SHOOTING ACCIDENT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 379, 19 July 1911, Page 5

SHOOTING ACCIDENT.

On Sunday afternoon about 4 p.m., a very serious accident happened to a young bushman named Sid. Devereux, of Puketiti, aged 28. He and another bushman named Carl were out pig hunting and had shot a pig. The gun was put down, and the pig cleaned, and while Carl was carrying the pig away he called out to Devereux to go and get the gun. Devereux replied "All right; here it is," an was picking it up by the barrel, when his foot slipped, and the gun caching in a log, went off, discharging its contents at a distance of 8 to 12 inches only into the unfortunate man's right lung. His mats was horrified, and believing him to be dead ran for help to the whare. All the settlers in the district came along and after constructing a stretcher they commenced to convey the wounded man down to the road.

Picture the hardships and sufferings undergone by the party in their journey to the road itself, through swamps and bush, over bill and dale, that part of the journey alone taking from 4 p.m. on Sunday until 7 a.m. on Monday. Meanwhile Dr Paxton, of Te Kuiti, had been communicated with and reached the sufferer about 4.30 a.m. in the bush. He d'd all that was humanly possible for him, and decided that the only hope was to bring Devereux in to Te Kuiti for conveyance to the Waikato Hospital. After reaching the so-called "road" at Mangaotaki, a gig was obtained, and the stretcher laid across it, and then a further most trying journey of 27 miles to Te Kuiti commenced, over one of the most difficult road 3 we have even in this unroaded district. At times a narrow ledge of road was all that stood between the party and a drop of 500 feet, slips on -different parts of the road having brought this about. Te Kuiti was reached about 5 p.m. on Monday, after 25 hours of travel, and then the miserable difficulty of where he should be taken until the train arrived occurred. The police were appealed to, but could do nothing, and finally, by the courtesy of Mr Sims, the sufferer was taken to his house. About 11pm., the goods train, long overdue, turned up, and Devereux was taken to Frank ton, and from thence to the Waikato Hospital. It was reported that he was in a very low state this morning. Devereux had no relatives in New Zealand. He has not been long a resident here, and has a young brother at Home.