THE DEEP STREAM FATALITY.

Evening Star, Issue 7358, 2 November 1887, Page 2

THE DEEP STREAM FATALITY.

Drink appears to have .been the cause of the shocking occurrence mentfonedSih our yesterday's issue. The four persons who have lost their Jives iad been ovpr- indulging on the, Sunday evening, and at the following day a neighbor named Fitzsimmons discovered the hut to be on fire. From the positions in which the bodies were found it is conjectured that Mrs Sutton and Ure were suffocated while in a state of stupor, but that tho other two made an attempt to escare, as their remains were found on the threshold. Sutton was a laborer, about forty-two years of age; his wife was some years younger. They had no: children. Ure was a laborer, and unmarried. Elliott was a stonemason, and leaves a wife and family in Scotland. THE INQUEST.

An inquest on the bodies was he'd at Outrun yesterday afternoon before Mr E. H. Carew and a jury of six. Mr Brent was choßen foreman of the jury, Dougald Mitchell, a laborer, residing at Barewood Creek, deposed that he had identified one of the bodies on view as that of his sister, Jane Sutton, the wife of Edward Sutton. Her husband was a laborer, and resided at tho Deep Stream in a sod hut with a thatched roof. That was the house that was burnt. It was about 18ft by 15ft, and contained two apartments, divided by a calico partition. There was only the one door to it, and one window. No one lived with witness's sister and her husband. He could not identify any of the other bodies, but he thought the smallest body of the lot was that of Edward Sutton. Witness was at Sutton's hotise on Sunday evening. He went there in the evening. He could not say whether it was at nine o'clock or at eleven. He only stayed about twenty minutes, and then left, the people going to bed. He went home to Mb tent at Barewood Creek, about a mile and a-half away, When he was in tho but there was no one there but his sister and her husband. They had been at Rutherford's, and witners had gone home with them from that place. He went to Rutherford's between ten and eleven in the, morning, and found Sutton and his wife there. There waß talking and drinking going on there. There were some ten men at the place, most of them strangers to witness. When he left Rutherford's he was not the worse for drink. Sutton and his wife were both the worse for drink; Putton was worse than his wife, but he oculd walk well enough. Witness took 2s worth of drink from Rutherford's. It was whisky, and there was about a quarter of a bottle of it. Witness left it with the Suttons when he took them home, He had no reason to suspect that anyone would come to the hut afterwards. There was no fire in the place, and the only light was from a sing'e candle when witness left tho hut. The door was only fastened by meanß of a staple and a hook, and would be very easily opened. Witness was wakened next morning by Fitzsimmons, who told him that his sister's hut had been burned down, and that he was going for the constable. Witness dressed hurriedly and ran down to the hut. There werea fewpeople about the hut which had been burned down Witness saw the four bodies lying in tho hut just as they were found. Mrs Sutton's body was in the bedroom, and the other three bodies were lying near the door. His sister's body was lying just where the bed was, and as if she had been in bed. Witness's sister was born in Scotland, and she was married in Dunedin about eighteen months fgo. Sutton was an Englishman, about forty-two years of age, and had been in New Zealand over twenty years. Witness's sister had been in the Colony twelve yearß. She was about thirty-nine years of age, and had no children. To Mr Weldon: Rutherford keeps a store, and sells a drop of drink too. There are about ten tents within 100 or 150 yards of Sutton's place, and a dozen people at the very most live in them. There were no angry words at Sutton's in the evening, and my brother-in-law and his wife lived on very good terms with the people all round. To the Coroner :, I don't know what the other two peop'e were doing at Sutton's hut after I left. To the Foreman: The Suttons have been living there for about twelve months, To the Coroner: I went back for the drink at tho request of my sißter. She said she wanted it so that her husband might have a drink before he went to work in the morning. William Fitzsimmons said te was a laborer or horse-driver, and at present resided at Dorp Stream within 100 yards of Sutton's hut. He knew the Suttons, and had seen them both at their own house on Sunday morning from his own tent. In the evening, between ten and eleven o'clock, he heard them coming back from Rutherford's. A little while afterwards witness hoard two strange voices. The people were arguing about a bottle of whisky. From what he heard one of the strangers wanted to get a bottle of whisky that had been taken from him. Ho said he would get it back again or fight for it. Things seemed to get quieter then, and witness fell asleep. Some time afterwards he heard an explosion, and jumping out of bed be noticedalightthroughacrackinthctent. Hethcn opened the door and paw the hut on fire. It was on fire from end to end, and tho roof had fallen in. The explosion was like that of a dynamito cartridge that had not been tamped. There was no one about. Witness cilled a man named Aimer, who lived close by, and they went over to the fire. The hut was all in flames. There was a strong wind blowing from the south towa' ds the door at the north end of the hut. They could not get within ten yards of the hut. Witness had heard that Sutton's wifo was going into town, and he thought they nrght have left to catch the early coach from Hindon. Alm»r looked over the wall soon after their arrival, and saw the skeleton of someone ly'ng where the bed was supposed to have been. Witness then went and roused up some of the neighbors. When he came back Aimer said he could see another skelet n, and witness then went off for a constable. It would be about a quarter past four when witness heard the explosion. When he returned with Constable O'Brien, he he saw three bodies lying just inside the door, and another body lying where the bed was. Witness could recognise the bodies of the woman and her husband. He knew a man named Teddy Ure, and he bad not the least doubt that one of the bodies was his. He did not know the other man. Witness heard that Sutton had some dynamite which he ÜBed for blasting firewood. It must have been the fire in the hut that caused the explosion. Latterly the Rutherfords did not sell grog. The roof of the hut was lined inßide with calico.

