The Dauntless

The undisputed facts appearing thus far in this proceeding to limit liability are, briefly stated, as follows:

In August 1911, the Hammond Lumber Company (hereinafter designated “claimant”) and the Shipowners’ & Merchants’ Tugboat Company (hereinafter designated “petitioner”), entered into a contract wherein the latter agreed, in consideration of the sum of $2,250, -to tow for the former a large raft of piling and spars from Astoria to San Francisco. Pursuant to this contract, claimant delivered to petitioner in September, 1911, such raft at Flavel in the port of Astoria to be by petitioner towed to San Francisco. Petitioner, for the purpose of towing said raft out of the Columbia river and across the bar thereof, made use of two of its tugs, the Dauntless and the Hercules, in the following manner: The tug Dauntless was fastened to the raft with a long towing cable, one end of which was wound around the drum of the towing machinery on said Dauntless, and the other end of which was fastened to the raft, and the tug Hercules was fastened to the tug Dauntless with a long towing cable leading through the forward bitts of the Dauntless to the towing machine of the Hercules. The two…