ACCIDENTS, ETC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9179, 8 October 1888, Page 9

ACCIDENTS, ETC.

A MARVELLOUS ESCAPE. An adventure of a surpassing character occurred in the Pukekaroro bush to Mr. Joseph Meale on Thursday, September 6. The event I have to narrate will rank as one of the most marvellous adventures connected with bush - working experiences, rivalling some of the extraordinary incidents occurring in that world of wonders —America. On the day above-named some workmen were engaged letting off a dam, situated on one of the lesser creeks that flow into the mountain creek. The main object of the drive was to break up a number of logs collected together at a distance of about two chains below the dam. Of the exact number of logs constituting the "jam," I have not been able to ascertain, but their accumulated height is given as nothing under 40 feet. Just at the moment of " tripping," or letting off the water by Meale and two or three others, the former jocosely called out to a fellow-workman named Burton. Meale at this time was on the footboard, and walking backwards. The footboard being of a temporary nature, tilted up, pitching Meale into the dam, who instantly disappeared. Burton, with the utmost speed, reached the breast of the Jam in time to see poor Meale pass out tho " flume" at lightning speed, the seething waters carrying him with apparent certainty against the pyramid of logs, there to be dashed into fragments. For a moment consternation filled the breai 6 of . each on-looker, but it was only for a moment. As it was found that the water had not reached the summit of the logs, it was believed that Meale could not have been carried over. It was therefore conjectured that his remains would be found somewhere underneath. Willing hands, assisted by

soon!? mythe '. bußh tractor, were logs by the aid of jacks, etc. While thus engaged, ashoufc wad heard apparently f rom Bome *£*£££ down the creek. Going off in search Meale was found at a distance of about two hundred yards sitting on the bank of the creek having crawled out of the water. His head was very much cub; water and blood were oozing from him. Meale remembers being pitched off the footboard, but after that he lost consciousness. On regaining his senses he crawled out of the creek. After making a careful examination of the logs, it was found that at the bottom of the jam, and right in the centre of the creek, an aperture of about nine inches existed. As there appeared to be no other open space, it is thought that Meale must have been driven through this hole, which, at the time of the rush of water may have been of larger dimensions. After getting through this very formidable barricade, Meale passed over two waterfalls before he was brought to anchor. Mr. Meale, though of a cheerful and jocose disposition, has need to complain of his many sores and bruises, which, it is to be hoped, will have no disastrous effects. It is also hoped that his latest feat may create no desire to " shoot" the greater Niagara.— [Own Correspondent.]

THE MISSING FISHING BOAT. The cutter Katie, Captain Baker, arrived on Sept. 10 from Wairoa South with firewood. Captain Baker reported that off Flab Rock, between Maraetni Rock and Brown's Island he noticed a fishing boat, of some four tons, with richer mast and headsails lashed to the masthead, sunk in some ten or twelve feet of water. The boat answered to the description of the boat in which Alfred "Joe' f and his mates left for the Thames recently, and probably has been struck by a squall and gone down. The Water Police have been inquiring into the matter, and arrangements were made on Sept. 11 to take down the Rotoiti, with a view of lifting the sunken vessel, and ascertaining, if possible, the fate of the missing men. On Sept. 11 at midnight the Rotoiti returned to Auckland, having'accomplished her object) of raisin? the sunken boat near Flao Island, which proved to be the missing fishing boat. Sergeant Clarke, of the Water Police, accompanied the expedition. The boat was successfully lifted, and a quantity of fish was found on board, bub no trace of the crew, who have been without? doubt drowned at the time she capsized. On the night she was supposed to bo lost, other fishing boats experienced heavy weather, with fierce squalls, and in one of these she must have been struck, and gone down. The missing fishermen are Alfred Joe, Augustine O'Hanarahan, and Adolph Jahn, a German sailor. Joe was a native of Buenos Ayres. On Sept. 21 Mr. .Joseph Hodgson, master of the cutter Henry, reported to the water police the finding by him of a dead body off Rocky Bay Head, Waihcke. The head, hands, and one foot were missing, but the body was clothed, though in an advanced state of decomposition. Mr. Hodgson brought the body to town, and handed ib over to the water police, who removed the remains to the morgue. They were subsequently identified by the clothes, by Stephen O'Hanarahan, who resides in Chapel-street, as those of his brother, Augustine O'Hanarahan, aged 15, who left Auckland on the 26th August, in Alfred Joe's fishing yacht, accompanied by Joe and a sailor, named Adolph Jahn. The yacht was last seen on the 27th August, sailing in the Thames Gulf. A coroner's inquest was held on Sept. 22 at Gleeson'f Hotel, Lower Hobson-street, and the jury returned a verdict of "Found Drowned." The funeral of the unfortunate lad took place on Sept. 23, and was well attended. On Sept. 22 the Italian national flag was flying half-mast at the establishment of Mr. F. Williams, Queen-street, fishmonger, out of respect to the memory of deceased, who was brother-in-law to Mr. Williams.

