THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT AT PAKURATAHI.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5024, 1 May 1877, Page 3

THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT AT PAKURATAHI.

CORONER S INQUEST.

An inquest was held at Ames’ Hotel, Upper Hutt, yesterday, before Dr. Wilford, coroner, and a jury, of whom Mr. J. A. Mackie was foreman, to inquire into the circumstances connected with the deatii of John Doody, of Pakuratahi.

The Coroner said the question for the jury to consider was how the deceased met his death. There could be no doubt whatever that the cause of death was a gunshot wound. How it was inflicted would be for the jury to say. After having heard the evidence he (the coroner) had not thought it necessary to summon a medical witness from town, or to have a post mortem examination of the body, the cause of death being so apparent; but if the jury were not satisfied, an adjournment would take place; but he thought it would be unnecessary after the jury had viewed the body and heard what the witnesses had to say. The jury having viewed the body, the following evidence was taken : Henry Brown deposed; I was with deceased on Saturday at Pakuratahi. We were on the road to Featherston Lake, where we were going to shoot ducks. We each had a doublebarrelled gun. We had got near to the tunnel where Mr. Oakes has his contract, when we met Thomas Holroyd. As we stood talking together the deceased dropped his gun and it went off. The stock fell in two pieces. The ground was stony. The nipple, with a cap on it, must have struck a stone. Deceased fell backwards, and said “ Oh Brown, I’m shot.” I looked and saw him bleeding. I found that the charge had entered the deceased’s right thigh, just above the knee. I could not say if the charge wont upwards or downwards. The blood spouted out from the wound very freely. I staunched it as well as I could with my scarf, which I bound round the limb. I succeeded, so far as I know, in stopping the bleeding. The deceased fainted. Assistance was procured, and he was carried on a stretcher to the Pakuratahi Hotel, a distance of about three and a half miles, along the railway and through the bush. Deceased was sensible, and asked occasionally for a drink of water. We borrowed Mr. Elliott’s break to bring him ,to the Upper Hutt, where we arrived in about three-quarters of an hour’s time. He did not bleed whilst ia the break! When we got to the Upper Hutt station the last train had gone. We left deceased at Ames’ Hotel, and I got a horse and went for Dr. Wilford to the Lower Hutt. When I returned deceased was still alive, but died about half an hour afterwards. The doctor arrived about twenty minutes after that. The gun deceased carried was in good order, except that the key was a little loose. The deceased was perfectly sober. He was a steady man, and used to firearms. He was a very good shot, and handled his gun as if well accustomed to its use. The accident occurred at about halfpast 1 o’clock in the'afternoon. He died about 9 o’clock the same night. By a Juror : The gun was a muzzle-loader. The ramrod was not broken. It was in its proper place. Thomas Holroyd deposed to meeting the deceased and last witness on Saturday afternoon at Pakuratahi, and substantially corroborated the statement of Brown.

This was the whole of the evidence, and the Coroner having briefly summed up, observing that the evidence was very straightforward and left no manner of doubt as to the cause of the accident, the jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death.”