ACCIDENTS IN SAMOA

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 150, 22 December 1914, Page 7

ACCIDENTS IN SAMOA

COLONEL'S LEG BROKEN SERGEANTS LOST IN THE BUSH. (BY TBbfiGRUM.—SPECIAL TO THB POST.) AUCKLAND, This Day. A member of the New Zealand Ex. peditionary Force in Samoa writes as follows to the Herald: " Last Sunday, 29th November, produced two incidents of note. Colonel Harconrt Turner and Captain Roache, the new A.Q.M.G., were driving in the direction of Maluft when-the horse came down, and both of them were thrown out. Captain Roache escaped uninjured, but Colonel Turner had the misfortune to break his leg. A motor-cyclist happened to be at the mission house, and he was sent back at once to procure a doctor, while they made Colonel Turner as comfortable as possible by the side of the road. He had only been there a few minutes when a coconut came down within b!x inches of his' head, so the natives climbed the tree and picked the rest to prevent any further accidents, while they also erected a boat awning to keep off the sun. Surgeon-captain Stout soon arrived in a motor-car, and after setting the broken limb took_ the colonel to the hospital, where he is progressing as favourably as possible. "The same day two sergeants of the sth (Wellington) Regiment went out ekpldring the bush on the high ground above Vailima, and when night fell they had not returned. On Monday search parties went looking for them, but without success, and by the evening everyone was getting really ahxious. Next morning at daybreak Captain Puttick and four men started up the Vaisangano River, exploring in all directions along its course. Other parties went out under Mr. Mac Donald and Mr. Moors, local residents well acquaihted with the biush, and native police were also despatched in all directions, whilst the wireless garrison sent out a, party, too. Luckily, these cX» peditions were successful, and at midday the native police brought back the wanderers, whom they had found in the bush. Except that they were exhausted no damage was done, but this bliows that although the island is small it ia very easy to get lost in it. The tmpi» cal bush is much thicker and more con* .fusing than that of K«w. Zealand^-