STRANGE DISCOVERY OF HUMAN REMAINS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8283, 16 June 1890, Page 10

STRANGE DISCOVERY OF HUMAN REMAINS.

In the month of July or August of 1878, _ voung man named George cness, travel--11/° to the firm of Messrs. Lewin and Tnhnson, Wellington, was drowned from jffSE* Minnie Casey one Monday night whilst lying at anchor off Shelly Beach £ para. He had gone up from Auckland Sat day in the City of Cork steamer, dined X Mr. Deacon's hotel, Riverhead, and proceeded on to Helensville, where he embarked with other passengers for the Northern Wairoa. Captain Rawson was in charge of tho steamer, and Mr. James TWn was then engineer. The steamer anchoring at Shelly Beach until daylight, the passengers amused themselves with a •rune of cards before turning in to sleep. Sir. Veness feeling unwell, went on deck, nnd leaning over fell overboard Every effort was matfe to rescue him but Without avail, the night being dark. Since then the body has never been recovered, fl nd the circumstance was almost forgotten. Some comments were made at the time in the press on the lowness of the bulwarks in certain steamers which rendered them dangerous, and Captain Casey, then owner- of the Minnie Casey, had life lines fixed on each side of the steamer leading from the cabin aft about a foot above the bulwarks. On June 13 a fist ermnn named Duncan reported to Constable O'Brien, stationed at Helensville, that he had discovered the remains of the skeleton of a man on an island Situate between the ship and boat channels Kaipara River. Beneath the skeleton were some studs and two threepenny pieces. There were marks or prints of clothing in the mud beneath the human remains, showin- that the body had been dressed. On June 13 the constable accompanied Duncan to the spot to bring away the remains and Rich evidence as be could find leading to the identity of the deceased. Mr. Henry Kalians, who was engineer of the s.s. rami, believes, from the description, that these remains belong to Mr. George Veness referred to. He was well acquainted with him, and considers that) ho was about JO years of age at the time of his death. Hi* height was 5 feet S inches. He had formerry been storekeeper at Aratapu, and the occasion on which ho was round was bis first trip as traveller for the firm mentioned after an absence of three or four years. He does not know whether deceased had any relatives in the colony. Just, before the departure of the train the constable has returned with the remains. "\ cry little of the bones are left, but the skull seems perfect. It is apparently that of a young Joan with a good set of teeth, which \ eness

On the 11th of June a man named Thomas Nicholson was walking on the Takapuna racecourse, when his son informed his father that there was a very bad smell in the vicinity of a cottage occupied by an old man named Philip Huntsman ou the Lake Raul. Mr. Nicholson went to the house, and finding the house locked up, got entrance by a window, and found Huntsman lying on a bed on the floor in an advanced state of decomposition. Sergeant Kelly ■was informed of the mutter, and went and took charge of the body, and reported the death wl'r. Philson, coroner, who held an inquest on Thursday. June 12, when a verdict of ''Death from heart disease' ■was returned. Deceased was not in want, as 25s was found on his person, and lie had £1 in the bank. Food was also found in the house. Deceased has only been three months in the district, ana is not known to have any relatives in the colony. On June 12 information was received at the Police Station, that a man named Pattick Maher, had been found dead in bed, in the residence of Mrs. Wells, Lornestreet. Detective Chrystal and Serjeant Donovan went to the house indicated, and ascertained the facts connected with the affair. It appears that Maher had been about in his usual health, had taken his tea heartily, and went to bed about eight o'clock. His eon was accustomed to sleep with him, and Dn going to bed found his father dead. Maher had also a daughter with him, lodging in the same house, and another little girl in the St. Mary's Industrial School. He was a widower. An inquest on the body was held on June 13 at the Central Hotel, before Dr. Philson, coroner, Mr. Franklin being the foreman of the jury. Evidence was given by Mrs. Wells (at whose house