ACCIDENTS AND INQUESTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 8987, 27 February 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

ACCIDENTS AND INQUESTS.

SHOCKING RAILWAY ACCIDENT. About half-past two p.m. on January .'sl the Auckland police authorities received a telephone message from Constable Collis, of Newmarket, stating that a man had been killed on the railway line abovo tho tunnel, and Inspector Shearman gave instructions for the body to be brought in to the Morgue. The following arc fci'ie particulars :—Animating engine was on its way to town at that hour in charge of Drryer Spratt and Fireman Donaldson (Mr. Taylor, inspector of rolling stock, being also on' the engine), when below the railway cross ing they noticed the body of a man lying by. the line, with the legs cut off jtet below tilt- knee. Mr. Taylor jumped down and saw that life was extinct, but the body was .found to be still warm, so that death must ht'.ve been recent. Word was at once dispatched) to Constable Collis, Newmarket, to tho stationmaster there; and to Mr. Hudson, the railway manager, who gave instructions for the , body to bo conveyed by a ballast engine to tft wn. Tho stationmaster at Newmarket sen Guard Lowe and platelayer McLaughlin down the line to search for tho missing legsr, Just eight foot within the brickwork d.f tho northern end of the tunnel, they fount,' the legs, also hat and part of the clothing of deceased. There was ft terrible scalp wo mid on the head of deceased, and tho feature were unrecognisable. The beard arid moustache were tinged with grey, arid »

luxuriant. His hands looked as if unused to manual labour. When the body was taken to the morgue, it was believed at first that it was that of a man known as " King Colo," but this was subsequently found to bo a, mistake. On Feb. 1 it was ascertained th.at the person killed was an old man named George Lee, who had been liberated from gaol on January 31, having been imprisoned for drunkenness. When arrested he was heard to say that he would either drown himself or some other way put an end to his existence.

Othe Sfnd February an inquest was held before jDr. Philson, at Gleeson's Hotel. A large number of witnesses were examined, but the evidence they gave was chiefly formal, relating how the body was discovered, and the condition it was in when found. It was proved that the deceased was George Lee, formerly a platelayer in the employ of the railway department in Taranaki, nnd that ho was about 03 years of age. He had been arrested for drunkenness on the 2Sth January, was imprisoned on the SOfch January, and liberatee next morning. It in not known that ho had any relatives in the colony. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that tho deceased was found on the railway line, and that he had recently come by his death from injuries received from a passing train, but that there was no evidence to show how he came to be on the line, of the circumstances surrounding his death.

A fatal accident occurred at Huntly oil Fob. 3 to an old and rospectcd settler called James Russell,' whilst engaged at work in tho Taupiri Extended Coal Company's mine, A piece of coal, about two tons in weight, slipped off a "dirty back," and fell on his head, killing him instantly. This is the first fatal accident that has happened in this mine since it was opened, about 14 years ago. An inquest into the cause of death of Mr. James Russell was held on the 4th February before Mr. Searancko, coroner, and a jury. Mr. J. M. McLaren, inspector of mines, was specially present, ana submitted a plan ho had prepared of the place of the accident. It snowed that the piecc of coal, about 15 or 18 cwt, slipped away from a face at an angle of about five degrees, and falling on some looso coal toppled over and fell on the deceased. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, and no blame was attributed to tho management.

