CASUALTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3105, 17 September 1913, Page 30

CASUALTIES.

Arthur Harding, a son of the late Air John Harding, or Mount Vernon Estate, Hawke's Bay, was drowned on the 7th inst. in the Oruawharo River, near Port Albert, under distressing circumstances, tie recently purchased several thousand acres of land having a frontage to the Oruawharo River. On Sunday, in company with his wife and son, he crossed the river in an oil launch to visit some neighbours. The weather was stormy, but notniug untoward happened until the return journey had nearly been completed. • The launch had nearly reached the wharf on the deceased’s property when lie fell overboard. His son gallantly jumped into the water, swam some distance, and caught his father. He got him safely to shore, but the launch in the meantime had drifted away with Airs Harding. The eon swam after the launch, and with difficulty got in it. Mr Harding was then seen floating towards the launch. His wife and his son caught hold of Ins coat,' but they were unable to pull him on the launch. The son towed his father back to the wharf, but Air Harding had by this time expired. The son is 17 years of age, and is a powerful swimmer. He was in the water for about an hour. At the inquest a verdict of accidentally drowned was returned.

A Chinaman named Quang Chcong, 82 years of age, was found dead in bed on the 9th inst. under unusual circumstances. The neighbours had complained to Mr Haynes (chief sanitary inspector for Auckland), and Mr Haynes went to the house on the 7th iust. Getting no reply to his request for admittance , v he forced the back door and made he way to the bedroom, where he saw the Chinaman dead in his bed. A constable went to the house and discovered that the body was in a highly decomposed state. From the post-marks on letters that had been pushed under the front door it was obvious that the man had not been about since July 25, and the indications are that death occurred about that date. No close examination has yet been possible, though it was noticed that- there was a pool of blood under the bed. Quang was a well-known Chinese identity of Auckland, and it is reported that he was wortn something over £1093 above the value of the property in which he lived. He did no work, and lived alone. At the inquest the medical evidence indicated that death was due to heart failure, associated with senile decay, and a verdict was returned accordingly. At the inquest regarding the death of Robert Arkwright, a railway porter, a verdict was returned that death was duo to shock following injuries accidentally received while shunting, no blame being attachable to anybody. Arkwright’s widow is on her way out from England. The Railway Department intimated that provision was being made for her.

Three men named R. Wolf, W. M“Coy, and J. Campbell were buried by a fall of stone in a tunnel at the Lake Coleridge hydro-electrical works at 10 p.m. on the £th inst. Wolf was completely buried. Two shifts were at work, and the men were immediately put on to effect a rescue. All the men were got out uninjured A rather strange but serious accident happened at Palmerston on the 9th inst. A motor car driver named L. Chcyne in charge of one of the cars of the Cadillac Garage, which are at present plying between Palmerston and Ranfurly. was the victim of an act of either mischief or pure viciousness. It seems that he had left his car in the yard of Collins’s Hotel, and during the night someone had interfered with the electric wiring in such a way as to cause the engine to revolve in the wrong direction. The result was that when Cheyuc came to start his car in the morning the lever sprang back and seriously injured his arm. On Wednesday, 3rd instant, Mr Charles O’Brien, a ganger in the employ of the Public Works Department, on the Ida Valley irrigation works, had a miraculous escape from death. Mr O’Brien’s gang was engaged in blasting operations, the explosive used being gelignite. About 5 o’clock, 16 holes having been charged, Mr O’Brien proceeded to fire them in the usual manner. A notch is cut in each fuse, and into this is fitted a small piece of gelignite. When all the fuses have been thus treated a lighted plug of the explosive—which, when unconfined, burns after the manner of celluloid —is carried round and applied in turn to each of the small sections let into the fuse. This ensures their “ taking ” quickly, for on a windy day matches are altogether too uncertain. Mr O’Brien had lighted 11 of the 16 fuses, when suddenly there was a blinding' flash and a terrific roar, and he was hurled some 15ft on to the face of the rock, the lighted plug having for some unaccountable reason exploded in his hand. Dazed, deaf, and for the time being blinded, ho staggered to his feet, and guided, no doubt, by instinct, scrambled as best he could out of the danger zone. Nor was there any time t<? spare, for no sooner had bo taken shelter behind a rock than the 11 shots which ho had previously lighted exploded with all their pent-up force, hurling hundreds of tons of rock on the spot on which, hut a few moments before, he himself had been deposited. When Mr O’Brien was picked up it was found that beyond suffering from the severe shock occasioned by the explosion of the plug in his hand, he was otherwise practically uninjured. The hand in which he held the plug of gelignite was scorched, as also was the side of his

