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■KBBIW1.The inquest on the body o! the men Geo. Wm. Via»], who wee loft in the bath at CftMiliv, on March 25th, wea hefd before Mr. W. V. M. Cooke, P.M., at Cassilis, on Monday last. The deceased ru 85 years of age, and wm formerly for many yean ae-countant in the office of the Inspector-General of police.—Nathaniel Netterfleld, Senior-Constable of polioe, deposed that on Friday, the 26th March, be wm informed that Mr. Vidal had gene for a walk and had not returned; heard be had been seen along the Mndgee road; went after him and found track* on the road near oroMi'ng of CMsilis rirer; followed the traoka down ike river but lost them on etoney country, they having left the road; oontinned eoarchiog all day; next day at daylight fonnd similar track* about 20 milea down the river, but agaio lo»t thlm from the nature of the country; the next day I found track* ceveral mile* further on, and ran those track* into a place called Stoney Creek, but lost them from previously eta tea cause*; I made search constantly witn three black tracker* and three of the polioe, and about 40 of the inhabitant* from the time he wm loet until Sunday night, the 6th instant; I knew deceased, and remdmber well the clothe* he wore; I have seen the body, and from the boots, clothe*, hat and turban I believe it to be tbe body of Geo. Wm. Vidal; 1 cannot recognize the features from the advanced state of decomposition.—John Lennox, a boy of about«12 year* of age, deposed’to finding the body whilst looking for horses close to his lather's place, and at once gave information to a neighbour, Mr. By field.—Thomas By field deposed that when he was told by the boy he went at once to the place indicated, and saw the body lying on its back; the body was almost naked, and in an advanced stage of decomposition ; both the legs were eaten off, and tbe body appeared to be dragged about 30 yards from where deceMed appeared to have died.; he could see where deceased's head had been lying against a tree ; I looked for blood, but could find none on tbe ground ; there were no appearances of any struggle ;believe from the appearance of the body it had been dragged by dogs to where I found it, as there were numbers of their tracks around it.—James Smyth, lockup-keeper at Osasilii, deposed to bringing the body to Cassilis, ana finding the property produced, viz., watch, locket, pin, pocket book, and letters; also, a telegram addressed to deceased, all of which he identified. Tbe body was greatly decomposed, and mangled as if by dogs; I could not identify the body as either male or female except by the breast and clothes; there was a track as if the body had beea drugged by dog*, and there were marks and ■cratches close by as if made by those animal*; on the morning of tbe 28tb March I last saw deceased alive; he came to the police barracks and-got the key of the iffice; he asked me for a drink of water, which I gave him; he then returned the key and told me to hang it up, as he did not feel kdined to go to woik then, and would go for a walk; he appeared in his right semes, and I observed nothing strange about him; he ttea proceeded in the direction of the Mudgee road.—William Henry Vidal identified the property previously enumerated as that of his brother, and stated that previous to his (deceased) leaving Sydney be had been laid up with low fever, and was in a low nervous state when he left.—Mr*. Biaggett, tbe landlady of the hotel where Mr. Vidal was boarding, stated that she last raw the deceased the night before he was lost; he spoke to her about the difficult position in whioh he was placed, and seemed to feel it very much. During tbo time ho was staying at the hotel he drank nothing, and wss very abstemious; he had nothing to drink that morning, and he took no amrita away from the hotel on the morning of the 27th March, as rumoured.—The jury returned a verdict that Geo. Wm. Vidal came to his death by exhaustion and exposure in consequence of his being lost in the bush, and addwi a rider blaming the anthorities for sending an inexperienced man in snob a delicate state of health to take charge of suoh an important office m Cassilis land office, at such a busy time.Mexriwa, April 9th, 1884.
Newspaper Details
Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser
Maitland, New South Wales, AU
Tue, Apr 15, 1884
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
GB 16 Mar 2021
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