CASUALTIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11323, 17 January 1899, Page 2

CASUALTIES.

The body of a man was found in. the River Irwell, Lincoln, Canterburj, on the 18th. It appeared to be that of a swagger, but-so far there is nothing to identify him. He was evidently i between 50 and 60 years of age. The body had been in the water for about a week.

A. boy named Bowron, while attempting to jump on- the Sumner tram just after it ''Started on the 19th, fell between two cars, the wheels of one passing over his leg-just above the knee. -, The lad was taken to the hospital, where he died shortly after his admission. He was about 14 years of age.

The'body of "-John R. Styel, 45 years of age, of the Avondale Hotel, Auckland, was found in the cellar of the hotel on the 20th ult., lying on the floor. A doublebarrelled 'gun was at his side, -with one barrel discharged. The shot had entered the ear and come out at the forehead. It is supposed the cause of the rash act was financial worry. He leaves a wife and three grqwiyip sons. ; The Gore. Standard reports that a halfcaste, a swagger, name, unknown, was found in" a dying state on the road side- at Charlton on the '17th... ■ There was nothing on his person to lead to his identification. He was accompanied by a little dog, which was lying beside him. Constable Keaney remove<Vthe man to Mataura, where he died the same night. Frank . Poland, 24 years of age, while shunting; on the 27tb ult. in the Auckland goods yard, got his left foot caught in a check rail .while uncoupling-some waggons. He fell in front of the wheel of the waggon, 'which smashed his right hand and arm badly, and also his left leg.. He also received some deep flesh wounds. The young man- was taken to the hospital, but the doctors postponed amputation of, the arm owing to the weak state of the patient, and he died in the evening. Poland was a brother of Constable Poland. - He had been seven years in the railway service. He was a well-Tcnown athlete. At the inquest a verdict was returned of accidental death, no blame being attachable to anyone. A goldtniner, name unknown, was found died at Serpentine on the 25th ult. The Oamaru. Mail reports that at Reidstoa on the; 17th Stewart Maxwell, about 11 yjears of age, a foster son of Mr and Mrs Rawson, of Reidston, lost his life. The. boy, in company with a number of others, was bathing in the Kakanui, when he got out of his depth. His companions ran for. assistance, and Mr R. Mitchell, near, whose place the fatality occurred, went to the rescue, and got the little fellow out alive, but he died shortly after. Mr. Gillander, manager of the Gordon brewery, was drowned while bathing in the Waihou River, Auckland, with a number of school children. Two of the children nearly lost their lives in trying-to save him.

On the Ist a young man named James Bullot, while fishing at Moturoa, New Plymouth, was washed off a rock. The body has not yet been* recovered.

!' Wo regret to learn that Mr J. M. Galla : way's youngest son sustained, at Matakanui ' on 14-th ult., injuries of so serious a, nature I from the kick of a horse as to result fatally, ■ the cause of death being a compound fracture of skull. Mr and Mrs Galloway".left for f Matakanui immediately on receiving news of ! the accident.

During the voyage of the barque Nor'wester from London to Dunedin, an able seamaa named John Home, a native of Timaru, fell off the foretopsail yard on to the deck, and was killed instantly. The weather was very boisterous when the accident oeciirred.

Francis Paul, 50 years of age, a- carrier, while driving at the Lower Hutt was thrown from his waggon through the horses shying at a bicycle. His left leg"was"" crushed, and was amputated at the hosjjital, but the man was unable to rally and died next morning.

Harold Thomas Kilroy, 15 years of.age, son of Mr Kilroy. in the employ of Messrs Brown, Ewing, and Co., met' his death by drowning on New Year's Day under distressing circumstances. The family v/ere spending their holiday at Balmoral Creek, somd 10 miles from Balclutha. Mr Kilroy, after working late on Saturday evening, travelled by the night train and joined them on Sunday morning. The boy Harokl, who was a good swimmer, bad swum across the creak, and was returning, when a gentleman who was with Mr Kilroy drew his attention to the fact that something anreurcd to be the matter with the boy, as he had turned on his back. Mr Kilroy at once threw off his boots, and wont to .his son's assistance. Seizing him by the arms, ho had brought-liim to within a few feet of tho shore when both sank to the bottom, Mr Kilroy being thoroughly exhausted. On coming to tho surface Mr Kilroy found he had lost his hold of his son. Hib friend managed l« drag him ashore, and as soon as he had regained a little strength he made another determined effort to save the boy, but. was 'unsuccessful. It was riot till some time had elapsed that the 'body, was recovered, and tlxm life wasextinet. Much sympathy is felt for the parents. The boy, who was a pupil at the Otago Boys' High School, was a bright, intelligent youth, and had won. some: prizes during his short oaro-ar at school.