FOUR MEN DROWNED AT NAPIER. By a boat accident at Cape Turnagain on September 27 four men named Charles McCarthy, second mate of the s.s. Kahu, James Watson, Joseph Clarke, and David' Bruce, seamen of the name steamer, were' drowned. There were five men in the boat,landing cargo, when it capsized. The only: one who reached the shore was MoAlister, first mate, who landed exhausted, but recovered on being attended to. McAlister is the only Napier man, the others being from the South. McCarthy was formerly master of the schooner Cora.' No further particulars are to hand.

A singular and serious accident happened on the loth September to Mr. Harrison, of the Bank of New Zealand. He was standing in the Metropolitan Ground, just at the edge of the play, watching the football match between the Ponsonby Navals and the City Guards. In the course of the game a player ran along the line near where Mr. Harrison stood, but was tackled strongly by one of the opposing side and thrown heavily against that gentleman's leg, the main bone of which snapped across below the knee from the sudden shock, with a sharp crack that was distinctly heard some considerable distance away. Mr. Harrison was promptly lifted up and taken to his lodgings at Belgrave House, where medical assistance was at once called in, and the broken limb was set. During the football match on Sept. 13 between an Otahuhu team and the employes of the Auckland Freezing Company, one of the latter, named Main, fell heavily, breaking his collarbone near the shoulder. Dr. Leger Erson was sent for* and having attended to his injuries, Main was able to return to town. An inquest was held at the Lunatic Asylum on Sept. 20 on the body of a patient named John Orr, when a verdict of death from natural causes was returned. A young lad named n lbert Wells slipped on a banana skin in Albert-street on September 23, and severely wrenched his right arm, fracturing his elbow. On Sept. 22, it is stated, there were nc less than three accidents at football. In one case a young man got his collar' bone broken, in a second the subject sob one of the small bones at the shoulder injured, while a third youth also sustained injuries. It is said that these accidents are in a great measure due to the hardness of the ground, the football season having been prolonged beyond the usual period. On Sept. 26, about a quarter to ten a.m., a carpenter named Robert Fraser, residing in Wolfe-street, broke his leg while working on the Doric. He was assisting James Erskine, the ship's carpenter, to open an iron door on the lower deck, when a number of iron bars slipped off some barrels of cement and jammed the two men against the door. When rescued it was' found that Eraser's leg was broken just below the knee cap. The ship's doctor set the limb, and Mr. Bigelow removed Fraser to the Hospital. Erskine's legs were severely bruised, but not seriously injured. A singular accident occurred on Sept. 19 to a boy named Jackson, attending the Newmarket public school. He was playing with another lad, when the latter gave him a push, and Jackson fell heavily to tho ground, breaking his arm. Dr. Leger Ersor. was sent for, and set the broken limb, and the boy is now progressing as favourably as can be expected. News was received in Auckland on Sept. 25 of the death by drowning of Gladys Bennett, the four-year-old daughter of Mr. A. D. Bennett, who, with her mother, was staying at Major Richardson's home at) Petane station, near Napier. It appears the little girl was missed suddenly by her mother, and found in the river that runs within twenty-five yards of Major Richardson's house. Although when found the body was quite warm, and all available efforts used, life was extinct. Much sympathy is felt for Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, who have so suddenly lost a bright, promising child. Our Dairy Flat correspondent, writing on September 10, states that one of the settlen in that district, Mr. Jos. Inglis, met with s rather sierious accident on September 6 : while out cattle hunting near Sunnysidei It appears that the horse which Mr. Inglis was riding fell into an obscured gum hole; thus throwing its rider, whose foot unfortunately caught in the stirrup, but he still retained bold of the reins. The horse became restive, and kicked out, striking Mr. Inglis on the head, and inflicting a nasty wound. Captain Richards, of the barque Lois, died at the Bluff on Sept. 27. He fell overboard while proceeding on board his vessel, and though he was brought out of the water alive, he died soon after from the effect of his immersion. He was forty years old, ! and it is believed he leaves a wife and two ' children at Newcastle, New South Wales*

