Mason v. The Steam-Tug William Murtaugh

Choate, D. J.

This is a libel brought by the owner of the barge J. Stackpole, to recover the value of the barge and her cargo of"coal, alleged to have been lost through the negligence of the steam-tug, which undertook to tow her from Port Johnson to New York, on the twenty-ninth day of November, 1879. The tug left the stakes near Port Johnson on that day, about 2 o’clock, with a tow of ten boats, including the J. Stackpole, which was placed in the hawser tier, being the outside boat on the port side. After rounding the can-buoy, which is just below' Robbins’ Reef, and while proceeding slowly…