Jane Hyland, 27 years, single, died suddenly at her home, near Kiia'poi, early on the 10th in'st. At the inquest the medical evidence attributed the death to a spasm of the heart, induced by pregnancy, and a verdict to that effect was returned.

At the inquest on the young woman, Ada White, at Wellington, which' had been adjourned to enable'an analysis to be made of the contents of the stomach, no evidence of poison was revealed, and an onen verdict was returned:

A sad accident occurred during the voyage of the barque Peru, which arrived from New York on Friday. An ordinary seaman named H. West, antive of. Christchurch, fell overboard and ..was. drowned. .Captain Luke. states that on the afternoon of the 7th inst , when the ship was in lat. 43.11 S. and long 162.55 E., West was engaged in washing the brass-work on the poop, and while doing this lost his footing and fell overboard. The barque was then travelling at the rate of 11 knots, the wind blowing very hard ,and a high sea running. The chief" officer; who was on deck, ordered the wheel to bo put hard down, and a life buoy-was thrown to West' who, however, did not seem to make any effort to reach it. Captain Luke hearing a noise came on deckhand ordered out the starboard lifeboat, which was in the water in less than 10 minutes after the accident. With the chief officer and four hands they pulled in tlie direction of where the man was last seen, the .Peru being brought up into the wind, but she drifted a long way from the'boat. After puinng in all directions over the ship's course for three hours and seeing nothing of the missing man, the chief officer decided to return to the ship, which was then hull down. After a long and anxious time the bo-afc-got alongside, but it was necessary to ponr a large quantity of oil on the water to smooth* the sea before the men could get on the ship again. ■'West,, who was a yorfffg fellow, was of-a cheerful disposition,, and was-well liked by all on board!

Fidela Gardiner, 70 years 'of age," residing alone in a cottage in Oxford street, Lyttelto.i, left home early on Saturday morning, and as she did not return some anxiety was felt about her absence. A 1 letter, was found in the house, to the effect that' she intended ta do a*way> with 'herself. Her body was found at,the foot of the cliffs at Long Point on Saturday evening. An inquest was held on Sunday* The medical evidence was to the effect that deceased's brain was adhering to the skull, which,would render her moie or less insane. The- jury returned a veidict that she was foundsdead"at the foot of a cliff, there being no evidence to show how she came there. .

The ship-Soukar, which arrived on Satur: day from Glasgow, lost no less than seven of her crew "during tlie psfesage.- On September 10 Engeln and Mahoney, two of the sailors, were washed' overboard by a tremendous sea. This was about Jioon. At 4 p.m. the same day another heavy sea broke,on board, and three seamen named M'Farlane, Woods, and Murray, and an apprentice named Weaving were washed overboard and lost, while Captain Wood had both legs broken. During the passage from Mauritius, where she put in for repairs, W. Clucas, another seaman, died of mala-riol fever. A young girl named Edith Smith, 19 years of age, daughter of G. H., Smith, of Irvine and Stevenson. Dunedin, was drowned while bathing in Saltwater Creek, near its junction with tho Owaka River on the-iOth. The deceased was in charge of a number of children who were picnicking on the beach at that point. Being "a .very warm day the deceased took a bathing suit witu her. and went in for a bathe, leaving the children some distance off. The. bank -of ,the stream drops almost at once into deep water, and deo'easerl suddenly got out of her depth and was drowned. Her young brother noticed his sister in difficulties, and informed another picnic party some distance away, and some of them—M Malcolm, of Naseby, Messrs Abernethy and Parker, of Owaka, and Mr Percy, of Tuapeka, Mouth—commenced a search for the body, but this was not successful for over an hour. Artificial respiration was resorted to and continued for some time, but all attempts proved futile. The deceased's mother was living at Gai,lin's River, Mr Smith'having a section of land in the Woodlands block. The father was informed of the accident on. Tuesday evening. He came out to Balclutha by the midnight goods train, and walked right on to Gatlin's River, arriving there about 6 o'clock in the morning. Very great sympathy is felt for the family under the'painful circumstances. An inquest was held on .Wednesday before Mr G. Dabinett J.P., when a verdict of accidental drowning was returned. —Clutha Leader.