On Sept. 30 the Rev. C. E. Ward got t'nwwn from his horse, while riding in WellingtonEtreet, and had his left arm broken near the elbow. The cause of the accident was the breaking of the saddle-girth. Another nccident of a like character occurred about the same time, to Mr. Joseph Barlow, while riding from Nihotupu Falls. His horse ; stumbled while crossing a bridge, throwing i the rider to the ground, and causing him to . puffer some contused wounds about the j head and face. Mr. Barlow was taken to j the District Hospital to have his injuries ; attended to, and then proceeded to his : residence. i Information was given on October 2, at half-past five a.m., to Constable Russell, on duty at the Railway Wharf, that a dead body had been found floating in the harbour. It appears that just at daybreak the cutter Terarawa was corning into port, close to the wharf named, when one of her crew named John Walker saw a human body floating alongside the cutter. He drew bis comrades' attention to the fact, and Henry Petersen and Arthur Jones, two other hands on tho cutter, secured the corpse and towed it to the watermen's steps. The constable there took charge of it and had it conveyed to the morgue, where it iv.is afterwards identified by William Palmer, first officer of the Rose Casey, ns thai oi Charles Cornish, the cook of that steamer. It is understood that deceased is a single man, without any relatives in the colony. An inquest was held on the «jr<i October at Zeigler's Hotel, Customstreet, before Dr. Piiilson and a jury of /our, when a verdict of " Found drowned'' vras returned. Our Hokianga correspondent writes : — *' Mr. B. G. Howe, storekeeper, Omapcre, met with a very severe accident on the 29th September. While riding home from business in the evening the bit, in sDine way, got out of his horse's mouth, and the animal, a spirited one, bolted. Mr. Howe vainly tried to stop him in his mail career, and seeing they wore Hearing a wire clothesline, under which it would be impossible for horse and rider to pass, Mr. Howe threw himself off the horse, and coming violently in contact with the ground, dislocated "his shoulder. He was at once taken home, and Dr. Graham sent for, who arrived in a few hours Mr. Martin, harbourmaster, with some assistance had in the meantime pulled in the dislocated shoulder. "When Dr. Graham arrived, he attended to Mr. Howe's injuries, which happily were not of a dangerous character. The patient is doing as well as can be expected." Our Muhurangi correspondent writes :—-I regret to have to record, during the last few weeks, two accidents of a rather serious character. The first was that of Mr. Bannatyne, who, while chopping wood, had the misfortune to chop his toot, the axe striking across the top and making a nasty gash. The next was on September 25, while Mr. R. H. Douse was leading his horse from the paddock, he was startled by something and bounced off, and as the rope was firmly held by Mr. Douse, he was dragged down and his head came with such force to the ground as caused serious concussion of the brain. Both cases are under the care of Dr. Carolan, and are progressing satisfactorily. On the 29th September a serious accident befell Guard Such, at Mercer. He was engaged in shunting some trucks from a train, when in jumping from one wagon to another, he missed his footing and slipped, a wagon crushing his left leg badly. Such remedies as were available were used, and the unfortunate man was brought down by train to Newmarket, where he was met by his •wife. His comrades had him carefully removed in a vehicle to the District Hospital, where on examination of his injuries by Dr. Haines, it was found necessary to amputate the injured leg. Guard Such is progressing favourably. Intelligence has been received by Inspector Broham thatagumdigger, named Thos. Alexander, has been drowned at Pahi. Special-Constable Inger, of Port Albert, has gone to Pahi to investigate the circumstances. A correspondent writes that a serious accident happened to Mr. Kescel, when riding home from Raglan on the evening after the election. He was in company with Mr. Vernon. In getting off his horse on the road, his right foot slipped, and he fell, leaving his other foot in the stirrup. ' The horse took fright, ami dragged him for a considerable distance along the road, when luckily the stirrup gave way. Mr. Vernon got assistance, and Mr. Kescel was carried to the nearest settler's house. Happily Doctor Bay was in the district, and was soon in attendance, when it was found that a small bone of his leg was broken, and the knee-joint out, and he was more or less bruised about the body. Being a man of over SO year.