82 The Frederick Gerring, Jr. 



Q. I want you to give me, as near as you can get to it, the dis- 

 tance from the place where Capt. MacKenzie left the vessel fastened 

 to her seine to where Capt. Knowlton said she was. A. It is very 

 little short of two miles, say a mile and seven-eighths. 



Q. You said that her drift would be west by south? A. Yes, 

 about that. 



Q. Of course a vessel would drift quicker if she were light, 

 than if she had a seine attached? A. Yes. 



Cross-examined by Mr. Ritchie: 



Q. According to the chart marked J. Mc. D. "c," how far are 

 Capt. Knowlton's bearings showing the place where the seizure was 

 made from Gull Ledge? A. Somewhere about a mile and three- 

 quarters. 



Q. You know the cruiser Vigilant? A. Yes, I have seen 

 her. 



Q. Assuming that she left the place indicated as that where 

 the seine of the Gerring was set, going to the westward at about 

 4 o'clock in the afternoon, with a swell from the southward and 

 hardly any wind, would she drift inshore at all ? A. If she was 

 tending outwards, I don't think she would. 



Q. If she were keeping about three miles from the shore, keep- 

 ing to the westward, with hardly any wind and a southerly sweA, 

 would she drift inshore? A. She would have tendency to do so, 

 but the master would be able to correct it. 



Q. The lighter wind there was, the greater w ould be the tend- 

 ency to drift inshore? A, Yes. 



Q. I want to ask you, supposing the seine of the Gerring 

 was set at about 4 o'clock, or between 4 and half past 4 o'clock, at 

 the place indicated by Capt. McKenzie, and the schooner then left 

 the seine and was sailing up and down while they were pulling the 

 seine, during that operation assuming that there was little or no 

 wind, and a southerly swell, what would be the trend of the seine? 

 A. The trend of the seine would be with the current. The swell 

 would have no effect upon it. The seine would be 12 to 14 fathoms 

 deep, while the swell would be simply on the surface, so that the 

 current would have more effect upon the seine than it would have 

 on the vessel. 



