A Bush Tragedy.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 226, 10 December 1896, Page 2

A Bush Tragedy.

A cablegram a few days ago reported that a youug Victorian had shot himself by striking at a snake with the butt of his gun, ana that he lay two days in the bush before^ ■• ' he was found. The following are -furtheri- '•• particulars of the accident and its horrible^ / consequences : — ■ -'. -"•-• . The youth, whose .name -was Morkham,* i; aged fifteen, went out shooting with a doublebarrelled gun, accompanied by a collie. This was at mid-day on Sunday. Iho manager of the farm returned home late, and supposed the boy had gone to bod. Rising at five o'clock on Monday morning the manager became uneasy at " the absence of the collie, and burst the door of the boy's room, only to find the bed had not been slept in. Thoroughly alarmed by this time Mr Walker hurried out and whistled his usual call. A few moments afterwards the collie came up at a - gallop, but approaching its master the animal whined plaintively, running forward aud then back again, with an evident desire that the man should follow it. Mr Walker acceeded to the mute entreaties of the '. animal, and the collie led him across the creek and about a mile away from the homestead, to the spot where the , hapless youth lay bathed in blood. According to the account which the medimf men pieced ' together Htile by little fronMhe disjointed phrases of their unfortunate patient, it seems that young Morkham was tramping on through the thick scrub, when he happened to look down and saw, to his horror, a large tigar snake, active and menacing, right between his legs. Be- . cognising with, the speed of thought that it was a moment for instant aotioD, young Morkham slid his hand from the stock of the ' gun, grasped it firmly by' the barrels, and dashed the heavy stock with all his force "_ upon the body of the, tiger snake.. As the stock jof the gun struck ' the ground, while - the barrels pointed upwards at an angle • towards the boy, both triggers fell, and a doable charge of heavy shot struck the boy. on the inside of the thigh. So close was the range that both charges passed clean through • the thigh, shattering the bone, and cuttinjr a . gory passage from the inside to the outside of the leg. Young Movkham sank down in ' his blood and never moved again for twentysix hours. It is a well-known phenomenon iv gunshot wounds that the sudden depletion of the moisture of the body by great loss of blood produces an instantaneous aud intolerable thirst. Yet no hand was near to hold a cup of water to the lad's lips as he lay alone in the trackless solitude of the bush. And the thermometer at the time was 95deg in the shade. The terrible day dragged on, aiid the night, more terrible still, came in with no trace of coming coolness, and the dreadful thirst always increasing as hour succeeded hour. Young Morkham never lost consciousness ; he was - never for a moment liberated from torture by woleome inseasibilitj. Wheu the sun rose next day it found him lying in the same position, saturated with blood and consumed with the flames of raging thirst.' The sun climbed up in the heavens, and at high noon the boy was still there, moaning. It was not till 2 p.m. that the dog led Mr Walker to the spot. The rest is soon told. Young Morkham was lifted up carefully and carried to the homestead. By this time the wounds were in a fearful condition, and Mr Ryan, who was sent for, considered that the survival of ■ the boy for so long under such horrible suffer- ' ing was little short of marvellous. From the first the case was almost hopeless, and he died towards evening. . , ' '