SHOCKING OCCURRENCE IN RECREATION GROUND.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 9190, 18 September 1891, Page 2

SHOCKING OCCURRENCE IN RECREATION GROUND.

THE INQUEST. (Continued from column 5.) Inspector Pardy conducted the enquiry. Honry Murray stated he went to the Recreation Grounds about 7 o'clock this morning to bathe A gaol warder pointed out to him some clothes that were lying on the verandah of the bathing house. Witness with the assistance of one of the prisoners working in the ground got a canoe out, and witness got in it and pulled across the pond from the bathing house. He saw an object which he took to be a bit of wood from a distance, but on pulling up to the object he found a dead body— the body of Mr J. T. Davis. About two inches of the back of the head showed out of the water. The body was upright in the water, and the arms were bent, and the hands were held down. The body was in about 4£ feet of water. He fancied the foot were on bo bottom. When he saw the body ho called out to the others. H. Bauchope put a rope round the body, and they pulled it ashore and carried it round to the bithing house on a board. When he saw the body first it was about eight feet from the- bank; ,The body was quite naked. Thomas James Wolner, gaol warder, deposed that ho took a party of prisoners to work in the Recreation Grounds this (Friday) morning, arriving there about 7.15 a.m. When he got in view of the buthing house he saw aome clothes lying on the bathing house verandah. The clothes consisted of coat, vest, trousers; boots, sock a, hat, etc. He thought some one was bathiDg, as it was customary for people to bathe ti ere early in the morning. He looked round, but could see no one bathing. He sent the other warder round, bb he thought the supposed bather bad screened himself from some ladies who had just come into the grounds. Some time afterwards two lads, Murray and Bauchope, came up, and at his suggestion a canoe was got out, and Murray pulled across to the othpr side, where he found the body. They got the body out and took it to the shed. The body in the water had tho appearance of a man in the act of striking out to swim. The face was towards the bank. He nhould say that the deceased must have been struggling to get ashore, from the crouching position and the general attitude. Witness examined the body, but saw no sign of life. He also tried to resuscitate, but the body was cold and froth came from the •mouth. The only mark he saw on the body was blood issuing from the left eye. Witness handed the clothes over to Constable Scully. Dr. O'Carroll deposed he saw the body of James Thomas Davis in the Recreation Grounds between 8 and 9 this morning. The body was perfectly naked, and bore all the evidences of death by drowning. Tliero was blood coming from the left eyelids, not the eye. The only way he could account for the blood was that dccc sed must have been crying and rubbing his eyes violently bofore entering the water The left ear was congested and black, and the only way ho could account for it was that deceased must have been lying down sleeping on something hard before he entered the water. If he was lying down it must have been in close proximity to the place where he was drowned. If he had been lying down in his shop the blood would have had time to circulate in the ear by the time he got to the grounds. There were no other marks. Life had been extinct six hours when he saw it. Rigor moms had given way. By the Coroner : There was no indication of Hci/uro of cramp. Emma Yates, widow, deposed that d ceased was her brother. She laHt saw him alive at 10 o'clock on Thursday night. He spent tho evening at her place, and indulged in a game of cribbage. Ho said " Good night" in his usual way whon he loft. (Proceeding as ice went to Press.")

The funeral of tho late Mr J. T. Davis will take place at tho Te Henui cemetery on Sunday afternoon. Two men engaged harrowing some land at Waihi, about 4 o'clock on Thursday afternoon had rather a narrow shavo of being killed by lightning during the severe thurj(?<jißtorm that broke over Waihi and Waitara. The lightning was described as being awful. Two teams were following one another up — tliroo horses in each team— when the lightning struck the harrows of both teams, all the horses were knocked down. On« of the drivers was struck down, and one of the horuoa was killed. The teams belonged to Mr Samuel KJnuckey, of Tikorangi,