A man named Thomas Jones, employed on the Wnitote railway contract, blasting in one of the cuttings, was seriously injured in the left hand on January 31 by tho explosion of a dynamite cap. He carried a couple of caps in one of Bryant and May's small round tin match boxes. In tho course of his work he had occasion to take one out and fix it for a blast. When he had done so, he took a match from his waistcoat pocket, intending to fire the blast. To do so he held the match-box bottom down in his left hand, and rubbed tho phosphorised end of the match on the rough semiperforated bottom of the box. Unluckily the dynamite cap in tho match-box was bottom up, and some particle of tho match, as it ignited, reached through some fully perforated hole in the bottom of the box to the loaded cap in the match-box and exploded it, dynamiting his left hand seriously and his right one slightly. Tho maimed hand was bound up, and the injured man taken to To Kuiti, whence he was quickly transported to To Awamutru by Mr. H. Tanner, who, by-the-bye, is always to tho front in cases that require promptitude, and placed under surgical aid. From To Awamutu Mr. Jones went on to tho hospital at Hamilton, where ho will bo well attended. Hopes are entertained that amputation of some of the fingers will not be necessary, but the hand at present is awfully smashed up. On tho 4th February a fine little girl named Amy Richards, aged nearly seven years, daughter of Mr. James Richards, who resides at tho corner of Bath-street and Windsor-lane, Parnell, was instantaneously killed by falling over the precipice at Dr. Campbell's Point to the beach. The child, with an elder sister two years her senior, and a younger sister, proceeded to tho Point to play. The child's attention was attracted by some Christmas flowers growing near tho edge of tho cliff, and she tried to reach them, but in doing so lost her footing and fell head-foremost down the cliff, striking several projections in the fall. A number of boys were on the beach, and ono of them named William Hogan tried to catch her as she fell, but although he reached her ho was unable to break the fall, and the poor child's brains were dashed out against the rocks on tho beach. The alarm was given by tho boys, and on the body being picked up, it was found there was a great fracture of the skull, just above tho forehead, tho brains protruding from tho'back portion of the head. The body was brought home to Mr. Richards' residence, and the greatest sympathy was expressed for the bereaved family. On February 6 an inquest was held before Dr. I'hilson, and the jury in returning a verdict of accidental death, added a rider calling the attention of the Parnell Borough Council to the danger with a view to their enforcing some remedial steps, and so prevent further mishaps at a place which has already been so fruitful in accidents. The funeral was held in the afternoon.

On the 3rd February ail accident of rather a serious nature befel an elderly lady, wife of Mr. James Hoskins, a member of the Tuakau Road Board. On this evening two young men going along the road, between tho farms of Messrs. Brown and Cole, leading to Whangarata, discovered the old lady in a very exhausted condition. Help was speedily obtained, and she was taken to ner home, about half-a-mile further on. She was riding ' a rather skittish horse, which, after passing over a small bridge, started off into a fast gallop. The rider, losing all control over the animal, became dizzy, and fell on the off-side, alighting on her shoulder, thus in all probability escaping sudden death. As it is, sho is very much shaken and scarcely able to move.

On the 4th February an old man named Richard Mead fell down in a fit while standing in the shop of Mr. Burton, baker, Grafton Road. Mr. Burton took tho man in his trap to the Hospital, but when the liouso Surgeon examined tho man, ho found lifo to be extinct. Ho had formerly been in tho Refuge, but left a month ago of his own accord, and had been doing gardening work about tho district, and was about 77 years of age. There was no inquest held, the coroner being of opinion that death was duo to natural causcs.

A serious misadventure happened to Mr. Win. Aitken, the well-known land agent, at his residence, Mount Eden. He took some liquid ammonia in mistake for medicine, which had been put up in a similar bottle to that containing some ammonia. It was necessary to send for medical aid, and Dr. Philson was soon in attendance. The remedial measures proved effective, and Mr. Aitken is now progressing rapidly towards recovery.

Quito an affecting scene might have been witnessed close to Takapuna beach on the 11th February. Under the shade of a grove of pohutukawas, on a roughlyconstructed stretcher, lay a Maori of about 20 years of age, his face betokening that he was suffering severely. Tho story was soon told. Tho poor fellow had some some timo back fallen off a tree at the Great Barrier Island, injuring one of his legs very severely, and his friends had brought him up to town to receive medical treatment. The doctors, after consultation, camo to tho conclusion that amputation was necessary, but tho poor follow would not undergo the operation, and ho was being conveyed back to the island to dio amongst his people.

A mill hand named Stancliffo, employed by tho Auckland Timber Co., Mangonui, met with an accident on February 3, a saw taking off his left thumb and cutting the four fingers badly. His injuries were dressed by Dr. Trimnoll.

An accident, that terminated fatally, occurred to Mr. J. A. Reardon, of Hastings, Hawko's Bay, early on February 12. Tno deceased went home at about eleven p.m. on the 11th February, and lay down on tho bed without undressing. At two a.m. he complained of the heat. He went into the passage and opened a window, and, by some means, overbalanced himsolf, and fell thrco feet on to tho verandah. Ho rolled down tho sloping roof on to the ground—a distance of fourteen feet. The deceased was seventeen stono weight. His wife, hearing the noise, ran out, and found lie had smashed his leg below the knee. Medical assistance was quickly obtained, and it was found necessary to amputate the injured limb. The patient was put under chloroform, and tho operation performed, but deceased never recovered consciousness,

