Bray v. St. Louis - San Francisco Railway Co.

The opinion of the eourt was delivered by

Bukch, J.:

The action was one for damages for loss of property burned by fire set by one of the defendant’s engines. The plaintiff recovered, and the defendant appeals.

The engine was drawing a train of freight cars, and was laboring on an upgrade. A high wind was blowing, and fire was .carried to the plaintiff’s barn, a distance, measured on the course of the wind, of from 500 to 700 feet. The negligence charged was failure to provide sufficient spark-arresting apparatus, and unskillfulness on the part of the enginemen in operating the engine. The…