George Smith, eight and a-half years old, the--son of Walter Smith, coal miner of Saddle Hill, was drowned >n a.d^m. ai. Saddle Hill at 5.30 on Saturday evening. The deceased was bathing with some other boys, ani got cut his depth. His body was recovered soon after the accident. • Deceased's brother, 12 j^ears of age, endeavoured to! effect a rescue, and was nearly drowned in the attempt. Pelhani E. H. Richardson, a settler at Makaraka, Poverty Bay shot himself, with a revolver in. his orchard at the back of his residence on Saturday.' The bullet entered the-mouth and •emerged, at the crown of the head; Mr Richardson lingered for some time, but gave no reason for th« rash act.^ He left a number of letters, which the police have taken possession of, and which will prcbably ■ be produced •at the-inquest-to-morrow. One of these contained directions as to where the, body would be found. Deceased led his. family to believe that he was coming into Gisborne, arid had a horse in a buggy ready to do so. He also had a list of articles" required for the'1 house in his Docket. It is understood from the letters left by deceased that his family relations were strained. Hr was a man of 65 years of age, and an old settler, in the district, having; settled here in 1871 Hr served in the Poverty Bay Mounted Rifles during the war.

\A boy, ao-ed 14, named Charles Mawkes, while attondintr the Onehuns^- "Wesleyan Sunday School picnic, was drowned in the jVTanakau on the 3rd. Other boys brought I>n> body ashore, but thnir efforts to restore life were unavailing. The boy's mother was present- at tho picnic At the inquest thfi jury commended the boy Austin and Mr Paseoe for their splendid efforts in trying to save deneape.cl.

Cyril MT>.od, son of Andrew MT/nod. was ramninEr wifch two other hoys at Auckland on thfi 3rd. They were walking round the rooks, when tho surf washed M'Leod off, and he was driwnec.

Tnicev Hnll. a well-known singer, was drowned bathinsr in I<nko Takanuna on f.iie 3rd. The deceased, with his brother-and Walter Queroe, wero boa-Imp at Lake Ta-ka-riuna. when it was decided to have n, bnthp. Ouereo dived over, and was followed by Hall, who almost immediately sfterwaHs called out. "Brine thfl bo**.: hurry up." Queree. boms: near, ee'7.?.d TTall: but. bcintr town under, let fro. and Hnll sank before his brother couW hrinsj ut> the boat. Hnll was employed at Snr^ond's. anrl whs well known as a soloist with f-he Auo'cla-nd Amateur Opera Company. The deceased's mother and sister only arrived by the last steamer from Bldbourae.

