Waterbury Democrat., 1901-06-15
FERRY BOAT SUNK.
Many Passengers on Board the
 Sunken Boat
HUSTLE FOR LIFE pREsERvERs

Great Excitement on Board the Two
 Boats--First Reports Said Many
 Lives Were Lost-Up to This Time
 One Dead Body Had Been Recov-
 cred.
 New York, June 15.-The Northheld,
 a ferryboat, bound for Staten Island
 with about 1000 passengers, was run
 down by the Mauch Chunk between
 South Ferry and Governors Island.
 The collision occurred at about 6:lo
 last night. when the flood tide was
 sweeping around the Battery and the
 handling of side-wheel ferryboats IS
 difficult. The Mauch Chunk is pas
 seneer goat of the Central railroad or
 New Jersey. heavier than the North
 field, and had on board about POO pas
 seengers. The Mauch Chunk, in round
 ing the Battery, was making a semi
 circle in order to reach her South Ferry
 slip. The Northfield was making
 straight line into the East river to- ward Governors Island, which her
 captain believed would take herou
 the course of the Mauch Ehunk. The
 flood tide was stronger than the North
 field captains estimate. and as the Mauch Chunck described the semi-cir- cIe the Northfield swept sideways to- ward her. The Mauch Chunck crashed into the Northfeld's starboard side, midway between the paddle box and the bow, tearing big hole above and below the water line.
 New York, June 15.-The divers at work in the wrecked ferry boat at Northfield kept at their task until six o'clock this morning without finding human body in the boats cabin. At o'clock they went back to work again. The first undertaking of the divers was to make fast lines to pull the wrecked boat around so that she would lie abreast of Pier 10 and they were un- able to search the cabins during the night It is not yet known definitely that there was loss of life by tie col lision The official entry on the blot ter of the harbor police says that no one was lost, but according to the state ments of the tug boat captains who surrounded, the sinking Northfeld, fty is thought that a number of persons must have perished. Until early this morning there were many inquiries at the Old Slip police station and the sta tion of the harbor police for relatives and friends who are supposd to have gone on the Northfeld, but who had not returned to their homes at a late hour last night.
 Captain Johnson of the Northfield was arrested few hours after the col lision, but he refused to make any statement about the collision. He was locked up on charge of criminal neg ligence In the Old Slip station and held without bail. He will be arraigned in police court today
 Captain Frank Griffin of the Mauch Chunk went to his home in Jersey City 1 lats night. No effort was made to ar- rest him as officials of the Jersey Gen. tral railroad promised that Captain | Griffin would be produced in court to- | day.
 The majority of the passengers who | were rescued were more or less hysteri- cal and their stories as to the loss of | life were conflicting to a great extent. | Many were of the opinion that hun dreds of lives were lost while others thought that but few were drowned. The divers stopped work at 6 o'clock and rested until o'clock. All that time the lines from the forward and aft ends of the sunken boat were made fast to bulkheads. The divers at 9 o'clock started to go through all the cabins, the engine and fire rooms and other compartments of the ferry boat in order to make a thorough search It is known that all of the crew got ashore in safety.
 The body of boy about ten years old was found floating in the East Riv. CT this morning The body had been in the water but short time The coron- CTS officers attributed the death to the Northield collision and the police re- corded it as the first known death.
 Captain Daniel Gully of the tugboat Mutual said this morning that many persons must have been drowned.
 T saw the two boats when they crashed" he said, ''and I am positive that POO persons were drowned. saw myself more than thirty jump over board as the Northfeld was drifting from the battery to Pier 10 that was on the starboard side and I cannot tell how many went over from the port side l saw more than fifteen in the water when I ran up to the Northfield and many Of them went down. If. as the ferry officials say, there were be- tween 800 and 1000 passengers on that ferry boat not more than 500 or 600 got ashore in safety"
 General Charles G. Bartlett, 6 years old, Of Staten Island. is reported miss ng. General Bartlett was librarian of he criminal court building. Mrs Bart ett called at the criminal court build ng this morning looking for her hus- 0and She feared he was drowned. He always took the o'clock boat for lis home.
 S- B. Wright of Tompkinsville, Sta en Island, is also reported missing. It vas his custom to return home every evening on the 6 o'clock boat,and when he news of the accident reached rOmpkinsville last night his family were greatly disturbed Repeated in- 'uirtez were made by members of his amiIy at the police headquarters here, ,11f no norrc of him oo1rId 1,o nfafoinad | f