head and face. Soon after tho accident he was conveyed to Moa Creek, when first-aid was rendered, and when seen the following morning Mr O’Brien was in his usual good spirits, although it will probably bo a week or more before he recovers from the shock. For the past 17 years Mr O’Brien has been intimately associated with all kinds of explosives, both in Australia and New Zealand, and he is quite unable to assign any reason to the vagary of that particular plug of gelignite. The little daughter of Mr Fyffo, who had been missing from her homo at Parahaki since the morning of the Bth, was found on the 9th drowned in a dam. At the inquest a verdict of accidental death was returned.

An accident which terminated fatally happened in tho Nightcaps coal mine on the 9th, the victim being Matthew M‘Konzic, a middle-aged man, with five of a family, residing at Nightcaps. It appears that Mr M'Kenzie tripped, and his chin came in contact with a coal box. resulting in a fracture of the jaw and injuries to the skull. Medical aid was summoned, and tho unfortunate man was removed to his home, where ho dkd. At tho Christchurch Hospital on tho Bth instant (says the Press) an inquest was opened before Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M.. District Coroner, regarding the death of Ruby Burns, who died at the Hospital at an earlv hour on Monday morning. Dr D. L. Sinclair, house surgeon at tho Hospital, stated that the deceased was , admitted to tho Hospital on Friday evening. She had been ill since September 1. Symptoms of her illness indicated acute abdominal trouble. Witness was unable' to certify as to tho cause of death. Percy Burns, carter, stated that ho was a brother of deceased. She was single, and was 25 years of age. By occupation she was a tailoross. Witness knew nothing about tbo cause of her death. The evidence of Dr Pearson, who had made a post mortem examination of tho body, showed that the appendix was perforated and gangrenous, causing general septic peritonitis and septicaemia The other organs were healthy. The cause of death was general septic peritonitis and septicaemia due to a ruptured gangrenous appendix. The coroner returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.

