COWARDLY OUTRAGE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3812, 16 May 1891, Page 2

COWARDLY OUTRAGE.

> A barbarous outrage has been committed near Albory by two aboriginals who are supposed to be connected with the cruel assault which was committed upon a Mrs Smith at Benalla recently, On Saturday night last the superintendent bf-p'6lice at Albury received a telegram from Bowna to the effect that a'' settler nttmed Sovran; Mursczkvitz, a Polish exile, residing' at BasitttCreek, near "Dora' Dora, on the New South:• Wales side of the Murray, forty-six miles from Albury, had been speared by two blacks, and that the-wounded man was a passenger by the Upper Murray coach, which arrived at Albury about one hour afterwards. The man was at once admitted to the lioepital, and the surgeons o£ the institution, Dis Woods and Kennedy, found that the point of the spear was embedded in the back of the wounded mnn r wbq was in a partial state of collapse,' and after ascertaining that any attempt to remove it might hasten paralysis they decided to' postpone any operation J until the dying depositions of the man had been taktJu. In the meaatime Captain Battye. was able to obtain from Mursczkvitz -a/ coherent statement of the outrage. It seems , that about eleven o'clock yesterday morning Mursczkvitz, who is sixtyseyen years of age, unmarried, and residing alone in a wild portion of the bush, wai engaged in clearing a paddock, and when.wheeling a barrow containing wood he felt himself ' pierced in the back. Believing that he was shot, he placed his hand on the' injured part, and found that he had. been speared. Immediately afterwards he was confronted by a black fellow, who stood over him with an upraised tomahawk and demanded his money, speaking fairly good English. Mursczkvitz, partly owing to being wounded and suffering intense pain, did not immediately comply with the request, when the black fellow again raised his tomahawk and threatened to Bplit his head open unless the money was. produced, Mursczkvitz then took out a purse containing £ls in notes and banded it to the black fellow, who then gave a low whistle, and another black carrying two or three spears, emerged from behind a tree where he had been hiding. The second man joined the first and they divided the " money. The black carrying the tomahawk handed Jiim £l,'and the other, black £2. then inquired -about " a * grin' which Mursczkvitz had in his house, but ~o& .-.> his ■. telling them that it"was "no" good they left without.it,: .makings in. a northerly direction towards-Germanton. Mursczkvitz, knowing that the Upper Murray coach for>Albury -would pas£ along the main road .shortly made his way with 'difficulty to? the road, and when the coach arriyedahout an hour afterwards he was given a seat and ■driven to; Albury i "\He." states that : both meni were dressed in black coats and* troulers arid werfl"*wearihg scull caps, which he identified as portion of the property that Bad been stolen from his hut about ten days" before. On that occasion, Mursczkvitz being away from home, the house was broken into, and the caps, a woollen shirt, and some rations were carried away. On Sunday morning- the police magistrate, with' Seigeant Brown,

atteuded the hospital and took Mursczkvjtz's dying depositions. The hospital surgeons then proceeded to endeavor to extract. the spear, which

remained embedded iru>; the unfortunate man's spine. They found that the point of the weapon had entered between two ribs, .and,, after,taking an. up ward course, had-turned backwards. The other portion of the spear had'been broken off about level with big bock by Mursczkvitz, soon after the blacks had left him, and the broken end was under the flesh, almost covered by the inflammation ' which had supervened. After trying to extract the spear point with moderate force, it was tonnd that much exertion would be necessary to dislodge Mursczkvitz was' carried to the operating room and placed in such a position that one of the surgeons could stand over him and use »U his strength to draw : but the embedded wood, After two or three ineffectual attempts the- spear point came away.: <lt was abouts inches'in length! anUmade of red gum timber, -apparently of recent cutting. From the first it was con* sideced that Aadf> passed through the body of; tbe.i.vertebrffi and injure 1 the spinal column; but for some time Mursczkvitz' showed L no signs of. paralysis, and hopes w9re .entertained; fatal character might not have attended the wounding. - .Hpwevete paralyaireet in on Sunday night; and Mursczkvitz was unable tq moye ; hia'"ilow.er exand there id no possible hope of h& fpep