Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/586

THE VESPER. 571 �point to starboard. Her captain was alone in the wheel-house, until shortly before the collision, when the mate came to his assistance. They testify that the night was a cloudy, moonlight night; that when ofl Bedloe's island the John Jay was flrst seen showing herred light about one point, or thereabouts. oflf the Vesper's starboard bow, estimated to be about a mile distant; that after a llttle while her red light was shut in and her green light appeared, when she was judged to be 400 or 500 yards distant, whereupon the wheel o£ the Vesper was put to starboard to keep ofi ; that after sailing from one to two minutes with only her green light visible, and being then about two points off the Vesper's starboard bow, her red light appeared momentarily, and then disappeared three times in succession, at very short intervais, all oecurring within some few seconds, the green light being all the timein view; that immediately upon this reappearance of the red light two whistles were blown, and the wheel put more to starboard ; that the John Jay thereupon ported her helm, lufEed up and showed her red light, shut in her green light, and ran directly caross the bows of the Vesper ; that the John Jay, when she ported, was Bome 200 yards distant and some 50 yards to westward, (as I interpret the testi- mony,) and when the Vesper, still standing ofE from her, would have cleared her by some 50 to 100 yards, if her course had not been changed ; that her porting occurred within five seconds of the reappearance of the red light, and that the captain of the Vesper immediately rang four bells to slow, stop, and reverse, which were immediately obeyed, and that she was nearly stopped when the col- lision occurred ;, that the porting of the helra was from one minute to a minute andahalf before the collision, and that the Vesper could then do nothing more to avoid the John Jay, and that the collision was owing solely to the latter's change of course. �The engineer of the Vesper testifles that he felt the touch of the collision ; that he then had the engine backing for about a minute at least, 65 revolu- tions backward; and Ihat as she was going that night the Vesper's headway would be stopped in a minute and a half. The cook of the John Jay also con- firms the statement that the Vesper was nearly stopped. �At the time of the collision the steam-propeller Mayflower, with a barge in tow, was some 400 or 500 yards astern of the Vesper, and about 100 yards to the eastward. The Vesper had passed her about 50 yards to the westward, a little below Bedloe's island, some 10 minutes before the collision, and they were prooeeding in nearly parallel courses. The captain of the Mayflower tes- tifled that he saw the red light of the John Jay when off Bedloe's island; saw her afterwards shut in her red and show her green light ; that being a little further to the eastward he did not see the momentary appearance and disappearance of the red light afterwards, as testified by the captain of the Vesper; that after the red light was shut in, her green light alone showed continnously until shortly before the collision, when he saw the John Jay port and shut in her green light and show her red light solid; that at the time the John Jay ported he could see the opening between her and the Ves- per; that slie was inside of the Ves|)er's course and nearly 100 yards to the west of her, and that she would have gone 50 to 100 yards clear of the Ves- per if she had not ported ; that he heard the bells of the Vesper to stop and back, and that her lights were all the time burning brightly. ��� �