GORED TO DEATH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 43, 20 February 1935, Page 16

GORED TO DEATH.

EX-BOXER'S FATE.

ATTACKED BY TWO BULLS.

BODY RIPPED AND CRUSHED.

A terrible death came to William Thomas Brown (47) on Monday night of last week, when he was attacked and gored by two bulls in a paddock at Mount Murray, about seven miles from Robertson, New South Wales. The marks of hoofs and horns on the ground, on an ants' nest, and on logs and trees showed where Brown had made a desperate struggle to save his life before he was caught on the horns of one of the bulls and crushed against a giant log, /

The tragedy was discovered by Patrick Cannon, who was an old shipmate of Brown in the Koyal Navy. Brown was a survivor of the Battle of Jutland, and was a well-known pugilist on the South Coast, where he fought under the name of "Fireman" Brown. He was Oft Tin in height and weighed 19 stoue.

Brown, who was working as a farm hand on Mr. Swan's property at Mittagong, had not seen Cannon for about

three months. The two men met at Robertson during the week-end, and left the town on the Monday, afternoon. They caught a goods train to Mount Murray, where Cannon had his camp. The friends parted at Cannon's camp, and Brown set off to walk to a hut some distance away.

Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Slater and Mrs. Adolffson, the wives of two farmers, heard bulls bellowing. As it was dark and the incident was not unusual, no one investigated.

Cannon left his camp on the following morning, and soon saw Brown's hat lying on the grass. He went a few yards further and found Brown's body lying terribly mangled over a log, which was about sft in diameter. Cannon informed Constable Griffiths, of the Robertson police.

Terrible Wounds. The constable found that Brown had been gored in the body and left thigh. Some of the wounds were so large that a man's hand could enter them. The log was scarred by marks of the horns. When' a post-mortem examination was held,,.it was ascertained that Brown had died from the effects- of crushing, although his other terrible injuries would have caused his death within a short period.

About ten yard-s away the ground was ploughed up by the hoof marks of two bulls. • Grass was torn ' up. Long scratches showed where the horns had ripped up the earth and scratched timber. An ants' nest more than a foot in diameter had been dug up.

The police came to the conclusion that Brown had come upon the bulls in the darkness, and that he had struggled desperately until he was finally caught in the horns of one of them and then carried to the log against which he was crushed. When he was dead the bull apparently tossed the body on the log.

An attempt was made to determine the animals responsible. Cattle were yarded and their, horns were examined, but nothing definite was found. One of the bulls inspected was known to be dangerous. On one occasion it kept cruard for three hours over two children who had climbed a tree to escape its attack,, until it was driven off by a stockman's clogs. On another occasion, when chased by it, a man sought shelter in a creek, where he remained for 1bours with the animal standing guaid over him. The bull finally grew tired and went away.