positions of the two coilid- ing vessels at the time they struck, and said that if the CZarina had laid
 alongside afterward the Peters could have been held up If lines could have been got out. There were no passen-
 gers injured. but several Chinamen Chinamen would have saved themselves if they had not been stupefied by opium, as they were warned by the chief engineer
 and had ample time to escape He did not
 know whether the Czarina would have cleared the Peters had the captain Of the