-, I am afraid it will be a long time before he his well again. A young woman named Edith Florence Board, aged IS years, residing with her parents at Kumeu, died suddenly on the 11 th September. Miss Board, who had been in especially delicate health for three or four years, was about to proceed on a trip in the country with a married sister, in order to obtain a change of air. mid on Monday she packed up in preparation for the journey. About 5 p.m.. when she and her sister were about to leave for the station to take their departure, Miss Board was attacked by a violent pain in the stomach. She was put to bed, but sank rapidly, and died at 5 p.m. on Sept. 11. Dr. Hall, of Helensville, was sent for, but when he arrived the poor girl was dead. A fatal mining accident occurred on Wednesday, the 12th September, about nine a.m., to a young man named Albert Charles Ashby, while at work in the Summer Hill claim, situated in the Hape Creek district, Thames. Deceased and another young man, named George Hicks, were employed as tributers, and at the time of the accident were engaged in extending a leading stope above a surface drive, Hicks being in one face and Ashby in the other, about six feet apart. After they had been at work about an hour, Hicks noticed a •email piece of mullock fall, and remarked to Ashby, "There's some stuff falling." The .latter replied, "Yes," and upon turning round Hicks observed a large quantity of mullock coming away, and called out to A.shby, warning him of the fact, but before the latter could get out of the way, about two tons of earth came away, and catching him in the chest, pinned him to one side of the stope, killing him instantaneously. Deceased's chest was dreadfully crushed, and one of his shoulders was also badly bruised. Hicks, fortunately, escaped with a mere scratch on the shoulder. Deceased Hvas a promising young man, about nineteen years of age, son of Mr. William Ashby, for many years chief amalgamator at the Moanataiari Company's battery. Great sympathy is expressed for the bereaved parents, who were both in Auckland at the time of the sad occurrence. An inquest was held this afternoon, when a verdict of "Accidentally killed by a fall of earth" was returned. On Sept. 22 the Rahotu coach, full of passengers, was coming down the Oinata hill, .bout three miles from New Plymouth, when it a very steep place one of the wheels went *nto a deep rut and the vehicle was capsized. The horses bolted with some parts of the ::oacli. Mr. Brown, a passenger on the box seat, jumped to get clear of the fading vehicle, but did not succeed. The coach fell on him, and he was severely hurt about <the spine. The other passengers were Anuch shaken. The coach is a complete .wreck. No blame is attributed to the driver. Mr. McCallum, the proprietor of the Rahotu coach, who was driving, attributes the accident to the spokes of the wheel collapsing when in a rut. The injured man Brown is still in great pain. The doctor says he is suffering from concussion of the spine. . The English football team met with an accident on Sept. 25 which might have had serious results. With several others they were driven out to Brighton Beach in a drag. On returning to Dunedin, coming down the pinch into Green Island, the brake failed to nold, and the result was that the drag was Capsized over the bank, smashing through the fence and rolling into the adjoining paddock. A number of the occupants jumped out, but the others were unable to get clear, and were thrown heavily on the ground, but fortunately all escaped with Blight injuries, though the escapes were almost miraculous. Harper, of Nelson, eprained his wrist; Haslam, an English player, had his hand cut; Lillywhite was pitched fully ten yards, and received a severe shaking. The harness was a good deal broken, and one of the four horses received a severe wound in crashing through ■the fence. The driver pluckily stuck to his "team, and so saved serious consequences. The footballers came back to town in the tram. A bush-feller named James Hill was killed i>y a branch of a falling tree near Eltham »n September 28.