and died at eleven a.m. Reardon had been headmaster of the Catholic school in Napier, and also in Hokitika. Our Kaitaia correspondent writes : —A homestead settler on Fairburn's line, named Adamson, died very suddenly on the sth February. It appears that Mr. Wheeler, the surveyor, has been accustomed to hold a service on Sunday afternoons at Mr. Adamson's house, and on Mr. Sherman, the first to arrive, opening the door of the house fit three p.m. on February 5, he found the unfortunate man dead. The corpse was rigid, but the hearth was warm, showing that the fire had been lit that morning. At the inquest on Fob. 7 a post mortem examination, made by Dr. Trimnell, of Mangonui, showed that death was causcd by heart disease, and a verdict to that effect was returned. A man named Samuel Hunter was brought into the hospital at Hamilton on the 11 th Feb. from Te Kuibi, suffering from severe injuries received while putting in a blast of powder on Wednesday, the Bth February. He was putting powder and fuse into a bore on the Waiteto contract, and when tamping the charge it exploded, severely injuring and burning his face, neck, hand, chest, and arms. He was conveyed at once to Te Kuiti in a buggy, to Tanner's boardinghouse, and sent down on February 11. On February 8, as a number of boys were bathing in the river at Te Aroha, one of them, named Cornes, got into deep water, and being unable to swim, the current carried him downwards. Attracted by the cries of t.ho other lads, Mr. F. Smithyman hastened td the spot, and plunging at once into the stream succeeded in rescuing the drowning boy, who lay for sometime afterwards in an unconscious state. But for Mr. Smithyman's exertions he would certainly have found a watery grave. On Feb. 7 a lad named Edward Long, 14 years of Age, who was working on the gumfields be.tween Helensville and Kaukapakapa, met with a severe accident. After returning,from his work in the evening, he was swinging at a tree, holding on by a vine, when it broke, and he was precipitated to the ground, breaking his leg. On Friday, Feb. 17, a young man named Ernest Manning, who was on his way to join his father and brother at Mangonui Bluff gumfields fell over fciSe whari afc Dargaville, where there was a depth of 12 feet of water. He was seen .to fall, while stepping backwards, to give more room to a passing dray. The bystanders rushed down the waterman's stops, but .could not see the body, which sank beneath the water. The deceased had landed off the steamer from Helensville only a few minutes previously. Ho at one time lived in Taranuki, but more lately in Parnell. His age was 20.

A serious accident happened to Captain Steele, who arrived in Hamilton by train on Feb. 2 from Lichfield, where, by tho overturning of a Courtland waggon, he had received internal injury. Tho vehicle overturned, the whole weight of it fell upon him. On arrival at Hamilton medical attendance was at once procured, when it was found that Captain Steele had sustained a fracture of two ribs.

A telegram has been received from Inspector McGovern, stating that Constable Gordon, of Whangarei, reports that a dead body has been found by tho natives between Ngunguru and Patana on Feb. 17, on the beach near highwater-mark. Tho body was that of a European, a young man about 5 feet 10 inches ; had on blue cloth trousers, with pockets, and wore elastic-aido boots. A coat was cast on the rocks near where the body was found. No person is missing in the district. Ifc is conjectured the body may be that of oue of the crew of a yacli.it which capsized off Rodney during the holidays, and one of the crew missing. The natives interred the body. The Coroner has been notified of the circumstance, so that ho may hold an inquest. An inquest was held at the Lunatic Asylum on February 17, before Dr. Philson, Coroner, on the body of John Edwards, a Satient. After hearing tho evidence aduced, the jury returned a verdicts of " Death from natural causes."

