ACCIDENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3686, 27 November 1873, Page 2

ACCIDENTS.

Accidents, both fatal and causing injuries of a less serious character, have been exceedingly, prevalent during the past month, far outnumbering those of a like period for, a considerable time past.' In most instances the unfortunates have been admitted into the Dunedin Hospital, where their injuries have been carefully examined, and every attention paid to them. - ' • About three o'clock ori the morning of the 3rd instantj a. fire broke out in the shop of Mr Fleming, bootmaker, Princes street^ whichj . fortunately, was extinguishedtbefore much damage was done. An inquest was held a few1 days t afterwards, when an open verdict was rer turned. An accident; occurred- on the" sth inst. at the railway works, close "to Mr King's mill, Green Island, whereby a man named George Sutton received a compound fracture of the right leg. It 'seems that he was riding- on the tail-board of one of the trucks, when he was suddenly jerked of£ and the wheels of a truck passed over hia leg, causing the injury mentioned. He wii*. conveyed to the DunediriHospital, where.he was at once attended to. In December, 1871, his brother, Henry Sutton, met with an accident on the same works, which necessitated amputation of the right arm. ;

It was with regret that we had, pn the 7th inst., to repord the.. death of Mr Schmidt, who was severely burned whilst rescuing his wife from the late fire in George street, mentioned in our last Summary. His decease took place in the Hospital on the evenings of the'6th inst. Throughout the day he appeared: to be in good apirits, had a hearty appetite, and chatted freely with his friends, whom he assured he waaquicklyrecovering. Shortly .before five he: went into convulsions and became so frantic that the warders had great difficulty to keep him from tearing his face. From these convulsions he never rallied, and at six o'clock he expired. The City Coroner held an inquest on. the following day, at which a verdict of, "died from injuries received at a fire " was returned. We are happy to state that Mrs Schmidt, who is still an inmate of the Hospital, is fast recovering. On the 6th ult., a barnian named; Godfrey Kemp, employed at the Otago Hotel, Rattray street, whilst engaged cleaning a window on the third storey, thoughtlessly relaxed his hold while standing on the sill outside, and was precipitated into a right-of-way paved with stone blocks, forty feet below. When picked up it was found that he had sustained a compound fracture of the right arm below the elbow, and some internal injuries. He was taken to the Hospital, where he remained in a low condition until the 13th, when he expired. An inquest was; held the same day, and the following rider added to the verdict of the Jury :—" The Jury, After heaiiiiig the evidence, learn that a most unsafe way of cleaning upper windows exists in this town. They are therefore, of opinion that a bye-law should be passed rendering it compulsory' that .all householders should use, or cause to be used, an.apparatus specially made." A cow tractor named Samuel Clelland, engaged on the Railway workß, Maheno, Oamarti, was buried by & fall of earth on the (Mi inst, from the .effects of which lie died. Au inquest vaa 'i^ld on the following d:iy before Mr T. W. Parker, R.M., Coroner, when a verdiefc of "Accidental Death " was returned. Deceased was a native o£ Ireland, and unmarried. He is supposed to hare died intestate.

A fatal result lias attended the recent assault with a spade on John Briggs, carpenter. Deceased, who is supposed to have a wife and family in Lannceston, Tasmania, had his skull smashed hi on the Cth ult.} and lingered in agony until the night of the 7th inst. An inquest was; held on the following afternoon, and Kate M'Donald, the woman charged with committing the assault, was committed for trial for manslaughter on the Coroner's warrant. .When iixe charge was heard at the R.M. Court, some of the witnesses examined" stated that the blow which Briggs received was accidental, it being intended for another man. A man named J. Edwards, who was the victiin^of a Very. shocking.accident which happened at Guthrie and Asher's sawmill, Catlin's River, on the 11th. inst., was brought to Dunedin a week afterwardsby a coasting steamer. Edwards's diity was to att(Bnd tothe we understand, are on the twin principle. It appears .that, the ; driving-belt having slipped, lie had the saws stopped whilst he { replaced it, when-it slipped again.•; This time he only stopped one of the saws, and whilst he was in the act of tightening the lacing of the belt; his left arm by a sorry j chance happened to come in contact with the revolving saw, and in an instant the man's elbow was completely severed from the arm! Fortunately liis cry of agony was heard, the mill. was stopped, and he was released from his position amongst the gearing of ; the / savv. andj removed to his Hut, where the services of Dr Smith were called into requisition and the poor fellow's ghastly wound was looked to. The then of the mill constructed a stretcher and carried, their wounded mate 15 miles through the bush to the port, and, placed him on board the steamer. The rough passage along 'the coast was of. coursej prejudicial to his con- i dition, and he consequently arrived here someAvhat exhausted, but under the skil- ; ful treatment he lias received at the Hospital he is now; making favourable progress towards recovery. ~.' '..'..:.'.:■:'.,.. An accident, which ultimately proved fatal, happened on the afternoon of the 12fch inst. at the Mussel Bay works, Port Chalmers, to Mr Js. Stumbles, contractor. "Whilst superintending the breaking-down of a face of earth it slipped, half burying him j and when he was released; it was found that his right leg was broken a little above the ankle joint, necessitating amputation. He sank into a Very low condition, and the fears entertained respecting his non-recovery have, unfortunately, been verified. After lingering in a state; of unconsciousness, for; many hours, Mr Stumbles died in the Hospital shortly before eight o'clock on the evening of the 19th inst;., in the presence of his wife, bro ther, and a number of friends. Dr Hocken held an inquest the next day; at which Dr Yates and Mr John Stumbles, a brother of the deceased, deposed to the circumstances attending his death; and accordingly a verdict of " accidental death" was. returned. Mr TStnmbles's funeral took place at Port Chalmers on the 21st; inst.,' and the cortege which followed his remains was the largest ever witnessed at Port. It consisted of fully 160 persons, including the principal inhabitants pf the town. The Lodges of Freemasons^ Foresters, and Good Templars, of which deceased had been a member, took/ part in the ceremony. During the funeral every shop in Port Chalmers was closed.

A'death, whilst.'Under' the influence of chloroform, being the first case of the kind that has occurred in the Dunedin Hospital, t6ok place on the' 14th inst. The patient was a woman named Jane Duke, and was undergoing an operation for cancer, in the presence ofDrs, Holme; Yates, and Alexander. Deceased had. been successfully operated upon oh a previous occasion. At the inquestjheld on the following day, the evidence'-of the medical men who attended deceased was heard, and a verdict to the effect that her death was the result of " casualty and. misfortune " returned, with a rider exculpating the doctors who administered the chloroform, from blame.. ~ ........ y . A sailor belonging to the Janet Itanisay, a small eqaster, was received into the Hospital on the 9th r irist., haying sxi'stained a fracture of the right leg at Catliri's river,' by a log of timber falling on him. '~ ~...-. ... " ; Yeend'sßalclutha coachj driven byl James Miller, containing fourteen passen- j gera, e%ht in ajid six out, capaiaed oppo"sitei MrStoddart's farm^ riot far from the "Volunteer' Hotel, "pnthe I2fch inst. One of the fore wheels came off, and the king bolt broke, "by which the driver was | thrownunderneath the coach, and dragged by the axle for about twenty yards, when the coach upset; and tbetioraes; bolted with the pole and axle .as far-las Look-Out Point. Fortunately none of the passengers were hurt; but Miller, who' was quickly attended to by Dr Sorley, was disfigured beyphd identification, his, face j presenting a shocking appearance. He ' was received into, the: Hospital, arid is now considered out of danger.