CASUALTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2612, 6 April 1904, Page 25

CASUALTIES.

J Robert Flynn, corporation labourer, aged 62 years, died suddenly at Wellington on the 29th during the evening meal, being choked nieal, being choked by a piece of meat. Deceased was a widower, and leaves a grownup family. Emily Marsden, nurse, was found unconscious- in her bedroom at Wellington on the 28th. The room was full of gas. She was taken to the hospital,' where she died lastevening". The cause of death is gas poisoning, but how the gas came to be left turned on in the room is not known. Mrs E. Knox, wife of Robert Knox, a Swanson storekeeper, died at Auckland Hospital on the 22nd through takdng poison selfadministered. Deceased had been unwell for some time, and came to Auckland last •week to consult Dr Bull. She did not improve, and after returning to Swanson coniplained of toothache. During the afternoon a servant told Mr Knox that his wife was " in the shop, and he found her drinking something which looked like ginger ale. Mrs Kncx's condition afterwards became . worse-, and her husband found that she had : drank the contents of a boule of oil of tar, ' mixed with carbolic acid, and an emetic was -at once given. The hospital medical staff is opinion thai death was due to carbolic acid poisoning. At tha inquest, the medical evidence was to the effect that death was due to .poison, but so far as the evidence went deceased appears to have taken nothing J of a more dangerous character than oil of , tar, which she got for toothache. The inquest was adjourned for an analysis of the oil of tar and the contents of the stomach. On resuming-, the medical evidence given showed that the oil of tar whio-h. deceased drank contained poi-soa. and the , jury expressed regret that the Poisons Act f did not compel it being labelled "Poison" before- being sold. A verdict of "Suicide while temporarily insane " was returned. ! James Nieol, a coal merchant at the Kaikorai Valley, met with a rather severe accident while driving coal to Roslyn on the 29th. He had a big load of coal on the dray, and fot up to shift some of the bags, when is' foot slipped, and the left leg went in between the spokes of the wheel, with the result that both bones of the leg below the knee were broken. He was conveyed to the Hospital, where he received every attention. A misadventure, attended "with fatal consequences, occurred in Princes street on Wednesday, about 1 o'clock, to a young man named Hans Jospeh Ha-nsen, a journeyman sailmaker employed by Mr J. M'Grath, of Princes street south. Hunsen, who lives in Leitih street, was. returning to his work on a bicycle after dinner, and was riding along on the east side of the tram rails towards Mr M'Grath'i* shop, on nearing which ha turned to cross th© lines towards tho shop, not apparently noticing an electric car overtaking him. The car was upon him in a moment, an-d he was knocked down and pushed along the asphalt track for some distance before the brakes, which were immediately applied, brought the car to a standstill. Hanseai was lifted and taken into Messrs Ellis and Smyth's shop at the foot of Walker street, and Dr Macpherson was in attendance without loss of time. It was found that the unfortunate young man was > very badly knocked about the head, and i as he was unconscious and in a state of collapse, the doctor deemed it advisable, after rendering what assistance he could, to send Hansen with all spe-ed to the Hospital, to which he was conveyed in fcho ambulance. The doctor considered that his condition 1 was due in all probability to coucussion of { the brain, but with only a superficial examination could form no definite opinion as to whether the young man's condition was critical. The name of the motorman on tha 1 car is Thomson, who is regarded as a very j careful man. The conductor's name is i Alexander, who woxild probably be on the . rear platform at the time the unfortunate affair occurred. It is stated that the motorman, as he overtook Hansen, rang the bell several times with the intention of warning him of the approach of the car, but it is I quite evident that Hansen did not hear the warning bell, otherwise he would never have attempted to cross the rails in front of the car. On reaching the Hospital everything possible was done for the injured man, who was found to be suffering from concussion of the brain, as predicted by Dr Macpherson. He remained unconscious up to 20 minutes past 8 o'clock in the evening, when he succumbed to his injuries. With reference to tho death of Nurse

Mardon, at Wellington on Wednesday last, the gas jet in her bedroom was found turned full on, but not lighted, and evidently it had been so for some time, as the room was filled with gas Theio was no ventilation, tho window bp-'tag closed. It will not bo quite certain that death was due to gas poisoning until the post mortem Mis* Mardon was aged 29. At the inquest a verdict wa« returned of death from asphyxiation by coal gas, but there was no evidence to chow how the ga.s came to be turned cm.