The body of a young man, named Reginald Cuinming, a bookmaker, was found floating in the Avon at Brighton on the 3rd. He had been missing since Thursday. Deceased's nose was broken, and his chest was bruised, but it is not yet known whether the bruises were caused before death or. after. At the inquest the jury returned a verdict of suicide while of unsound mind, and added a rider to the effect that when deceased made threats of drowning himself his relatives should have reported the matter to the police. An accident occurred early on the 6th inst. at the Victoria wharf, which resulted in an.elderly man named John Greig, who was employed in coaling the steamer Wanaka, losing his life. He was knocked off a plank by a basket of coal, and fell to the bottom of the hold of the hulk Cincinnati. The police were communicated with, and Dr Martin was at once sent for, but when they arrived life was found to be extinct. Deceased, who was a widower, and resided at. Deborah Bay, leaves a grown-up family of five ions and three daughters.. At the inquest, \V illiam Blackert, lumper, deposed that he_ was working with deceased the previous night. They wore working coal from a hulk into the Wanaka, lying alongside the Victoria wharf. They started work at 7 o'clock in the evening. About 5 o'clock in the morning deceased and witness were on planks receiving baskets of coal in slings from the'hulk'. They' had to "keep the baskets clear; of. the planks and run them out to the. Wanaka's rail, where. they were emptied. About the time mon-' tioned two baskets came up, one for each "man, and they, each took hold of one and ran it out.' There>vas a. plank, for each man. Greig's basket slewed round, and the winch-. ■ man held on, the basket coming, round again towards . the.'.hulk". Greig held on to the basket, and.was carried by it to between the two planks,'.when' the basket stopped, arid, deceased fell down into the hold of the hulk. What caused deceased to let go "the' basket witness would.not say. He (witness) climbed down into 'the hold. deceased was then bleeding and \inconscious. The distance from the plank on which deceased was working to the deck was lift, and from the deck to the bottom of the hold 22ft or 23ft. "Witness could not Eay what caused the basket to slow round. They always had to watch for it happening, but oil this occasion the basket apparently took charge of the deceased. The winchman did right in holding on to the baskets as he did. In ivibnese'.s opinion, no one was at fault. Deceased was thoroughly acquaintew with the nature of the work. Samuel Wilson, who was working the winch on board the Cincinnati during' the night, deposed that just .before the accident deceased's basket got on one side and slewed round to the left. . Witness called out to Greig : "Hang on, Jack. I have got.you all right with the brake." His feet were then clear of the plank, and he held on to the basket with one. hand, and his.other arm was over the top of the basket. ' Deceased seemed to lose his Hold all at once, .as'if he had not power to hold on, and. lie fell down into. the. hulk.. He had seen, men carried away with the basket before. The insri went on at 7 o'clock the previous night, and had an hour's spell at supper time. In his (witness's) opinion no one was at fault, and the fatality was purely au accident. The Jury returned a verdict that deceased was accidentally killed by fallin? down the hold of the hulk Cincinnati. "Christina Johncock, : aged 53,; residing at Opa'wa, Canterbury, died under 2)eculiar circumstances. It is stated that during the afternoon she told' a neighbour that she had poison ready to take. She subsequently feil ill, and died before the doctor arrived. ""■. ' . Alexander Grant, aged 14, son of the late" Andrew Grant, sheep dealer, was drowned while bathing at Timaru in afarm dam in company with another lad of the same age. ■ ■•; . The man-who fell off the south express train at Makikihi on the sth was identified a*-."the-inquest held as Richard Powell, a resident of Timaru. Deceased followed no occupation.- He received money ■ from. Home,' and it appea/s that he also received charitable aid! Deceased, who vas •partially crippled, had had some whisky on the train, but was sober. He was subject to giddiness. The train had just moved off from the :station when he fell off the carriage platform. One carriage and part of another went over his legs, and deceased died on reaching Studholme. A verdict was r o turned of death by accidentally falling off a train, no .blame being attachable-to the railway officials;' ! ■ Tlie body; of William Moir, 49 years of age,: 'carpenter of the ship' Timaru, who.disappeared on the night of the 23rd ult., was found on-the'6th on the beach at the Bluff, abreast of the ship:-. Moir had been , ; on. board a cutter near by,.and it is believed that lie fell between her and the wharf as he was returning to his.ship., /Captain Cribertdeposed that Moir was a,sober, man. He wus. a-native of Montrose,, where his parents fUl.l live. He had been in the ship the long'period of 15 years. A verdict of found drowned was returned. The six-year-old daughter of Mr Stephen Boreham died suddenly at Waimate on the 2nd. At an inquest it was ascertained that the child had partaken freely of. unripe fruit, having' eaten five apples and some gooseberries and currants given to her by other girls. " She was taken ill on Sunday, and although the mother took proper remedial measures the child died on Monday morning, before the doctor, who was sent for, could arrive. The jury returned a verdict that deceased died from the effects of eating-.unripe fruit.—Oamaru Mail. '-■.'■ ' '