Spencer

The plaintiff brought this action under the provisions of section 33 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (46 U. S. C. A., sec. 688), called the Jones Act, against Beadle Steamship Company, Ltd., and George S. Beadle, for damages for personal injuries sustained when he fell through an open hold of the steamer ‘1 Fort Bragg. ’’ A judgment of non-suit was entered as to the steamship company. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the sum of $10,000 which, on denying the motion for a new trial, the court reduced to $7,000. From the judgment entered on the verdict the defendant, George S. Beadle, has appealed.

The main contention on the appeal is that the court erred prejudicially in refusing to instruct the jury on the question of assumption of risk. The “Fort Bragg” was a single-ended vessel engaged in the coastwise trade. The plaintiff was employed as a seaman on the vessel. On the particular voyage in question timbers 52 feet long were piled lengthwise *315 of the deck, on the port and starboard side, to a height of about ten feet above the deck. Between this lumber and the hatch coamings there was a space about forty inches wide, and about forty-five feet in length, the…