deceased lodged), Sergeant Donovan, and Dr. Cremonini. The latter, who had made a post mortem examination Df the bod}', deposed thai he had found the pericardium filled with blood, and the ascending aorta ruptured close to the heart. Death had evidently resulted from hemorrhage from this rupture, and must have been instantaneous. A verdict was returned in accordance with this testimony. On the 10th June an old man named Charles Millen, aged about 60, who had ween sleeping in the building known as the Clanricarde Hotel, Albert-street, was found dead on the premises. The following are the circumstances :—lt appears that Millen, who was a blacksmith by trade, occasionally worked for Messrs. James Craig and W. Hall, of that locality. They had not seen him for the past few days, and knowing that he slept in the disused hotel, went to Bee if he was all right. On going to the place they found the doors locked, but Mr. Craig got in by a window, followed by his partner, and searched the building. On opening the apartment where he slept they found the body of Millen lying on the floor. As the bedclothes were all in a heap on top of deceased it is believed that death resulted 1 from a fit. There were no marks of violence on the body, which was in an advanced state of decomposition. The police were informed, and Constable Lamb took charge of the body. Deceased has lived for many years in Auckland, and has a son a blacksmith at Howick, a daughter residing in Baker-street, and another at Tauranga. An inquest was held on the 11th June by Dr. Philson, coroner. The evidence of Dr. Cremonini showed that death was caused by congestion of the lungs, brought on by a weak heart. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony. A rather serious accident occurred to Mr.Mclntyre, Government Auditor, on the,: r o^n June, when he was rWingJftJjJ '. : port to Mahuranei on .tf&Q duty . Ho got along fair y well u*f u he comjnenced s to rise the bill from/ the orewa , Jcach aboufc three miles# om V Vaiwera, when his horse fcnpped^»r^ er by putting his foot in aho or .. his toe in the ground, and be #°ll§^° throwing Mr. Mclntyre, and -.. *%!? on his leg. Mr. Mclntyre fortu- "»' nately got free from the stirrup. After / lying in this condition for about two hours a ? woman happened to come along, and ■f when she ascertained his condition she went away, and soon returned with two men. All they could however do for Mr. Mclntyre was to put him on his horse, and let him proceed to Waiwera. Mr. Mclntyre passed a fairly good night, and next morning his friends seemed satisfied that the extent of his injury was principally a very severe sprain of the ankle. A serious accident befel Mr. Samuel Turtle, Bharebroker, late on the 7th June, at the Masonic Hotel, North Shore. It seems that he has been staying at the hotel for some time, and on the 7th Juno had been at the Ellerslie races, going over by a. late boat to the North Shore. It is not quite clear when the accident happened, as the inmates were in bed at the time. The discovery of the accident arose in this wise : >—Mr. R. Duder and Captain Falconer had come over from Auckland by the late boat; and, after looking at the racehorse Hune, Mr. Duder went into the hotel, where he is stopping. As the hotel was shut up lie had to go in by the back way, and in doing so found Mr. Turtle lying at the bottom of the back staircase, blooding from the ear and quite unconscious. Mr. Duder tttonee gave the alarm, and roused the household, and as soon as possible Mr. Turtle was put to bed. About one o'clock he was Been by Dr. Parkinson, who found the patiEnt bleeding from the ear, and when the hemorrhage was stopped, the cerebrospinal fluid exuded from the ear, indicating fracture of the skull. On June 9 Dr. Parkinson ordered the sufferer's removal to the Hospital, and he was conveyed thither. Mr. - Turtle has now recovered consciousness, but he has no recollection of how We accident occurred. On the 2nd of June, about half way to Te Puni mill, Port Albert (says our correspondent), towards which himself and a companion were walking, a man named John Millar fell down and died instantly. He had for some time been practising m the district as a photographer, , and latterly had been gum-digging. On May 31 , a letter arrived from his mother In England, who is said to be well-off, inquiring iw4o-hia wUoreabout3.

