AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 May 1927, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

A SNAKE BITE. BOY LOSES ARM. SYDNEY, April 20

The buy victim of what is stated to he the record long il ness resulting from snakebite is still in hospital 7 months after lie was bitten. 110 is Kenneth Hammond, l!i years of ago, and though he has lost his right arm he is continuing li is school studies, and is 1.-aruing to write with his left hand. Young Hammond was bitten below the right elbow. He was attending to a number of guinea pigs which wore hi- nets, and pulling his right arm in their ltulch he felt a smart sling, whi h made him howl with pain. He thought that lie had caught his armon ;t nail, but it snake which crawled out of the liltt“li told him what had caused the sting. Hammond's father cut the wound with a razor, applied Candy's crystals, ami put on a ligature, the recognised treatment for a snake-bile, lie then rushed the lad lo hospital, bur despite the rapid treatment- gangrene set in. Two of the hoy’s fingers droppedoff, and the doctor amputated the hand. A further amputation will he necessary. Just before the hoy was bitten his dog also suffered. The hoy scarified the wound and 1,-allied it with Goody's crystals. The dog crawled away under the house and did net reappear for a fortnight. AYhon lie did he was n skeleton. He began lo take peculiar fits, and then was sent away to Sydney for treatment. This was successful and the hov in hospital at Elsinore is eagerly awaiting the day when lie and the dog will he able to D ick the pugnacious snake to its lair and kill

FARAI HORSES FOR 7s fid. SYDNEY. Anril 20.

Recently, tlie onward march ot" the molar lorry, motorcar, nml farm tractor in Uic outback life of Australia was demonstrated liv a sale at bargain rates of camels at Wentworth, in the far s lutli-wost ol this .State. Tho camels hail for many years been used in transporting wool ami stores between outline]; stations ami the railways. Hut an even more striking evidence of the

manlier in which motor power is supplanting (lie horse was forthcoming this week in the Taniworlh distriel of New Smith Wales. A farmer having bought himself a motor-ear, a motorlorry, and farm I raetors, decided to dispense with his horses. lie sent them lo a horse sale at Tamworih and I he auctioneer’s note staggered him.

It showed that the horses realised, alter all charges, including freight, had been paid, exactly 7s Gil. If the auctionin' had not decided to remit certain unloading and droving charges the vendor would have received a debit note. Ihe highest price received for a horse was between £1 and £2. Alost of the horses were practically given awiiv.

15TB TRANSFER OF GOLD. SYDNEY, April 28,

The public of ,Sydney, outside of a comparatively few bank officials, have .vet to learn the romantic story of how only a few days ago. £1.000.000 was brought from Alolbourno to Svdncy bv Commonwealth hank officials, ll was negotiable wealth, golden sovereigns in hulk. \\ ith a change of gauge at the border town. Alhury. the coin brought by ordinary train in 200 boxes of CSOOO each made a total weight of nearly nine tons. This was carried in

an ordinary small railway van, with four hank officials, two messengers, and

two policemen as escorts. I'iistrr?ti ms were that, in the case of trouble, the policemen were to lire first. The others, sitting figuratively on a million. look some comfort from the fart that, to (ire first, the policemen must necessarily be in front.

This vast quantity of glitter,ug .;:dd was loaded in Melbourne, aid lan.hit in Sydney, without the im I :',.- knowing ot il. ef course. The members of the escort wore locked up securely with the gold in the van. ]iy the time the escort reached Huron, the old home of the notorious Kelly gang of bushrangers, the temperature in the van was more than 100 degrees. -At this point the escort got a scare. Cue of the end doors of the van flew open, two men revealed themselves in the darkness of the night, one with a torch, which looked extraordinarily like a gun. and the other carrying an iron bar. They were two of the train gang trying to get through to inform the engine-driver that half the couplings on the third carriage hail carried away, anil that if lie did not pull up there was the very big possibility of a railway smash, iho train came to n stop at a lonely spot, which looked ideally situated for a hold-up. The members of the escort slept upon rugs laid upon the gold. One man. of big proportions, covered about £200.000 in this way. That C1.0C0.000 is to-day safely in the vaults of the Commonwealth Bank.