At the inquest held at Kaitangata on the body of the mzn Wil«on. who was hit on the head by a piue when falling down a shaft in the Taratau mine, and subsequently died from the effects of the blow, the jury returned a verdict to the effect that the cvid-rmce. went to show that deceased had displayed carelessness in not steadying the bucket on the way from the bottom of the shaft, also that the mai.asrem&nt had been negligent in not having the steam raised or the mid-wall brought do-yjn below the pipos. , . , The polios have received ad\ioe from Milton to the effect that a farmer named Frank Dooley, residing at Southbridge, was accidentally killed on Wednesday evening through being crushed between Ins horse and the shafts of a dray which he was driving at the time. 4n m-nu&st was held at <be Caledonian Hotel, Walker street, at 11.30 on Thu-s-d-y morning before Mr C. C. Graham (coroner) and a jury of six, of whom Mr F. Palmer was chosen foreman, concerning the dS&th of Oy Wah, a Chinese merchant, who died at his house in Hope street that morning. Hing Ming, who identified the- body, said that he had been bookkeeper to the deoeased, and had known him for over 13 years. They had lived together, and deceased, who suffered from a rupture^ of old standing, had always been in indifferent health. The deceased had several times consulted a doctor, and the latter wanted to perform an oueration, but the deceased wouid not agree to that course. The medical evidence showed that death had resulted from strangulated hernia, and the jury returned a verdict in accordance with that testimony. A lad named John TTrquhart, aged io years, residing in Reid road, South Dup.edin, was riding a bicycle down the Main South road on Friday afternoon when he fell and fractured his collarbone. He was taken to the Hospital, where his injuries were attended to, after which he was sent home. Captain A. F. Johnson died suddenly on the Muritai, Auckland, on Friday, from .the bursting of a bloodvessel. A yoang man named Joseph Kirk was drowned near the mouth of the Okahu River, Bahotu, Taranaki, on Friday. ( The deceased, with six companions, was fishing on the beach with a net, when they were all carried away by the current. All succeeded in reaching the shore except Kirk, who was supposed to have been entangled" in the net. Hugh and EH Taylor were nearly drowned while endeavouring to find Kirk, but were rescued by th.c Phihp brothers. Kirk's body has not been found. Samuel J. Lawson, who returned from London by the Athenic on Thursday, died at Wellington on Sunday from consumption. He has no relatives in the colony.

The Saturday afternoon train for Picton had travelled about a mile from Blenheim when a passenger, J. W. Higgins, fell from the platform of the carriage on to the line and was terribly -mutilated by the trucks. He was brought back by the same train, and died shortly after reaching th© hospital. The deceased was 35 years old, and unmarried."

At the inquest on the two-year-old son of Mr J. Lankow, of Tuamarina, Marlborough, who wandered away from his parents' house on Saturday, and was found in a ditch, a verdict of accidental drowning was returned.

A very sad double fatality took place at Westport on Sunday afternoon. A man named l Golding and hie two sons wore fisking off the western breakwater staging, and one son, Fred, aged nine years, fell into the wator. The father slipped down a pile, and, swimming out, caught told of the lad, and after a severe struggle succeeded in getting back to the rooks, but •was immediately ■washed off by the surge of. the sea, and both saiJc. Their bodies were recovered about an hour and a-half later. The* deceased leaves a widow and six. children in poor circumstances.

John Cameron, aged 33 year=, of Timaru, a labourer, was riding a bicycle, down the steep side of a cutting near Otaio on Friday when hie lost control of the machine and went over the side, breaking; his neck. He was seen from a distance going down the cutting at a great pace. The coroner's jury found a verdict of accidental death.

The. police have received word that an old man living alone on a email island 12 miles from Halfmoon Bay is missing. His fishing boat is also gone. It ia supposed that he was caught in the heavy weather and drowned.

An elderly man, while stepping off the Clinton train on its arrival from Invercargill on Friday, fell between the last carriage and a heavy waggon, and was badly mutilated. He died before reaching the hospital. Ho was subsequently identified as Alfred James Denton, a resident of North Imercargill, who was returning from a visit to his married daughter.

A boy named Kenneth Bayne, aged about 13 years, was acftnittcd to the Hospital on Saturday, having be'en shot very badly in the hand and about the back. The boy, who resides at North-East Harbour, was out rabbit shooting in company with his uncle, and the latter's gun appears to have be«n accidentally discharged. No sorious results are anticipated.

Mr Frank Doolan, farmer, a very old resident in the Tokomairiro district, met with an accident which resulted in his death at Moneymore on Wednesday evening, 30th ult. At the time of the accident Mr Doolan •vva.3 engaged in carting coal, and was 6tandr ing between the shed and the cart, the horse of which was being backed by one cf Mr Doolan's sons, to unload the coal. From somo cause the horse backed the dray wiih <=uch force that it jammed Mr Doolan up against the shed and killed him almost instantaneous^. It is stated that when the dray was removed the unfortunate' man fell over the horse and expired. At the inquest a verdict of accidental death tiao returned.

Mr George Holmes, of Milton, met with an accident at Milton on Wednesday morning last. He was engaged in carting rabbits when the horse started kicking and broke his right, leg a lutle above tho ankle.

A lad named Alexander Boag_ was drowned at Oisborno near the footbridge leading to the Taruharti Freezing Works. The accident wa* not seen by anyone-, ft is supposed he fell off the bridge. The family had only arrived th© previous day from Napier.

A Maori boy on horseback fell ovor SI cliff in tho Whatatutu district, Hawke's Bay. The boy escaped with a broken aim. A drowning fatality occurred at Napier by which a little boy named Angus Ronald Cameron, the six-year-old son cf Mr Kenneth Cameron, of the Harbour Board staff, lest his life. The- boy's parents wero fishing off the cattle wharf, with the little fellow playing about. Suddenly the mothc-i' missed the child, and, on making inquiries, found th-at a man liamed Watson had seen tho body in. tho water, and. not being 1 a swimmer, had tried to bring it ashore with a fishing line, but ineffectually, and the body was carried out to sea. Boats went out in search, but up to the present the body has not been recovered.