f A painful accident occurred on the wharf on the 26th May. Several horses were being shipped on board the s.s. Arawata, and while assisting with one of them a seaman belonging to the steamer, named John Gardner, was kicked by the animal us it plunged on being lifted in the slings, and had his aim broken. He had a narrow escape from being knocked overboard, bub managed to hold on to the railing with his sound arm. Ho was sent in a cab to the Hospital, where his fractured limb was attended to. An inquest was held on June 2 at the Avondale Lunatic Asylum, on the remains of Louise Holm wood, a patient ten years old, who died there on May 31. A verdict was returned that death was the result of epileptic fats. Tho deceased was for a long time subject to those fits, and was also a cripple. A Maori patient named Tent Hupa also died at the Asylum on June 1, from congestion of the lungs, and at the inquest a verdict was returned that death had been caused by that complaint. The deceased was a man of about 50 years of age. An inquest was held at the Asylum on tho body of Alexander Baker, a patient. Deceased was a gumdigger, and 32 years of age. Death arose from congestion of the brain, and the jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony A young man named James Dare met with a painful accident early on May 27 whilst at work in tho Lone Hand Co.'s mine, Thames. Ho was employed in the eastern drive at the low level, when about two hundred weight of quartz suddenly fell away from the reef on tho top of tho drive, striking him Hrsfc on the left side of the head and inflicting a nasty gash, and then on his back between the shoulders, where it, inflicted another cash about five inches in length. Ho was at once taken to the Hospital, where his wounds were stitched and dressed by Dr Callan, after which be proceeded to his home. A boat was capsized at Omaha on the 28th May. It appears that Charles Dunning and Edward Brown, a native, otherwise known as Em, borrowed a boat belonging to Mr. Alexander Mathoson for the purpose of going to the Little Barrier. They returned from the Barrier at about two a.m. on Wednesday, having on board half a ton of kumoras, GOOlbs of beef, and other goods. They took on board a parcel of drapery of the value of over i'S, and left Omaha at quarterpast seven a.m. for Pakiri with very little wind. All went well until they passed Coat Island, when it fell quite calm, and the boat was only drifting with the tide, when a sudden gust of wind came down from the high land, and before the occupants could let the sheet go the boat heeled over, upset, and sank. Era seized an oar and swam to the shore, not much tho worse, but Dunning, who got hold of a box, made for Coat Island, reaching it. greatly exhausted, being also a good deal cut and bruised by the rocks. It is very fortunate that both" men were able to swim, and the sea smooth at the time of the capsize, or the consequences might have been more serious. As it is they have lost everything. On June 3 while Mr. Edmunds, of Claudelands, was riding in Grey-street, Hamilton, his horse became restive and commenced buck-jumping, and Mr. Edmunds, who is a heavy man, was thrown upon his head. He was picked up unconscious and carried into Lequesne's hotel, and Dr. March was sent for, who found him suffering from severe concussion of the brain. He never regained consciousness, and died at a quarter-past seven p.m. on the 4th June. At the inquest on the body, the jury returned a verdict of '"Accidental death," caused by falling from his horse. A telegram was received on June 9 by Inspector Broham from Constable Uist, of Coromandcl, stating that on June 7 a widow, named Mrs. Grace Hunt, died suddenly at her resilience, Kennedy's Bay. An inquest was held on June 0. A man named James Donnelly has met with a severe accident at Waihi. While walking near a row of drying kilns at the Waihi Company's works the smoke blinded him and he fell in a kiln, breaking both legs and meeting with other serious inju- ' ries. Dr. Cooper is attending him, and his position is critical. Thomas Hackler, late of Auckland, accidentally injured himself at Gisborne with a knife, severing an artery in his leg. He died in the hospital. Owen McGrath, who was thrown from his horse, died at Gisborne on May 30. At the inquest on the body of Thomas Harvey, a settler at Loburn, Canterbury, who was accidentally shot dead, Thomas William Harwell, a farmer, said he was out with his own brother, also Charles Harris and the deceased, on Mr. Harris's farm. They were shooting hares at first, and as they neared the bush went in for pighunting. Witness emptied out his gun and loaded it with a bullet. He placed a piece of rag round the bullet, as it was too small for his gun, which was not his own. His brother and Harris kept outside the bush. He went through the bush with deceased. Witness's dog then barked and deceased saw lie had a pig. Witness ran and got into the bush, and he heard a gun go off. He heard his brother and Harris. Saw a pig and fired at it, and then ran to get it when he saw the deceased, Harvey, standing up but staggering. Witness called that he had shot him. Ho thought his bullet had struck the branch of a tree and glanced off and struck deceased. Witness as well as his brother remained with deceased, but the latter died almost immediately. Dr. G. S. Clayton described the bullet wound, surrounded by small shot wounds an inch and a-lmlf below the angle of the right shoulder. The bullet had gone upward and forward through the upper part of the right lung, and passed through the lower part of the deceased's neck, issuing on the opposite side. The wound would cause instantaneous death. From appearances he thought deceased was in a stooping position, and the fact of the small shot having merely penetrated the skin proved the rnuzyJ£,-" 0 the gun could not have been, 'i'ciose to deceased when discharged/ The jury returned a verdict " TJuf// the deceased was accidentally shot*"A man iij, mo d James Crawford, an expressman . Wellington, had a narrow esca.'