INQUESTS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2365, 4 June 1892, Page 3

INQUESTS.

An inquest was held at the house of Benjamin Trnmper, Geraldine, yesterday, touching the death of his sou Xjenjampi, who died, it is supposed, from some kind of poisoning, the pause of which has not yetbeen discovered. The iaqinry wafihplti before the coroner (0, A, Wray, Esq.), and a jury of six, Afr A- h’isher- being chosen foreman,

Benjamin Trumper, farm laborer, father of deceased, deposed ; Deceased was my sop. Ili s name was Benjamin Trumpet,, and he was live years and eight months old. I was not at home w"hen ho was taken ill, and whop 1 returned home on Wednesday, about 1 p.m,, I found him to be dead. I know nothing of the circumstances which led to his death. I left him in apparently good health on May iidth, when 1 last "saw him alive.

Elizabeth Trumpcr, mother of the deceased, deposed : Deceased left homo £\htvul nine o'clock on Tuesday nvAVnmg to go to school, alter first leaving bread and butter and mill; for breakfast. His two brothers and one sister went with him, and he appeared to be quite well then. I saw him again between live and six o’clock in the, evening in the house by the eating a piece of bread and cheese, I did not see him enter the house; he met me outside j the gate. Ho was only a few minutes j behind his brothers and .sisters. He did ' not say any tiling at the time, but did not appear to be unwell. Some of the children gave him the bread and phqese. He had also a basin pf milk before tea. Later on he looked dull and heavy about the eyes, and 1 asked him if anything was the matter. He said nothing* at iirst, and on asking* him again he said he was sleep,v and complained of a little pa hi on the side of his face, which 1 thought was toothache. Afterwards he went to Vied, and I gave him a drink of black-currant jam with hot water and sugar, and he then wept to B’fcfcp. Ho afterwards woke ahopt T.i'A ami commenced vomiting, and complained of his head aching and his threat being sore. Put a flannel with hot oil round hp, throaf, apd he asked lor a drink. Gave him a drink of hot milk. Mo went to sleep again and woke about 10.dU, and he again vomited and asked for more drink. Dave him milk and warm water 1 , wit.i !l little sugar. He was rather feverish, and slept, on then till obout 2 o clock, when more vomiting* came on, and he ha.l another <1 fink of milk and water, and wont to ,-lccp. Witness laid down and left a young girl to watch him, who gave him one drink. He woke about 5 o’clock, and seemed ratuer*

pale, but c omplained of no pain whatever, and vomiting kept on every few minntcs. I sent for the doctor abo.it 7.1i‘.) on Wednesday morning. Before t;e doctor came deceased got worse. 11c die 1 about 1 p in. I know of nothing else that he ha 1 eat n, except that the children said lie had eaten some ice on the day he took ill. lie bad always been a healthy child. Samuel Trumper, brother of deceased, and whose deposition was taken while lying in bed ill, and showing symptoms similar to those shown by bis deceased brother, said: —I went with my brother Benjamin on Tuesday morning to school at Pleasant Valley. We were together all the way.—Deceased did not eat any berries or anything except some ice from a pool at the bottom of the cutting at Pleasant Vallejo. Was with deceased all day at school and did not see him eat anything. He had bread and butter for lunch, and drank water out of the creek. I did not eat any of the ice. Coming home throught the bush there were no other berries to eat excepting sweet briar berries. I did not eat any berries. Deceased was not taken ill till he got home, and did not complain of being ill on the way home. James Trumper, brother of deceased, also ill in bod, when his deposition was taken, said:—l am ten years of age. Went to school with my brother Benjamin. Saw him cat some ice at the bottom of the cutting. I, too, ate some. We came home together. I did not eat anything coming home, but deceased ate one or two sweetbriar berries. Deceased was not taken ill till he came home. I did not drink out of the creek. I did not see deceased have anything else but his lunch of bread and butter, and the water, icc, and berries. Dr John Craig, medical practitioner, residing at Geraldine, deposed i I attended Benjamin Trumper, deceased, about h.ilO on Wednesday morning, and by direction of the coroner made a post mortem examination of the body, but before givingan opinion as to the cause of death, it will be necessary to have an analysis made of the stomach and intestines, which will take some days. I, therefore, ask for an adjournment to allow time for the stomach and intestines to be forwarded to Christchurch for analysis. It was decided to adjourn pending the result of the analysis.

At Pleasant Point on Thursday an inquest was held on the body of Oarl Hansen, whose death by an accident in the Gully Bash, on Wednesday, we reported in our last issue. The evidence went to show that just before the accident, a woman, who lived with the deceased as his wife, took his dinner to him. He was falling a tree, and told the woman to go a little way off as the tree was near falling. She went a couple of chain" away, and shortly after the tree foil. She heard deceased groan, and ran np to him, when she found his body squeezed into the gronud by the butt of the tree. He was dead when she got to him. She immediately got help, and the tree was sawn in two, and the body released and taken to the Point. A verdict of accidental death was returned.