I An old resident, Thomas John Ferrers, was found dead in bed on the 13th September, Int Nelson. At the inquest on the body, | ifc transpired that death had resulted from i fatty degeneration of the heart. A verdict i was returned accordingly. The deceased l arrived in Nelson in 1843, and was at one ! time a schoolmaster there; then he became one of the first farmers in Canterbury. i Subsequently he took a hotel in Welling- | ton, and then went to Auckland, where he j became a master mariner. Fifteen years ; ago he again settled in Nelson, and became well known for his carving. Several Catholic churches contain specimens of his artistic work in their altar pieces. He belonged to an old Warwickshire family, and a short time ago was led to believe that he had come into possession of Baddsley Hall and a baronetcy, but a distant cousin turned up who was thought dead. A coal train leaving Westport shortly after seven p.m. on September 12 ran over n man at the road crossing, at the town i boundary. He was killed instantaneously, i the body being terribly mutilated. His name was Chas. Sutherland. He was a carpenter, and came from Dunedin twelve months ago. The body was disembowelled and the limbs mangled. During the day he was sitting on the platform, and was caught by a passing train. A Maori girl named Tapera Hori, aged 14 years, was killed at Grey town on October 3. The horses attached to a roller bolted, and the girl in attempting to stop them was knocked down and her skull fractured. She died in a few hours. A man named Johnson, formerly fireman on the s.s. Bayley, Mas found drowned at the Bluff on Thursday, October 4. It is supposed that deceased lost his way on Wednesday night, and wandering on the beach, fell off the rocks into the water, his body being found at high water mark. A man named Rupert Robert McMillan has been missing from Berwick, Upper Taieri, since September 8. His body was found in the lagoon, on Sept. 30. Deceased had evidently fallen into the water at night, while in rather a muddled condition. He was a native of Scotland, and had at one time been a student for the medical profession. He is believed to have a brother in the North Island. A death by accidental poisoning occurred at Petone, Wellington, on Friday morning, the 2Sth of September. A young lady named Edith Maria Sykes, who has been under medical treatment for some time, took spirits of salts in mistake for glycerine. Most acute suffering immediately ensued, and the young lady died shortly after medical aid was summoned. At the inquest on the body, the jury returned a verdict to the effect that the poison was taken accidentally and by misadventure. On Thursday night, the 27th September, William Mitchell, sheep farmer in the Wairarapa district, was arrested on a charge of drunkenness. He was placed in a cell, and at five o'clock next morning was found in an unconscious state. Medical aid was sought, when it was ascertained that Mitchell was suffering from alcoholic poisoning. All efforts to restore him to consciousness proved fruitless, and he was removed to the hospital, where he died that evening. At the inquest the jury returned a verdict that death resulted from apoplexy, and added a rider that the police had treated deceased with great care and humanity while in custody. Peter Boylan, employed on the Deep Stream section of the Otago Central railway, was killed by a fall. A little girl, two years old, while crossing the railway line at Cairns, Queensland, was knocked down by the train and decapitated. A boy nine years of a<re. son of Mr. MoEwen, Franklin Road district, Taranaki, has been lost since Sept. 27. He was returning from school alone when hist seen, and as his parents live in the bush, it is supposed he has lost his way. Search parties have been out searching the bush, but without success. Little hopes are entertained of finding him alive. A child five years old, named Land, at Tapanui, has died from injuries sustained by her clothes taking tire. A widow named Ann Donnelly, aged 60, died suddenly in her house at Maketu on Sept. IS. Constable McKnight reported the circumstance to Inspector Broham, and an inquest was held. A middle-aged man, named Robert Russell, fell from the roof of the Palace Skating Rink, Christchurch, in the course of erection, on the 10th September. He fractured his ribs, and sustained internal injuries, from which he died at nine o'clock next morning. He was a married man, and leaves a family. At the inquest, a verdict of accidental death was returned. A young man named Henry I). Plante was killed on the Roslyn cable tramway, Dunedin, on the 19th of September. It is supposed he was walking up the line through the cutting on the town belt, and the wind being strong, and tindust blowing, that lie was