-y 't- being killed on Saturday night, May 24. He was walking across Willisstreet, when he was knocked down by a tram. The wheels, fortunately, did not pass over him, but the car had to be lifted in order to extricate the man, who was a deal knocked about. At the inquest at Christcburch on tho 27th May on the boy Milner, killed on the Ferry Road Tramway the previous day, a verdict of accidental death was returned. The evidence showed that he was sitting on the connecting bar at the end of the Gear car, which backed. He fell, and the car passed over him. Frank Humphreys, sen., the well-known rifleman at Rangiora, died on May 25 from the effects of an accident the previous day. His horse took fright at a train near Moeraki station, bolted, and ran the trap against a telegraph post. Mr. Humphreys was thrown on the hard road, and never regained consciousness. He died of concussion of the brain. The body of a man named Robert Stevenson, a small farmer at Waitaki North, was found in tho Waitaki River on May 27. The deceased left his house on the Bth February after a quarrel with his family, saying he was going to do away with himself, He was seen by a person walking down the river side, but had not been heard of since. The remains were very much decomposed, but were identified by the clothing. Alan inquest on May 28 a verdict of "Found drowned " was returned. A boy named Reed, at Invercargill, aged two years, was killed by an axe, which his uncle was pressing to open a case, slipping, and striking him on the forehead, causing concussion of the brain. Mr. L. B. Harris, jun., of Huntly, met with a nasty accident on May 31, having broken his collar-bone through a fall from his horse while training it to the hurdles. A painful accident, says the Christchurch Press, occurred at Fairlie Creek on the 2nd of Juno to a young man known as Davie Williams. He was feeding a Power chaffcuttor for Mr. C. Saunders, when by some means his left hand was caught by the feed rolls and was drawn in, and the hand and arm, nearly to the elbow, were sliced up by tho knives before ho managed to drag his arm out. Williams preserved his coolness, and his mates tied the arm up very cleverly, and no time was lost in getting the unfortunate man down to the hospital. It was found necessary to amputate the arm above the elbow, owing to the manner in which the lower portion of the stump was mangled. The body of an elderly man named Garden Watson was found in the Oamaru Harbour on June 7. He left his house saying he was going to Dunedin by the steamer. Lastmonth he was examined as to Ilia sanity, i and, was afterwards liberated.

A contractor named Henry Cooksley was killed in a quarry on the Sumner Road, Canterbury, by a fall of earth on June 7. He was a married man, about 30 years old. The Waipawa Mail says that a child, aged about four years, a daughter of Mr. Fowlds, was lost in tho bush. Search parties have been out ever since the 3rd June, but no trace has been found of her yet. The disappearance of a man named Poach, who has been travelling in tho Hutt district for a drapery firm, was reported bo tho police at Wellington on June 7. Ho was hist seen on the 29th May, when ho left the Railway Hotel, Upper Hutt, to tako the train to Wellington. F. Seabright, who was lost in tho bush at Woodville turned up safely on Juno 9. On Tuesday afternoon, the 10th June, a man, David Mclntyre, while walking under the coal staiths, Westport, fell into the river and was drowned. The body was recovered an hour afterwards. A passage ticket for Auckland was found on the body. The Wellington police have received information from Otaki that Thomas Walker, aged IS, was drowned on June 0 while crossing the Kuku Creek on horseback. At Pebone, on Juno 7, during the football match between Wellington and Topuni, Wilford, captain of the latter, had his leg broken. A body found in the Dunedin harbour near St. Leonard's, on Juno 8, lias been identified as that of Charles Anderson, fellmonger, a well-known resident of North-east, Valley. Deceased, with his family, was living on the harbour side for tho benefit of his health, and loft town by the ton p.m. train on the 7th of June, alighting at Burke's, and walking thence towards home. Nothing was seen of him till tho body was recovered. It is surmised that he walked along the jetty to look after his boat, and accidentally fell into tho water, as his watch was stopped at twenty minutes to eleven. Tho body of John Mcnzies was found floating in a lagoon at Oamaru on Juno 12. Mr. Menzies was a well-known draper there. He had been missing for the last three weeks. A man named John Smart was brought into Oamaru on Juno 11 in an unconscious state suffering from injuries received through' being thrown from his horse and dragged by the stirrup. He was taken to the hospital. Tho body of a young woman named Delia Lanahan, a barmaid, was found floating in Wellington harbour on the 13th Juno. lb is supposed to bo a caso of accidental drowning. _____________