An elderly man named Elliott was found dead in a whare at Albany, hanging from the ceiling by a rope. He lived alone on a small farm, and had been brooding over his loss owing to cows having been bogged on his property. Ken Harris was injured at the Dannevirke races on the 9th through the horse ho was riding colliding with another horse at the finish of the Hack and Hunters’ Stocple.chase. He is progressing satisfactorily at the Dannevirke Hospital. A big scalp wound is the princiual injury. During the voyage of the Tahiti a man named W. P. Gibson, aged 27 years, and unmarried, who signed on as a stoker, was drowned when five days out from San Francisco. He jumped overboard, with the re-mark “Well, hero goes!” The snot was teeming with s larks. The ship was stopped and a, search was made for an hour, but there was no sign of Gibeon, whose mother lives at Ilughenden, near Townsville (Queensland). Mr Henry Jacobs, carrier, Hokitika, mot with a painful accident on the 11th when in the act of running to bis horse’s head in order to prevent the animal from getting away. In endeavouring to pull the horse up Mr Jacobs fell, and one of the whee's of the loaded vehicle passed over his right arm, which was badly broken above the elbow. The unfortunate man also suffered a' broken nose, besides several abrasions on the face and body. The sufferer is progressing favourably, although his injuries are regarded as serious. On the 6th a man named Robt. Goldie Smart fell while going up a ramp at the entrance to Oamaru railway station. He was picked up in an unconscious state and partially paralysed, and was subsequently sent to the hospital, where he died on the Bth. An inquest was held on-, the 11th, when the evidence showed that ho had gone out to Glenavy in the morning and obtained some liquor, returning by the next train. Both ho and a companion whom he met at Glenavy, and who came back with him, were under the influence of liquor when they went to the railway station later on. It was shown that when he fell deceased struck his head against the concrete side of the ramp, and the medical evidence that his skull was fractured and that death resulted therefrom. The jury returned a verdict that deceased met Iris death from a fractured skull caused by a fall while ho was under the influence of liquor, and it added that the evidence went to show that the liquor was obtained at Glenavy on the morning of the accident. A fatal accident occurred at Rangiora, at the High s.reet railway crossing On the 12ch inst., when the incoming north express train ran into a five-horse lorry driven by W. Banks, of Ashley. Banks was going for a load of coal when the train struck bis conveyance on the fore carriage, • cutting the horses free with a part of the forecarriagc and one wheel. The body of the vehicle was taken over the cattle pit and the driver was thrown further on. Bunks was badly crushed on the head and body, and he lingered about half an hour without regaining consciousness. The crossing keeper's son was at the crossing to give warning, and his mother, Mrs Humphries, seeing the danger, rushed out to rescue him, when both were knocked down by a horse and part of the lorry and considerably injured. Banks was a married man with three children. Eye-witnesses state that it was apparent that Banks, though a very <strong man, to some extent lost control of his team, which might have been caused by the loud whistling of the train. The lorry shot out from the buildings of the street, and' instantly the train was seen to come on to the crossing before anything could be done to prevent the collision. Mrs Humphreys, the crossing-keeper’s wife, waving a green flag, made every effort to stop the lorry coming on to the crossing and wont right into the middle of the road waving the flag. The horses escaped with one wheel end a part of the forecarriage. This must have come in contact with the crossing-keeper’s wife, who was picked up severely injured. She was for a time unconscious. Her son, seven years of age, who was standing near her, received a severe scalp wound and was also rendered unconscious _ Regimental Sergeant-major Shortal. of the 14th South Otago Regiment, had the misfortune to break one of his ribs at Kaitangata whilst demonstrating to some Territorials the necessity of putting seme heart into their physical drill. During the progress of the Piakuranga Hunt Club’s pomt-to-point steeplechase meeting on Saturday a nasty accident occurred. 0. C. Dunlop was nding Hokonui

in tho Light-weight Steeplechase, and the horse struck a stone wall hard, turning right over his rider. It is feared that the horseman has suffered a fracture of the pelvis. IV. H. Shipton, salesman in the carpet department at Kirkcaldie and Stains, sustained serious injuries at Wellington on tho 14th instant. He was looking down tho goods lift well, with h:s head over tho grill, speaking to tho storeman on the floor below, when the lift came down from tire upper floor and struck tho back of his skull. Ho was removed to the Hospital in a critical condition.

An accident resulting in tho death of Frank Breeden', a tram conductor, occurred at Oriental Bay, Wellington, about 10 p.m. on (Saturday. The deceased, who was a single man, 24 years of age, was, conductor on a conrnuation car, which was proceeding at about 14 miles an hour round Oriental Bay. The motorman, who heard the sound of money falling on the road, pulled up the car immediately, and saw tne deceased lying on the road some distance back. The deceased was removed to the hospital suffering from a fracture of tho skull, and at 2 25 this morning he died from haemorrhage of the brain. The deceased was a native of Now South Wales, and his parents reside in Sydney. William Samuel Sping, a married man, about 65 years of age. died suddenly, it is supposed from heart failure, in Wellington about 4.40 p.m. on Saturday. He had left tho tram at the Aro street terminus, and was walking along the road when he was scon to fall. The body was removed to the morgue, where an inquest will be held. Henry Spencer, a railway carpenter, 39 years of ago, res;d : ng at Lower Riccarton, was found dead this morning, hanging in a washhouse. At the inquest it was stated that the deceased had a nervous breakdown two montlis and a-nalf ago, and suffered fiom insomnia. He came out of the hospital yesterday afternoon, and slept in a separate room from his wife, who on investigating this morning found him as already described. A verdict was recorded that the deceased committed suicide by hanging himself whilst in a state of unsound mind.