To the Jury: From what I could make out, the stranger was accusing Sutton of having taken the whisky. The quarrel was not a serious one, and it seemed to have been all made up again. Samuel Loutit, a laborer living at Hindon, said ho visited the Deep Stream on Sunday last. He knew Elliott and Ure, and saw them together at tho Three O'clock Creek at seven in the evening. They appeared to be the worse for drink. They were going towards the Deep Stream. Witness had seen the bodies, but could not identify them in the state they were now in. He saw some clothing at the hut after the fire, and it corresponded with the vest that Elliott wore.

Constable O'Brien stated that on Monday morning about seven o'clock ho received word of tho fire. On arriving at the hut he saw the four bodies. Sutton's body was lying face downwards, with the head on the door-step. The body supposed to be that of Elliott was also on the doorstep, with tho legs and lower portion of it across Sutton's. Sutton's body was much more charred than any of the others, To the left of where the door had been there was another body—that supposed to be Ure's. It was in a sitting posture, with the head leaning against the wall and the arms by the side. It was in a natural position, as if the person had sat down to sleep or rest; and there was a chaff pillow beneath it. The person apparently had not moved. In the bedroom witness saw the body of the female. The left leg was burnt off at the knee, and the body was still burning with the fire that was under it. The fire was put out, and the bodies were then removed on stretchers. On searching the romains of the hut some half-melted coins and an old watch were discovered. The fragments of the vest referred to by the last witness were taken off Elliott's body. Witness had made inquiries about Elliott, and learned that he was missing from his work at Deep Stream. Ure was also missing. They had been working for Messrs Black and Allison. Elliott was a stonemason. He came from Scotland, and waß about forty years of age. He had a relation named Thomson, a draper, at Timaru, and his wife and family were in Scotland. He used to Bend them Home money. He bore a good character. Ure was about forty years of age, and a native of Gloucester, England. He was a laborer, and a single man. He had been about fifteen years in the Colony, Witness oould not ascertain if he had any relatives. The bodies did not show any injury that might not have been caused by the fire, Ure lived in a tent about 150 yds from Sutton's hut. Elliott lived in a house, belonging to Mr Miller, about half a mile from Sutton's. Dr W. Ledingham Christie stated that he had made an outward examination of the four bodies on view. Then were three males and one female. There were no injuries on any of the bodies that could have been (caused otherwise than by burning. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that the four people were accidentally burned to death.