Serious Collision

Sault Ste Marie, Sept. 7.- The most serious collision that the Sault river has had for severd.1 years occurred Thursday at 4 p. m. The tug William Goodnow, bound down, towing the schooners John O'Neil, George D. Russell and Kate Winslow, met the steamship Northerner of Ward's line, bound up, a little below Little Lake George, at Garden river, nearly abreast of McClellan's saw mili, the tovv and steamer passing on their proper sides. The steamer, tbrough some unaccountable cause, sheered into the tow and struek the George D. Rus3ell, the middle vessel, in the bluff of her port bow and entered her clear to her foremast. The Russell sank in from two to three minutes in not less than seven fathoms, with but tw.o spars above water. The sinking of the vessel was so sudden that two and perhaps three lives were lost, one of thein being a woman. The steaniei" Northerner sustained comparatively little damage, her false stem being carried away from above water to the fore-foot, and her upper bulwarks carried away by the falling spar of the Russell up to her pilot house. The George D. Russell was loaded with Republic ore from Marquette, and had a cargo of 1.276 tons ; her government tonnage 658, and port of hail Buffalo. Capt. Shepard of the Northerner was very reticent about the collision, but from what could be gleaned his steamer sheered into the tow ; he being on the watch himself assisted the man at the wheel to put the helm óver to avoid a The tow-lino between the John O'Neil and the Russell was an unusually )ong one, and the Northerner 'vas close to the Canadian bank. Capt. Shepard states that lm boat became unmanageable and sheered into the Russell as above stated. The vessel lies sunk iu almost mid ehanuel, being a little closer to the American side, and is a serious impediment to lake navigation as the channel is narrow and the curreut extremely rapid. The Kate Winslow passed the wreek safely and was picked up by the tug Goodnow and proeeeded down the river.