The Mercier

JAMES ALG-ER FEE, District Judge.

Libelant’s intestate was an employee of Brady-Hamilton, Stevedores, an independent company which was under contract to load the steamship Mereier at an Oregon port on the Columbia river. At about 8 o’clock in the morning the master stevedore took over the appliances, and, after lifting out the strong-backs of the hatches, proceeded to place lumber upon the vessel. The gear at the particular hatch, including the hook and shackle in question, had been in operation about two hours and a half, and had lifted approximately 40,060 feet of timber before the accident.…