The Portland daily press., 1899-03-16
SINKING OF SCHOONER PURITAN.
Admiralty Case on Trial in the Uni
ted States Court.

CNdtes JistSlCb COtlIb DetOTo Juuke "oop
yesterday of the case of Cunningham &
Thompson VS.. The owners of Scow No. 4.
This is libel lied by Messrs. sylvester
Cunningham and William Thompson OF
Gloucester, Mass, copartners doing bust
ness as fish dealers, together with Alden
E. Geel also of Gloucester, Mass, against
the scow No. on the following grounds
in case Of collision, civil and mari
time. The libellants are owners OF the
fishing schooner Puritan of Gloucester.
Scow No. is alleged TO be owned or con-
trolled BY George NJ. Valentine 81 Co.,
and was engaged In carrying away and
dumping the material dug up by certain
dredging machines which are being used
in the dredging operations in the harbor
of Portland. 1t is further alleged that
Scow No. at the time prior to February
6. lsgS, by the negligence of Its owners,
George NJ. Valentine Il Co., or their SER
wants or agents, sank in the navigable
waters of the hsrbor in the track OF YES
sells entering or leaving port, and direct
ly in the course of the Peoples ferry run
ming between Portland and South Port
land. AT high tide and for considerable
period before and after the same, the scow
was completely submerged and even at
low tide it projected only two or three
feet above the surface of the water consti-
tuting at all times serious danger to
navigation. II Is also alleged that George
81. Valentine & Co., did not abandon
Al. ba L lint fhrnnrh THAR
servants and agents continued in It's
possession and control, and should have
maintained upon or near her mark or
signal sufficient to give warning Of
danger in passing over the spot where
she lay, but this they neglected tn do. On
schooner Puritan left the berth where she
had been lying in the harbor to return to
Gloucester after fishing voyage. She
was then tight, staunch and strong, well
manned and equipped and was under The
command of u competent master and a
full complement of officers and crew. The
morning was clear and the tide high,
cIfnl ely Noyering the scow.
DIS s-'emp'ing to leave the harbor the
sohsaasr, st about 10 u. m, while exer-
eisius ai prscautions required by care
auG good ,amnship suddenly, without
warming Of any sort, ran upon the sub
merged scow. The force of the collision
stove hole through the planking of the
schooner. She began to oil with water
and it was evident that she could not tie
kept aaoat. She was run upon the flats
near Chase s. Whidden's wharf where she
filled with water and sank. The cost Of
repairing the damage to the schooner,
and the damages and expenses incident
aud resulting from the collision are
claimed to DO $3.50 which the ibellants
seek to recover in this suit.
The libellees admit the ownership Of
the seow and that she was submerged as
alleged alleged but denies t hat the scow
was sunk through their negligence or
that of their agents or servants, and he
further denies that the scow was sunk in
the track OF vessels entering and leaving
the port of Portland or in the direct
course of the Peoples Ferry Co., or that
the scow constituted at all times serions
danger to navigation. 1t is also denied
that the alleged collision and the damages
resulting were CAUSED solely by the negli-
gencs aud want of skill of those in charge
Of Scow No. 4, 1hes claim that
the scow was sunk by ice thrown against
her by storm and that she was SUNK at
a considerable distance to the southeast
Of the channel and the usual track of yes
sells at point where there are only nine
feet Of water at low water. On the fol-
lowing morning after the soow sank pre-
partitions were made for raising her and
were continued whenever the weather
ana the tide admitted. They also claimed
thai until she was raised they buoyed her
fore and aft by spar and floating buoy
and at night placed and maintained
lights on the spar as a warning and that
al the time Of the collision large 5uoy
marking the northeasterly end of the
scow was in plain sight and the iron
buoy marking the s0uthwesterly end was
in position on which the lantern which
had been placed there the previous night
still hung and oou Id not fail to have
been observed by the officers and crews
OF passing vessels. On raising the soow
there We're no marks or scars nor any in
dications that she had been run into by
tine schooner, but that If the Schooner did
collide with the scow at the time al
legged, the collision was caused through
no fault or negligence on the part of Geo.
81. Valentine & Co., or those in charge
of the scow. but solely ana wholly by the
fault, neglect and lnattention of the
officers and crew of the schooner in that
they did not have and maintain proper
lookout and thus failed to seasonably OBJ
serve the buoys and marks on the scow.
Captain B. NJ. Seabury AMI Captain
Joseph IL. Upton and Eben II. Young
and Edward Il. Pettee, all of the Peoples
Ferry company gave testimony in the
case yesterday forenoon and in the after
noon several witnesses were examined