Illinois Central Railroad v. Peterson

Citations

• 68 Miss. 454

Syllabus

<p>1. Railroads. Transportation of live stock. Special contract. Case.</p> <p>Where, under a special freight contract, a railroad company furnishes an entire box-car to a shipper, who loads it with “emigrant movables” and several horses, the contract requiring him to load and unload the car and to accompany it, and feed, water and care for the stock, all at his own risk and expense, and exempting the company from liability for delays of the train, and there is no agreement as to any lay-out along the route, and the stock can be fed and watered without leaving the car, the owner does not, in the absence of a custom to that effect, acquire by such contract the right to have the car stopped and laid out along the route that he may rest his horses and re-arrange his load.</p> <p>2. Same. Special contract. Right to stop and unload.</p> <p>If, by the owner’s method of arranging the horses in the car, they can only be taken out with great trouble and delay, and a lay out on the route becomes necessary to save the horses from suffering or death, this does not entitle the owner, shipping under such contract, to demand that the car be laid out and afterwards carried under the same contract. The owner can only secure such delay by abandoning his contract, or by contracting anew for the use of the car for a longer time. If he does not do this, the company may refuse to lay out the car and is not liable for injury to the animals caused by the continuous journey.</p> <p>3. Failure to Unload and Water Live Stock. Rev. Stat. U. S. § 4386.</p> <p>In an action by such shipper against the railroad' company to recover for injury to live stock caused by its failure to allow such lay-out, whereby the stock died, the right of the parties will not be measured or affected by § 4386 Rev. Stat. of the U. S., which provides that animals transported on railroads shall he unloaded, watered, fed and rested at certain intervals, and provides a penalty, recoverable in the federal court, for every v