Mr. Hodgson went to sea for a year or two after his accident, but as the unskilled treatment of his amateur doctor was not entirely successful the bones of his leg were never properly set. Although the limb was sound enough for all ordinary purposes it was not strong enough to stand the continual strain of a seafaring career, and he accordingly made a fresh start in life as an artist, with what success is well known to our readers.
Mr. Hodgson says, “Until you have known me quite a long time you would not think that I was any the worse for my accident,” and as he fell over a hundred feet the wonder is that he was not killed on the spot. His escape from death was, in fact, little short of miraculous.
Mr. Norman H. Hardy’s record of travel is certainly as extensive as that of any artist whose work appears in the pages of THE WIDE WORLD--or of any other magazine, for that matter. He was for seven years in Australia as the special artist of the _Sydney Mail_, and in the course of his wanderings has visited the South Sea Islands, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Hebrides, New Britain, China, Siam, India, and Egypt. His latest trip was on a roving commission to Central Africa during the early part of this year.
[Illustration: MR. NORMAN H. HARDY, WHO WAS ATTACKED BY A MOB OF INFURIATED SHEEP-SHEARERS ON STRIKE IN AUSTRALIA.
While in Australia Mr. Hardy met with some exciting experiences in connection with the New South Wales sheep-shearing strike in 1894, one which he will always remember as an occasion on which he was lucky to escape with his life. The strike was brought about by the union sheep-shearers, who objected to the employment of “free” or non-union men who were willing to work at a lower rate of pay, and caused wild excitement throughout New South Wales. The unionists struck work in a body and resorted to “picketing,” threatening the free labourers with violence if they persisted in carrying on their work. This affected many thousand men, as in New South Wales sheep-shearing is a trade of such importance that the welfare of the entire State was involved. To such a height did the excitement rise that the bad feeling between the opposing factions grew to alarming proportions, resulting in serious loss of life, and the country rang with reports and rumours of outrages perpetrated by the incensed unionists. The seriousness of the situation was such that the late Sir George Dibbs, then Premier of New South Wales, issued a proclamation in which he threatened to call out the military to quell the riots.