Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-09-10
TWENTY DROWN
In CAR FERRY
New Pere Marquette Transfer Boat
Suddenly Sinks in Lake
Michigan.
CAUSE NOT YET KNOWN
The Property Loss Will Be a Very
Heavy One.
THIRTY PERSONS SAVED
Boat Supposed to Be the Queen of
the Fleet.
INSPECTED THE DAY BEFORE
Craft, which Goes 10 Bottom without
Warning, Pronounced to BE
in Excellent Com
ditiOn.
SAVED
INSPECTED THE DAY BEFORl

LUDINGTON, Mich, Sept. Gone OF the
worst marine disasters in the history of
Lake Michigan navigation occurred early
today when car ferry Pere Marquette No.
Is, flagship of a fleet of six steel car fer
ries owned and operated by the Pere Mar
quette Railroad company, sank to the bot
tom Of Lake Michigan twenty miles off
Port Washington with a loss of twenty
lives. The boat was valued at $1,000 and
the cargo which included twenty
loaded cars, at 100000 to $15OOOO. The loss
is fully covered by insurance in Lloyds of
England.
Car ferry No. Is slnking-help" was the
c. Q. d. wireless message that brought
the first news of the disaster TO this city
about a. m.
The flash was repeated continuously for
nearly an hour, but was unsigned.
The lost car ferry carried a crew of fifty
men and had on board two women passen-
gers. said to be from Saginaw.
At this hour the cause of the accident
is unknown and the facts will not be avail
able until No. II arrives here late this
afternoon.
No. IS was one of the finest and most
costly ferries ever built on the great lakes,
and only yesterday the craft was inspected
found to be in first-cass condition This
was its first trip on it's regular run after
returning from Chicago, where the big
car ferry was under charter to the Chicago
Navigation company, being run in the ex-
cursion business between Chicago and
Waukegan during most of July and August.
Vessel Inspected Thursday.
MILWAUKEE, Sept. 9.-Pere Marquette
railway officials here received a wireless
message at 1880 today stating that twelve
OF the crew of car ferry No. Is, which
sunk in mid-lake had been saved and
giving the names OF three of the rescued
The officials here talse 1t for granted untn
they hear something mora definite from
Ludington that the balance of the crew
was lost
Car ferry No. IL is due in Ludington
very shortly. when further details of the
sinking are expected
All the members of the crew hailed from
Ludington.
The vessel left Ludington at 11:4O last
night after thorough inspection before
entering the freight carrying traffic across
the lake. The first word of the ferry being
in distress was received in a wireless mes
sage from the captain asking for assist
ance from ferry No. II and for the dispatch
of tugs.
There is absolutely nothing known here
as TO the cause Of the sinking.
The chief officers of the car ferry were:
Captain, Peter Kitty; first mate, ]. Bre-
sinskl; second mate, Walter Brown; chief
engineer, r. Needham; first assistant en-
gineer, Rosenkranz.
Thirty Persons Saved.
DETROIT. Sept. "a dispatch from Lud-
ington to the Pere Marquette Railroad
headquarters here says that car ferry No.
II has on board thirty hsscued people and
five bodies, and that fifteen of the fifty
who were on board are not accounted for.
No. Is sank in probably 800 or 400 feet of
water and it is not expected any salvage
will be possible Seymour Cockrane, a
Chicago vessel man, is reported among the
saved.