Drowning Fatality.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7744, 21 February 1905, Page 2

Drowning Fatality.

LNIU-'EST ON THE lIODV. (Bel'oiV; -Mr T. Hutchison, 5.11.) An innuent wus held ut the Courthouse on Monday afl ernoon. on the body of Kaspar Amrein, aged 2!! years, a nutive of Lucerne, Switzerland, who was drowned on Saturday whilst butliiiig the ttahvakailio, near Mangorei. ; The jury were Messrs \Y. Collis (foreman), Hobert Nual, James liun ter, l'eter Kossi, Ali'ritl AtkiiiHoii all:! George Carrick. j\ii;lu)la:; Ami eln. a labourer employed on the reservoir works, cousin of deceased, identified the decease'J. who had ton in the colony aboiu two years. Did not know ili.it de ceased could swim.

Lvohert JiaKen-. employed by A 1 Jfcndci a &on at

spoke lo accused about 5 p.m. on Saturday near "the rive.'. was looking for his horse, and r aid when lie found it he was -going lor u swim and he walked on. Knew there was a hole in the river near the spot.

• lohn Gollei;, in charge of the reservoir worksi, said he suw deceased on Saturday afternoon about 4.10. when lie said he wan going to catch his horse and go to Ingicwood. Onlj one man stayed in camp oiv Sunday, and this accounted for deceased lioi being- missed.

| H'iP.'iani Tobin, employed at the reservoir, said he found some clothes on the river bank at 2.30 on Sunday afternoon, opposite where the bodx was found. There is a deep hole thei'o used by bathers. As no owner tor the clothes was seen after the lapse of some time, and others coming there to bathe, witness told them of finding the clothes, and a sl-arch was made, but it was fruitless. I Thomas Brown, labourer, said deceased had told Mm several times jt'hat he could not swim. The hole jUsed by bathers shelved from one to four feet in the first six or eight yards, and then there was- a sharp drop to about twenty feet. Saw the track of a horse entering and returning from the river at the spot in question.

! liu - 1 "foreman ; If deceased was riding tlxe horse bareback into the water, and it made a plimgc on arriving at the sudden drop, uniless he was an expert rkler he might cafcih slip oft" the horse.

; Constable De Loree said he searched for the body on Monday morning. Ihe water-hole wan in a bend in the clur, aibout four or live chain-; long, f rom she top of the ciilV aaw an object an ihe doep water:, which he took tQ be the body, which was ultimately recovered at a depth of about eighteen feet, aud brought to town Noticed deceased's horse running loose with a bridle on. | lo the jury : It was possible that |th °u?u Se on K ultiQ e out- of its depth might have thrown up its head ami stunned deceased.

I The Coroner summon up, and the jury returned a verdict that due cased jwns accidentally drowned through :Ms horse plunging when in the water.