FATAL BURNS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 107, 7 May 1936, Page 9

FATAL BURNS

MAORI BOY’S DEATH HEROIC RESCUE EFFORT F } [ Per Press Association. ] ; r WAIROA, May 6. r The story of how a Maori, awakened L in the middle of Sunday night by screams, rushed into a tent and there found a Maori boy sitting up in bed enveloped by flames, and how at the ; risk of his own life lie rescued the lad and carried him for miles over rough bush tracks in the middle of the night to a whare, comes from Riverina station in Marumaru Country about eight miles from Wairoa. The boy, who died before be reached a hospital, was George Ihakara Lewis, aged 7 years and 10 months, and the Maori through whose heroic action the boy was saved from being burnt to death in his bed, was Pera Solomon, who at present lies in the Wairoa county hospital suffering from severe burns. The scene of the tragedy was a small camp some miles from Riverina homestead, where the boy’s father and Soloinon were engaged in scrub-cut-ting. Early on Sunday morning Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, accompanied by their three young children and Solomon, left for the homestead to do some baking. Soloiflon and the boy went for stores and returned to the camp, where they spent the afternoon together. The camp consisted of a large tent where Mr. and Mrs. Lewis and their family slept, and a smaller tent which was used for cooking and where Sflomon slept. There was one bunk in the smaller tent and as Mr. and Mrs. Lewis had not returned to the camp, Solomon and the boy turned in together in the same bed. Before going to bed precautions were taken to put the fire out with water, and Solomon, who said he was very tired, soon dropped off to sleep. Apparently the boy could not • get to «51ecp for shortly after he left i Holomon and went into the larger tent. I 1 Some hours later Solomon was awakened by screams and on jumping out of bed discovered that the large tent was ablaze. Tearing aside the flap he rushed into the tent and there saw the boy Lewis sitting up in the bed, which was blazing furiously. The boy’s shirt also was ablaze. Fighting his way through flames, Solomon gained the boy ’s side and picking him up rushed out into the night. By this time Solomon’s own clothes had caught fire and he was badly burned about the head, face, legs and arms. With the boy in his arms and with hardly a stitch of clothing loft on his back, Solomon then set out to trudge over three miles of badly broken country .to the whare where he knew he would meet the boy’s parents. He arrived at the whare in an exhausted state, and after doing everything he could to relieve his son’s suffering, Mr. Lews set out at . daybreak for the Riverina homestead for the purpose of securing dressings and other assistance. On his arrival back at the whare Mr. Lewis dressed the boy’s burns as best he could and shortly after the party left for Frasertown, carrying the boy on a roughly made stretcher. Only two miles had been covered, however, when the boy died. An inquest was held at Frasertown by the coroner, Mr. V. E. Winter, who found that death was due to shock following burns accidentally received when the boy’s tent caught fire. Solomon was admitted to hospital last evening in a serious condition and according to a report to-day he has shown no improvement.