A par of bathers were attacked at Oamar on Feb. 17 by a shark ten feet long, when about twenty yards from the shore. One of the party named David Grant, a carter, was seized just above the elbow, but managed to extricate himself after the monster had taken away all the main arteries, nerves, etc., of the arm. The other members of the party went to his assistance, and brought him out in an exhausted condition. It has been found necessary to amputate the arm. Several sharks have been seen close in shore lately, and it is decidedly dangerous for bathers to venture out in the open sea. An accident we learn befel Mr. J. Reid, of Motutapu, on February 11. He came down to Drunken Bay to meet a party of excursionists, leaving his horse tied up at Fern Gully. On going back the horse was dozing, and be gave it a slap on the flanks to rouse it up. The horse was startled and let out, kicking Mr. Reid severely on the leg. There were several medical men at Motutapu, so Mr. Reid was not brought to town. He is recovering rapidly. A severe accident happened to Mr. F. A. T. Wheeler, of Tamahere. He slipped from a waggon and dislocated his left ankle. Ho managed himself to reduce the dislocation, and went into Hamilton, where he saw Dr. Kenny, and had the injured part properly bandaged. A young man named Duncan Dent, belonging to Hamilton, was brought down from To Kuiti to Hamilton on February '20, suffering from a severe accident which befell him on February IS on the Waiteti Railway section. He was going to his work riding the tip horse, when some part of tho harness got adrift, and tho horse took fright and fell with him over the cutting, rolling over him. He received a severe wound in the groin, supposed to have been inflicted by the point of tho spring bar. .He has also suffered other internal injuries. A married woman named Charlotte Johnston was found dead in her bed at Dunedin on Monday, Feb. '20, on her husband returning after getting up to light the fire in the morning. She was 66 years of agd. Apoplexy is supposed to bo the cause. A fatal accident occurred near Cambridge Terrace, Wellington, on Feb. 15, by which a young man named Daniel Sullivan, a carter in the employ of Mr. Daley, a contractor, lost his life. Sullivan was driving a cart loaded with earth down a hill, and it is supposed he stumbled, and the wheel passed over his head. The accident was not observed by anyone, but Sullivan was found lying on the road quite dead. After the smartest passage of the season the ship Dunedin arrived in port on tho 7th Feb., having been 82 days on the voyage from London. A very sad accident, which occurred on the 6th Feb., cast a gloom over what had been an exceedingly pleasant passage. Mr. Herbert Clarke, one of tho saloon passengers, a young man of about 21, had gone aloft, an ho was accustomed to do-frequently, and in attempting to cross from the mizzen royal stay to the mainmast he missed his footing and fell to tho deck, a distance of over 100 feet. Ho was greatly mangled, and though living when picked up, died shortly afterwards! and was buried oil the Hen and Chickens'.. He was very popular on board, and his loss was regretted by every ono of the shin's company. There wore two deaths at the Asylum on February 2, both patients. The first was Mr. Andrew Bonar, of Kaukapakapa, who was admitted to the Asylum recently in a very feeble state of health. He died of senile decay, his age being SO. Mr. Bonar was for many years a settler in the Kaukapakapa district, and acted there as coroner. His eldest son, formerly of the Aratapu sawmill, Northern Wairoa, is at present in the Islands. The deceased was of good family, being related to Horatius Bonar, whose sacred lyrics are so widely known. Tho other death was that of GeorgeFearn, who was admitted in December from Te Kuiti, suffering from exhaustion from mania. The inquests were merely formal, and verdicts were returned by the jury in accordance with the medical evidence.

On tho Ist February a son of Mr. Joseph Flood, of the Helensville Hotel, lost his lifo by poisoning through eating tupaki berries.

An inquest was held on Feb. 2 at the Lunatic Asylum, before Dr. Philson, coroner, on the body of George Hill, a patient, who died in an epileptic fit. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence. Deceased had been an inmato of the institution for 20 years. A fishing boat, occupied by three men, was struck by a. sea while crossing the Dunedin bar on Feb. 5, and swamped. The men were rescued in a very exhausted state by another boat following, but the boat has not been since seen. Mr. McKenzie, one of the men, is still in a tcry prostrate state'.-

A miner named William Rowe had his leg bruised by a fall of mullock in the Saxon mine, Thames, on the 7th February. No blame attaches to anyone. A correspondent, writing from Omaha, says On the 6th February an accident of a very painful nature happened to Miss Eunice Fordham, of Ferndale House, Omaha. When returning home on horseback her horse took fright and bolted, when the young lady, who is in a weak and nervous state of health, lost all control over it, and was thrown to the ground, dislocating her shoulder, and bruising her about the head and body. She was dragged some distance, but fortunately her shoe came off, thus clearing her from the stirrup, or more serious results might have attended the accident. Much sympathy is felt for Miss Fordham, who is universally esteemed. A man, named Richard Burton, died very suddenly in Greytown on Jan. 31. Burton, it appears, belonged to the first-class Army Reserve in England, his residence being at Winchester, &nd was on six months' leave of absence in New Zealand for the benefit of his health.

A boy named T. Hird, aged 14, was killed by falling from the tower of a windmill at Oamaru oil the 31st January. He was bird - nesting with his brother, who dragged him into a corner, and covered him with bags. He then went to school, and was crying all day, but would not tell the reason. He afterwards told a schoolmate, who told the parents. The boy must have been killed instantaneously by the fall.

