On The 12th, The Extraction Of The Spear Was, However, Judged Practicable,
And Was Accordingly Performed.
That part of it which had penetrated the body
measured seven inches and a half long, having on it
A wooden barb,
and several smaller ones of stone, fastened on with yellow gum, most of which,
owing to the force necessary in extraction, were torn off and lodged
in the patient. The spear had passed between two ribs, and had wounded
the left lobe of the lungs. He lingered* until the 20th of January, and then
expired. On opening the corpse, it was found that the left lung had perished
from suppuration, its remains adhering to the ribs. Some pieces of stone,
which had dropped from the spear were seen, but no barb of wood.
[*From the aversion uniformly shown by all the natives to this unhappy man,
he had long been suspected by us of having in his excursions, shot and injured
them. To gain information on this head from him, the moment of contrition
was seized. On being questioned with great seriousness, he, however,
declared that he had never fired but once on a native, and then had not killed,
but severely wounded him and this in his own defence. Notwithstanding
this death-bed confession, most people doubted the truth of the relation,
from his general character and other circumstances.]
The governor was at Rose-hill when this accident happened. On the day after
he returned to Sydney, the following order was issued:
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