The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1901-06-21
FERRY BOAT SINKS
With One Thusands People on
Board Of Her.
eEvERAL8 LIVES WE'RE ST.
Many Boats Rushsd TO Che r ss-1
Gus and savid Hun.
dreds Of Lives. How }5

cue and 0avid Hun.
dreds Of Lives, How ty53
1t Happened. ss:s8
The wooden side wheeler Mortified
which has been in tho service Of the
Station Island Ferry company plying
between Now York and Joreoy City
for the past 38 years, was rammed Fri
day night by tho stool hulled propeller
Mauchchunk, used as ferry boat BY /
tho Central railroad Of Now Jersey
The collision occurred just off the
Staten Island ferry slip at the foot Of I
whitehall stroot and in less than ten
minutes after the Northfield, which
was crowded with passengers, sank at
tho outor end of the Spanish Limo pier
ia the East river. The Mauchohunk,f Il
which was badly dam.ged, landed the I,
two dozan passengers who whore aboard
OF her. Ovar q hundred Of the passen-S
ger5 Of tho sunkon Northfiold were
dragged out Of tho water by people I
along shoro and crews Of tho & sot Of
river tugs viii ,h promptly responded to !
tho ferry boats call for holp. A few
OF the Northtield's passengers wero nurS;s.5
In the o ,cident and the police believe
that some lives were lost. Capt. Dan
iel Gully OF the tugboat Mutual, who
saw the ferry bats crash togothor,
says that Immediately after tho col.$
lision botweon 25 and 80 Of the pas!
sengors loaped into the wAtor and that
many Of those porished. Capt. Gully
also declares that he is sure ovar hun
dred of the Northfeld's passengers were
drowned. Tho captains of other tugs
boats who were carly on the acone.8
however, are inolinod TO think that the
disaster was not so serious as regards
loss of life. Thus far no dead bodies
have boon recovered. N # 8sl
Tho reason for such difference Of
opinion as to the eztent Of the disaster
is that tho Widest oxcitement prevailed
on tho Northfeld. The tug Mutual
saved in all about rs persons from the
Northtiald and the tugs Unity and
Arrow saved between them 100 per-
sons. Two polio amen Of tho Old Slip
atation claim to have rescued nearly 80
people betweon them. AS soon as the
crowd which had followed the sinking
ferryboat along tho river front were
able TO render any aid they worked ;%si..llss
will and in many instances men
sprsng into the wator to save life. Il he
greatest service Was rend cred by the
tugboats, which rs soon as it was posi-
slblo ciycled around the Northfield and /
made q bridge to the Spanish line plot
and men and women clam bored oVery,
tho 70 tugs to The hore. Tho {swiftSsuni-
ming aood tide and tic q Wes ti6 i'll gof
which boat has the right Of way Was5
the CAUSE Of the disastor. Capt. "a bra.
ham johnson was in charge ot tho
Northfield and Capt. 8. g. Il G. fflii wa was
in command of the Mauchchunk. Ehoh$
lays tho blanc for the collision on the
other. Il n 4 d .; & 4
The Northfold, with load Of pas. i
sengers, variously estimated at be-
tween 800 and 1000 at COL 3, M
started out OF the west slip at w hito.
hall street for St. George, Station
Island, and at 5. .53 p. IN. the Mauch.
chunk loft the railroad slip at Commu-
nipaw for Whitehall street. The later
craft was abreast of the barge offioe \ at
the Battery whom the Northfiold came
out Of the slip. An exchange Of
whistles betwoen the boats was follow
cd by tho crash. Capt. Griffin appar-S
emily believed that the Staten Island
ferryboat would DO halted until lio had 1
worked his boat into tho upper slip, and
on the othor hand Capt. Johnson gup.
posed that he would be allowed to oross
tho Maunohohunk's bows. Whom the
accident appeared inevitable the spool
Of the Communipaw ferryboat was ro-5
ducoded as much as possible under the
circumstances, but borne along by tho
swift running food tide, head ON, tho
Mauchchunk struck tho Northfield on
the starboard side at the hood Of tho
forward ladies' cabin on the main deok.,
The blow was terrific one and the
forca Of it wreokod tho steering gear At
the forward end Of the Mauoh-.
chunk, to up about 10 feet Of tho main
dock, Wreokod tho deckhOuse on the
port side and broke through tho deok,
rail ana threw down tho atanohions ony
the forward part Of tho Central railfosd
boat. G8 6s{ssA
As the humping Of forryboats ia not
unusual in thia harbor tho passengers
on the Northfield did not for minute
or so roalize tho seriousness Of the col
lision. Whom, however, two firomenS
ran upon deok to save themselves from
tho inflow of water and the Northfield
was boing driven full speed up the Il .st
river inatead of down towards Station
Island and all the timo schreeohing for.
help they know that something serious
had happened. Then commenced the
panic which continued until tho North;
held went down. AZ no time was, the
Northtiold moro than 500 feet out in the
river beyond tho bulkhoad limo but. the
tide was running with tho velocity Of q
mil! race and had the vessol sunk out
IN tho stream only the tugs.would have
boon able to give assistance.
aftH3 g5gt9 X
Seriously Bitten by a Shad.
William Duncan, aged 26 years, a.
Delaware river fisherman, was bitten BY
q shad and is nowin tho Delaware Hos
pital at Wilmington, Dol, suffering
severely. While hauling his net aome
ten days ago one Of the fish, which was
particularly vicious, e..zsd his hand in
Its mouth aud inflicted q painful injury.
The fab had fino teeth, which cut the
flesh. Tho wound wal regarded as i
trivial. Now it is inaamod and agol-
len much larger than tho usual eig'',l