Local News and Notes.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 23, 18 July 1863, Page 4

Local News and Notes.

A meeting was held at Arthur's Point on Thursday evening, to hear the report of Mr. Bergen, the Shotover delegate to Dunedin, and also to take into consideration the establishment of a Court of Mines. A full report will appear in our next. A race for £2OO, between Emery and Telford, came off yesterday, on the ground at the back of the Camp, in the presence of a large number of spectators. The race was very well contested, and resulted in a dead heat. The event is to be decided to-day. The meeting called for last night at Bracken's Hotel, received a decided veto by the clerk of the weather, the rain pouring down in torrents, effectually preventing any attendance by even the most patriotic of ths residents. It therefore stands adjourned till this evening, at 8 o'clock. ♦ THE LANDSLIP ON THE SHOTOVER. INQUEST. An inquest was held on Thursday, at the Court-house, Queenstown, on the body of Michael Townsend, who was killed at the late landslip on the Shotover. Alexander Campbell, sworn, said he was a miner, living about two and a-half miles above Moke Creek, and knew deceased, whose name was Michael 1 ownsend. Had recognised the hody. Townsend was living in the next hut to him. Saw him last either on Saturday or Sunday, but was not sure on which day. Was in bed in his hut on Sunday night, when he was awoke by the sound of earth coming down. He jumped out of bed, and when he was in the middle of the floor the \ hut fell, knocking him down. When he got clear of the logs, he could not see the other huts, which were scattered down towards the river. When his mate was taken out of the logs, he was dead. Neither saw nor heard of Townsend, or any of them that night. Thought they were not in the hut at all. By the Jury—My mate that was killed is lying there stilt. Wm. John Cross said he came down, together with about a dozen others, on Monday morning, on learning that the hut in which deceased lived had been carried away. Searched for the bodies about half-an-hour, when they found the deceased, completely covered up with sand and debris. There was a stone on his back, and a bag of flour on his feet. Assisted to bring him in to Queenstown. By the Jury—The stone weighed five or six tons. Examination resumed—The body was found about ten feet below the hut, and above the highest flood mark. He was a single man. He had two mates—Michael [Cuddihy and Richard Aylward, but there was no account of them, and he was afraid they were lost. The hut was built on the rising ground on the bank. The stream was running behind the hut, and it had washed the

bank away. Deceased had no friends in New Zealand; but witness knew his people in Ireland. Has not been a successful digger; they found £2l on him. Saw him last on Saturday at the hut about 500 yards distant from his own.

! Patrick Gibbs said he lived about a quarter j of a mile from the hut of deceased. Had ; known him since last September. Came down | while they were searching for the bodies, and saw deceased dug out. Had heard on Mon- | day morning that two huts had been carried j away, and came down to see what damage had | been done. Was standing by when deceased was taken out, and recognised him. By the Jury—l believe there was some money found on him, but I do not know how much. The body was entirely covered; there was about eight feet of earth on him. Patrick Griffin said he was a miner, living at Butcher's Point, and came down with the last witness on Monday morning. When he ! arrived at the place where the accident took place, they were searching for the body, and removing the broken fragments of the hut. I Saw the body found. Had known the de- | ceased about six months, and had seen him ! about three days before the accident. By the Jury—Wm. Cross took care of the j money that was found on him: he is a personal friend of deceased. The hut was built of logs, which were, pretty heavy—the walls were six feet high. The other bodies are not yet found. His Worship—There are two at Arthur's [ Point, on which I shall hold an inquest presently. Dr. Pelley, sworn, said he had examined j the body of the deceased. There were no j external marks, with the exception of a dislo- ; cation of the right shoulder, and a scratch on i the forehead; there was a slight bleeding I from the ear. There was congestion of the \ head, face, and neck, and the tongue was turned backwards in the mouth, which was a ; symptom of suffocation. He considered the deceased died of suffocation. By the Jury—l observed a bruise on the right side, but it was not sufficient to cause his death. After the lapse of a few moments, the jury returned a verdict—" That the deceased, ! Michael Townsend, came by his death by suffocation through a landslip on the Shotover River, on the night of Sunday,the 12th inst." INQUEST AT ARTHUR'S POINT. An inquest was held at the Big Beach, Arthur's Point, on Thursday, on the bodies of ! two men, one being known as Alexander M'lni tosh, the name of the other being unknown. I John Bos well, sworn, said he was a miner, | living at Arthur's Point, and came down with another man to the Big Beach on Wednesday morning, to see if they could find any of their mining pumps and boxes, which had been carried away by the flood. As they were looking about they found a body washed up on the sand bank ; it was partly buried in the sand. About half-an-hour afterwards, they found another body, about three hundred yards from the first. Did not recognise either of the bodies. Informed the police at Arthur's Point immediately. John Bell stated that he was a miner, residing about three miles above Moke Creek, on the Shotover River. On Sunday night last, about ten o'clock, he left his two mates in the hut, and shortly after he went out there was a slip from the hill, which carried away the hut into the | river. Then joined some other parties, and staid j on the hill all night. In the morning they went to where the huts had been, but could see nothing of them. Saw nothing of his mates, though he searched up and down the river for some time, and then came into Queenstown to report the case. On leaving Queenstown for the Shotover, heard that two bodies had been discovered at the Big Beach, and identified one of them as his mate, Alexander M'lntosh. He was about 36 or 37 years of age, native of Scotland, and landed in Otago from Victoria, about the 22nd or 23rd of September, 1862. By the Jury—The reason I left my hut was to borrow a watch, as we intended to sit up all night, and I wished to see how the time passed. There were two huts carried away besides mine, at the same time, and by the same landslip. In one of them were five inmates, one of whom was killed; in the other there were three men, one of whom we found dead, and the other two are missing. The body I saw lying on the beach when I came with constable Marooney, and recognised my mate, is not one of the missing out of the other three huts. It was more from the landslip that the huts were carried away —not the flood. The slip was a small one. When I left the hut, my mates were not in bed—they had their clothes on. The hut I went to was about twenty yards from our own; and I was away about twenty minutes for the watch. We made every effort to find the men, with torches, &c. We heard cries of distress from one of the huts, but not from that in which my mates were: they did not last more than a few seconds from the beginning of the slip. Dr. Pelley, sworn, said he had examined the bodies of two men lying at the Shotover Hotel. One of the -deceased had a wound extending over the frontal bone. The violence which produced the scalping must also have produced concussion of the brain Could not determine whether the scalping was before or after death. There was no fracture of the skull or other marks of vio-

lence, except contusions about the face. Considered drowning to have been the cause of death in both instances. By the Jury—The cut on the forehead of M'lntosh might have been done by a stone during the transit of the body down the river. It was sufficient in itself to cause death. The cut of the cheek of one of the deceased has been occasioned by a blunt instrument. The injuries I have described as appearing on the body of M'lntosh would produce immediate insensibility, if not death. The body of the unknown might have received its wounds while coming down the river. The Jury returned a verdict—"That one of the deceased, Alexander M'lntosh, lost his life by being swept into the Shotover River by a landslip on the night of Sunday, the 12th inst. We are also of opinion that the other deceased (name unknown) lost his life by beingaccidentally drowned in the Shotover River on or before the 15th instant."