Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1901-06-20
FERRYBOAT CRASHES INTO A
STEAMER LADEN WITH PAS
sENGERs.
ONE HUNDRED FIND wAIfRY GRAVE.
wild Excitement which Prevailed
causes = Difference Of Opinion az
to the Extent Of the Di.a.ter-va-
riousiy Estimated at Between
Twenty-Five and Hundred
Lives Lost = Each Captain Lay.
the Blame ON the other-steamer
Captain Arrested for cri:ainal
Negligence.

Z
:side-wheeler Northfield, which has
been in the service Of the Staten Is
land Ferry company for the past thir-
ty-eight years, was rammed last night
by the steel-hulled propeller Mauch
Chunk, used as ferry boat by the
Central Railroad of New Jersey. The
collision occurred just off the Staten
Island ferry slip at the foot of White
hall street. and in less than twenty
minutes afterward the Northfield,
which was crowded with passengers,
sank to the outer end of the Spanish
line pier in the East river. The Mauch
Chunk, which was badly damaged,
landed two dozen passengers who were
aboard her. Over q hundred passen-
gers of the sunken Northfield were
dragged out of the water by people
along shore and the crews of the fleet
-ofriver tugs, which promptly respond
ed to the ferry boats call for help. A
few Of the Northfields passengers were
hurt in the accident and the police be-
1ieve that some lives We're lost. Capt.
Daniel Gully Of the tugboat Mutual,
who saw the ferry boats
Crash Together,
says that Immediately after the COL
lision between twenty-five and thirty
of the passengers leaped into the
water and that many of those persisted.
Capt. Gully also declares that he is
sure over q hundred of the Northffeld's
passengers were drowned. The cap
rtains of the other tug boats who were
early on the scene, however, are in
clined to think that the disaster was
not so serious as regards to loss Of
life Thus far no dead bodies have
been recovered. The reason for such q
difference of opinion as to the extent
of the disaster is that the widest ex-
sitement prevailed on the Mortified.
The tug Mutual saved in all about
:seventy-five persons from the North
field, and the tugs Unity and. Arrow
saved between them $50 persons. Two
policemen of the>old slip station claim
to have rescued nearly thirty people
between them. AS soon as the crowd
which had followed the sinking ferry
boat along the river front We're able to
render any aid they responded with a
will, and in many cases men sprang
into the water G
To Save Life.
The greatest service was rendered by
the tug boats, which, as soon as 1t was
possible, closed around the Mortified
and made bridge to the Spanish line
pier, and men and women clambered
over the tugs to the shore. The swift
running flood tide and the question Of
which boat had the right of way was
the cause of the disaster. Capt. Abra-
ham johnson was in charge of the
Mortified and Capt. S. G. Griffin was
in command of the Mauch Chunk.
Each lays the blame of the collision to
the other. Capt. Johnson Of the North
field was arrested about midnight on a
charge of criminal negligence. He is
held without sail and will be arraigned
to-day. Capt. Griffin of the Mauch
Chunk went to his home in Jersey City
not long after the accident occurred.
Officers of the Jersey Central railway
gave assurances that Capt. Griffin
would make his appearance in police
court to answer to technical charge
of manslaughter.