Accident and Suffering in the Bush.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 11, 19 January 1870, Page 7

Accident and Suffering in the Bush.

The report of a riding accident, followed by the endurance alone in the bush of three whole days of terrible bodily suffering, comes to us (says the Wagga Wagga Express) from the Burrabogie station. Early on Sunday morning a lad of about seventeen years of age was endeavouring to run in a horse from an out-of the-way part of the Burrabogie run, on which he was employed. In driving home the animal, he came upon a mob of wild horses, conspicuous among them being a savage entire, which suddenly charged down upon him, and hurled him from the saddle. The shock he sustained from the fall was so great that his consciousness left him, and when, after a long interval of time, his senses returned, he fonnd that his thigh had been broken,-and that miles away from a human habitation he was lying, parching with thirst, helpless and disabled, alone in the bush. Collecting his thoughts, and remembering the difficulties that the people of the station would have to encounter in finding him whsre he then lay, and judging as best he could the nearest point at which he could reach water, he decided that the best course he could adopt for preserving his life would be to drag himself, if possible, to the water, and there await his chance of discovery by the men whom he felt sure would be looking for him. By slow, paiuful, and laborious efforts, the poor lad at once began to put his scheme into execution, and, by dragging himself upon his elbows, contrived to move by degrees over the ground. The operation was, however, both painful in itself and the cause of great pain in the broken thigh; and, as he had to take frequent rests, the progress he made was very slow. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday passed away, and still, in spite of increasing weariness, he dragged himself indomitably along, indulging in frequent rests, and during the hours of darkness occasionally sleeping. Meanwhile, the people on the station, who had been alarmed by his prolonged absence, had all been scouring the bush, and at last, on Wednesday evening, one of the search parties had the good fortune to discover the poor fellow. He was in a terribly exhausted condition from the combined effects of pain, hunger, and thirst ; and, having travelled fully two miles in the way we have described, his elbows and arms had become perfectly raw. The first thing he asked for was a drink of water, and this he had no sooner between supplied with than ho fainted away. He was at once conveyed to the station, and was there sparingly supplied with food. A medical man being fortunately at the station, the broken limb was set, and the lad is now in a fair way of recovery.