stooping so much that he did not see the approaching tramcar coming down, which ran over him. He was taken to the Hospital, and died ; shortly afterwards. The young man was a ! compositor in the Witness Office. His parents are dead. His uncle is in Timaru. From further information it appears Plante was caught by a gust of wind just as he was emerging from the cutting, and before he could recover himself he was blown on to the line and struck by the car. He had been walking alongside. At Arrowtown on Sept. '-'.'5 the body of Michael Joseph Callaghan was found in the Cardrona River. The deceased was teacher of the Catholic School at Arrowtown. On the '22nd September the two-year-old son of J. D. Monship, Holswell, Canterbury, was drowned in the river near his father's house, from which he was absent half-an-hour before he was missed. A verdict of " Death from natural causes" was returned at the inquest on Annie Hammond, who was found dead in bed on September 21 at Blenheim. A girl named Lydia Delamere, 19 years old, died suddenly on Sept. 25 at Christchurch. She had been ill with consumption, and had been attended by a female specialist. An inquest was held that day, and adjourned for a post mortem. During the voyage of the direct steamer Doric two deaths occurred while between Teneriffe and the Cape. The first was on August 18, when it was reported to Captain Jennings that a fireman named Alexander Coupar was missing. A search was made, but no traces of Coupar could be found, and the presumption is that he either committed suicide or fell overboard. The second death was that of an infant girl, Alice Martelon, the daughter of a second class passenger, who expired on August 20. It appears that the child had been unwittingly placed in a bath of very warm water, and was scalded, eventually succumbing to weakness. On the arrival of the steamship at the Cape the police were communicated with and both deaths reported. Samuel Kennedy, aged 19, was on September 25 fixing a belt on the grindstone at the Wakanui Mill, Ashburton, when his arm got entangled in the belt, and he was drawn round the shaft and sustained terrible injuries. When the mill was stopped, it was found that the arm which got entangled in the belt was torn completely away from the body, at the shoulder. The skull was fractured and the head fearfully gashed, through being dashed against the beams as he was whirled round. He never regained consciousness after the accident, and died about an hour after. A miner named Peter Bussanick was killed in his claim, near Clyde, Otago, on Sept. 24, by a fall of earth. His mate extricated him in a few minutes, but he only gasped once or twice. A boy named Mclntyre was drowned in the Hokitika river on Sept. 26. He was in a Rob Roy canoe, and endeavouring to seize an oar from the boat, overbalanced himself. The body was found next day. Alexander Buchan, blacksmith, Dunedin, fell down dead in his forge at Burnside. On September 11, in lat. 25'46 south, long. 175"48 west, H. P. Bolton, aged 21 years, a native of England (one of the seamen of the R.M.s.s. Alameda) accidentally fell overboard while in the act of getting on the stage plank. Life buoys were thrown over, a boat was lowered, and every effort made to save him, but without success. He was seen for but a few minutes, and then disappeared. The boat searched for an hour and forty minutes, but as he was not seen again, the search had to be abandoned. A lad named Thos. Oates, employed on Moore's farm at Hikutaia, was badly gored on the thigh by a cow on Sept. 15. He was brought on to the Thames and admitted to the Hospital. ' On September 20 the cutter Hero drifted on the rocks at Le Bon's Bay, Canterbury, and was wrecked. The crew of three were saved.

A miner named Delaney was killed at his claim, Waitahuna, Otago, by a fall of earth. The Havelock correspondent of the Blenheim Times writes that grave fears are entertained about the schooner Mimiha (Captain Sinclair), which left Lyttelton in ballast on August 30 to load timber at Havelock, ami has not been heard of since. The Clematis left same port only a few hours before the missing vessel, running through the Straits with very dirty weather, and while brought up at the mouth of Pelorus Sound expected to see the Mimiha show up every hour. It is now considered almost certain that she must have capsized during the first night out from Lyttelton. A minor not long come to Huntlv, named Frederick Seniors, has been missing since September 20. From observations made by him when last seen, it is supposed that he went down to the river for the purpose of crossing it, and that he has been drowned in the attempt. Very little about him is known. He was '29 years of age, and is said to have a wife and four children ill Auckland.