Ono of the Riverdalo Dairy Factory employees liad a most miraculous escape from death on Friday. Ho got caught in a pulley, and must have boon jammed somehow. His clothing was literally torn off him, nothing being left on hut his boots. Duckily no bones were broken, but the injured man suffered severely from shock. He was removed to a private hospital at Manaia. *A lad named Ray Grace, son of Mr A. Grace, of Knponga, uae the victim of a shooting mishap at Mangotoki. While outshooting the accidental discharge of a companion’s gun resulted in his receiving 29 pellets in various parts of the body, though no vital parts were seriously affected. Several minor operations were necessary to remove shot from the face, etc.

Mr R. Leishman, the popular guard of the Kaitangata train, had the misfortune to break a rib whilst engaged in shunting operations last week. II is place is being filled by Mr H. Seaman. A very sudden death occurred in Mr W. Maker’s Farmers’ Arms Hotel, Bnlcluth-a, on Tuesday, 9th inst., Mr Alexander M’Grcgor. aged 64, falling back dead in a chair which he was sitting on while playing cards. He had been ailing for some time past with dropsy and heart disease. On Monday night ho arrived in Balclutha, and had consulted Dr Stonhouso, prior to leaving on a trip to Queenstown, and his condition was then no wore© than usual. As Dr Stcnhousc supplied a certificate of death an inquest was not held. Mr M'Gre.gor was in the employ of Mr W. Hay as shepherd for a long period, and was a well-known and respected typo of the old school of shepherds. A motor ear containing Arthur Duncan, Arthur Gillies, Harold Thomson, and G. Saunders, well-known golfers, while proceeding to the Wanganui links capsized owing to a side slip. Thomson and the driver (Carter) fell on their heads and were rendered unconscious. The others escaped injury. William Samuel Sping, a married man, about 65 years of age, died suddenly about 4.40 p.m. on Saturday. The body of S. W. P. Peddle, one of the occupants of the launch which disappeared from Whangapoua (Coromandel) some weeks ago, was found on the Pnngapunga beach, Auckland, on the 14th inst.

A child, 2i years old, named Joseph J. Mattick. whoso parents reside near inglewood, died at the New Plymouth Hospital as a result of burns. The deceased, with throe other children, the eldest of which was six years old. was left in a room containing an open fire, over which was placed a kerosene tin nearly full of hay tea. The children had been used to looking after the lire, and no previous accident had occurred. The mother, who had gone out to get wood, was called to the house by the eldest child, and she found the boy badly scalded. Ho had evidently pulled the tin over himself. Dr Wylie deposed that death was duo to scalds. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death by scalds. Mr C. C. Graham, district coroner, held an inejuest on Monday afternoon on the body of Jane Amelia Mildcnhall, six years oi age. who died suddenly at her parents’ residence, John street, Cavcrshani, shortly after 6 o'clock on Monday morning. Hie evidence showed that the little girl had a slight cold when put to bed on Sunday evening. At 6 o’clock yesterday morning her parents noticed something peculiar in her breathing. Dr North was sent for, but the child was dead before he arrived. As Dr North had not previously attended the girl ho refused to give a certificate of death. A post mortem examination showed that death had resulted from acute congestion of the lunge. A verdict was returned in accordance with the medical testimony.

Our Palmerston correspondent states that on Saturday while a boy named Percy Chain's was trying to get a ride on a threshing mill that was being drawn by a traction engine up Ronaldsay street he slipped under the wheels and was killed almost instantaneously. The little fellow, who was only about six years of age, was a great favourite with all who knew him. Great sympathy is felt for his parents.