About three p.m. on February 3, William Harding, a stableman at Delamine's stables, Christcnurch, was killed by being kicked in tho breast by a horse which he was harnessing. Deceased leaves a widow and several children.

A young man named McKeish, stepson of the postmaster at Miranda, was conveyed to the Thames Hospital on Feb. 5. It) is said that his back has been seriously injured through being thrown from a, horse. One side is paralysed. A child named Hilda Rosa, aged three years, residing at Mitoheltown, Wellington, was accidentally scalded to dearth on the 4th February. A child named Wittington was drowned at the Wharf Hotel, Woolston, Canterbury, by falling into a tub of water. A verdict of "Found drowned" was returned at the inquest. A married woman named Annie Watson, who resided with her husband, on the East Belt, Christchurch, died at her residence on Feb. 8 at six a.m., and was buri«<l on the following day in Addington cemetery. In consequence of the representations made to the police that the deceased and her husband did not live happily togethar, and tlia£ quarrels between them wer© known to have taken place shortly before ithe woman's death, the coroner's warrant for tho exhumation of the body was signed by Mr. Beetham, and it was exhumed on the 13th February. An inquest was held in the evening. The body of Mrs. Watson has been re-interred. At the inquest the coroner stated that there was a deal of evidence as to cruelty on the part of her husband, but that the testimony of the doctors who attended her did not corroborate it.

The ten-months-old child of Mr. Alexander, painter, South Dunedin, has been drowned in a drain. A girl, aged two and a half years, daughter of G. Hooves, Carterton, Wellington, has succumbed to injuries sustained by her clothes catching fire on the 9th February. Martin O'Brien, recently injured at Danaher's contract, Mang-amahoe, Wellington, died at four p.m. on February 14. Mr. Robert Wallace, a well-known contractor, formerly landlord of the Criterion Hotel, Christchurch, died on February 14 at Sheffield, Canterbury, from the results of injuries received three weeks ago in wrestling. On Feb. 4 tho Wellington torpedo launch ran into a boat, and one of the crew of the latter had a narrow escape. The result was thaw an enquiry was held on February 8 by Captain Falconer at the instance of the Defence Minister. He has repeated that the mishap was caused through Private Gray, the steersman of the torpedo launch, failing to see the whaling gig which he ran down. General Schaw, who was consulted on the subject, stated that the whaling gig lay so low in the water that Gray would be unable to see her from where he was standing. In consideration of this fact, and of Gray's bravery in jumping overboard and rescuing Seaman Yarrow, the Hon. Mr. Fergus has decided to take no further action in the matter.

Miss Mary Todd, aged 22, residing with her parents at Rangiora, Canterbury, has been burned to death. She had been under the care of a nurse, whom she eluded, and set fire to her clothes with a match. She was dreadfully burned, and death intervened shortly afterwards. A serious accident happened to a yeung man named Gerald Gala working for Mr. L. B. Ewen, of Tamahere. The last harvest load was coming home with Galavan on the top when he slipped. In falling he managed to turn himself round with his back to the load, with the object of falling fairly on his feet, and by so doing saved his life, for as he fell he was impaled on one of ;,he upright corner spikes placed to secure the .load. The spike, which had he not turned in falling, must have disembowelled him, entered the back of the thigh, inflicting a deep wound. He was sent in to Hamilton, where Dr. Kenny dressed the wound, taking two or three pieces of blue serge out of it, partof his trousers, which had been carried in with the spike. A narrow escape from what might have been a very serious accident occurred on February 24, to a lumper engaged 011 board the ship Waitangi. While standing on the bulwarks of the vessel near the tee, by some means he slipped and fell between the ship and the wharf. In doing so he got astride of a log fender which was suspended between the vessel and the wharf, and as he did so the ship iust eased over to that side, and. pinned him by the thigh. Assistance was quickly given, and he was extricated from Ins dangerous position, when it was found that although he had received a severe bruise no permanent damage was done, and he was able to limp away. A very painful accident occurred on February 23, 011 board the schooner Waireka, to Charles Richards, mate of that vessel. He was engaged in superintending the getting out of some long piles, which form the schooner's cargo, when a strain on the rope, by which the beams were being hauled out, caused an iron " dog," to which the lino was fastened, to fly upwards with great force. It struck Mr. Richards on the shoulder-blade, and the blow was so severe that he was knocked down, and became unconscious. Dr. Philson's aid was called in, and he examined the wounded man, and found that no bones were broken. The severe contusion will deprive Mr. Richards of the use of his arm for a few days and incapacitate him for work.