In Bank of Kentucky v. Adams Express Co., and Planters' Bank v. Express Co., 93 U.S. 174 (1876), the express companies received at New Orleans certain packages for delivery at Louisville. These were interstate shipments. In the course of transit the packages were destroyed by fire, and actions were brought to recover the value thereof. The companies defended on the ground of an exemption from liability created by the contracts under which they transported the packages. Mr. Justice Strong, delivering the opinion of the court, after describing the business in which the companies were engaged, said: "Such being the business and occupation of the defendants, they are to be regarded as common carriers, and, in the absence of stipulations to the contrary, subject to all the legal responsibilities of such carriers."