A shocking accident

A shocking accident occurred at Sheffield today in the course of a football match which was being played at Walkley, a suburb town. Amongst the players was a young man named Beaumont. In the course of the match the ball was kicked out of the field. Beaumont seems to have been unaware that there was a quarry in the direction in which the ball had disappeared, and he jumped over a wall which divided the field from the quarry, into which he fell headlong, and sustained injuries resulting in death soon afterwards .

Humane discovery

An interesting experiment was lately made at a horse-slaughtering establishment at Dudley, with the view of testing a new system of slaughtering cattle by means of dynamite, and thus putting them out of existence more speedily and with less suffering than by the ordinary pole-axe. Two large powerful horses and a donkey (disabled for work) were ranged in a line about half a yard apart under a shed, the donkey being placed in the centre. A small primer of dynamite, with an electric fuse attached, was then placed on each of their foreheads and fastened in position by a piece of string under the jaw. The wires were then coupled up in circuit, and attached to the electric machine, which stood about five yards in front. The handle of the machine being then turned, an electric current was discharged, which exploded the three charges simultaneously, and the animals instantly fell dead without a struggle. The whole affair was over in two minutes, and the experiment appears to have been a perfect.

It was conducted by Mr. Johnson, agent for Nobel's Explosive Company, Glasgow, assisted by Mr. Harris, one of the dynamite instructors. By this means, it is stated, any number, even a hundred or more cattle, may be instantly killed by the same current of electricity.

Death in a baker's kneading-trough

Early this morning a man named Gibson, a discharged soldier, went to the bakehouse of Mr. Pemberton in Warrington, and asked the baker in charge, named Peter Knowles, if he might be allowed to warm himself. His request was complied with; but Knowles, having to call up some of the other workmen, left Gibson warming himself in front of the oven, the gas being lighted at the time. Knowles returned in about ten minutes, but Gibson was nowhere to be seen. His coat and waistcoat were lying on the kneading table, and Knowles, becoming alarmed at the man's mysterious disappearance, ran to the police-station and obtained the assistance of a constable. Upon carefully searching the bakehouse they found that Gibson had fallen into the trough in which the sponge was set, and that he was completely covered with the soft and yielding dough. The body was pulled out, but life was quite extinct, the deceased having no doubt been immediately suffocated by inhaling the carbonic acid gas generated in the process of fermentation, and the soft dough stopping his mouth and nostrils. Mr. Pemberton sustained a loss of 31. or 41., as he gave orders to throw away the dough in which the deceased was smothered. It is supposed to have been an act of suicide.

A woman killed by a Donkey

The death under shocking circumstances of a married woman, named Hannah Church, at Bucklebury, near Newbury, has formed the subject of inquiry before the coroner. The deceased, who was rather more than fifty years of age, lived with her husband in a cottage close to Bucklebury Common. This morning the husband had left home to call upon a neighbour. On his return he found his wife was out, and after waiting about a quarter of an hour he heard his donkey bray louder than usual, and on going out saw that the animal had left its stable. The thought then crossed his mind that as his wife regularly went to the stable to feed the donkey, something might have befallen her. He went at once to the stable, where he saw stretched upon the ground the lifeless body of his missing wife. Her face was downwards, and her shoes, bonnet, cap, and apron had evidently been torn off by the donkey. One of her hands had been bitten completely through, and the bones were fractured. Even her stockings were much torn. She had been in the habit of feeding the donkey, but on no occasions during the three years the parties had had the animal had it shown any viciousness. The jury returned a verdict of “Kicked and bitten to death by a donkey".

Death from the bite of a rat

As an elderly gentleman named Samuel Rowe was superintending the removal of some hay from a stack on his premises, near Barnstaple, a rat ran out and was laid hold of by him. The animal turned and bit him. Mortification ensued, and in a few hours Mr. Rowe died. He was a rather nervous man, but was otherwise quite healthy. It was considered unnecessary to hold an inquest.

A terrible accident

 A terrible accident occurred tonight at the Junior Carlton Club, by which a gentleman named Graham, living at Palace-green, Kensington, met with a frightful death. It appears that Mr. Graham, who was about twenty-eight years of age, and another gentleman were the guests of a Mr. Newton, a member of the club. They dined together at eight o'clock, and afterwards adjourned to the strangers' smoking-room, which is situated on the top floor of the building. Here Mr. Newton and his friends remained until eleven o'clock, and upon all three leaving the room Mr. Graham, who happened to be next the banisters, placed his left hand on the balustrade and challenged one of his friends to a trial as to which of them would leap the farthest down the stairs. Before, however, his friends had time to accept the challenge, he, with his left hand still on the banister, sprang forward, and, losing his balance, the unfortunate gentleman whirled over the banister and fell a depth of at least sixty feet down the “well” of the building on to the pavement below.  It was found, upon examination, that he had sustained frightful injuries both externally and internally, and that all chance of recovery was hopeless. He was removed to a convenient apartment, his friends were summoned to his bedside, and his sufferings were alleviated as far as possible by the administration of chloroform. He remained sensible until four o'clock, and at six he died.