The Joseph B. Thomas

J. B. McPHERSON, District Judge.

The libelants are seamen who signed articles on December 31, 1903, at the port of Philadelphia foi a voyage on the schooner Joseph B. Thomas to Brunswick, Ga. The vessel was then lying at a pier in the river Delaware, ready for sea, and only waiting for an opportunity to get away. She was detained because of the ice in the river, which was especially an obstruction below *694the city. A tug had been engaged to tow her to the Capes; but the tug refused to undertake the work, declaring it to be too dangerous.The libelants came on board in the afternoon of January 2,…