THE FIRST ENCOUNTER.
No sooner were we out of the train than Constable Bracken, the local policeman,
rushed into our midst and stated, with an amount of excitement which was
excusable under the circumstances, that he had just escaped from the Kellys, and
that they were at that moment in possession of Jones's public-house, about a
hundred yards from the station. He called upon the police to surround the house,
and his advice was followed without delay. Superintendent Hare with his men, and
Sub-inspector O'Connor with the black trackers, at once advanced on the
building. They were accompanied by Mr. Rawlins, a volunteer from Benalla, who
did good service. Mr. Hare took the lead, and charged right up to the hotel. At
the station were the reporters of the Melbourne press, Mr. Carrington, of The
Sketcher, and the two ladies who had accompanied us. The latter behaved with
admirable courage, never betraying a symptom of fear, although bullets were
whizzing about the station and striking the building and train. The first brush
was exceedingly hot. The police and gang blazed away at each other in the
darkness furiously. It lasted for about a quarter of an hour, and during that
time there was nothing but a succession of flashes and reports, the pinging of
bullets in the air, and the shrieks of the women who had been made prisoners in
the hotel. Then there was a lull, but nothing could be seen for a minute or two
in consequence of the smoke. In a few minutes Superintendent Hare returned to
the railway station with a shattered wrist. The first shot fired by the gang had
passed through his left wrist. He bled profusely from the wound, but Mr.
Carrington, artist of The Sketcher, tied up the wound with his handkerchief, and
checked the hemorrhage (sic). Mr. Hare then set out again for the fray, and
cheered his men on as well as he could, but he gradually became so weak from
loss of blood that he had reluctantly to retire, and was soon afterwards
conveyed to Benalla by a special engine. The bullet passed right through his
wrist, and it in doubtful if he will ever recover the use of his left hand. On
his departure Sub-inspector O'Connor and Senior-constable Kelly took charge, and
kept pelting away at the outlaws all the morning. Mr. O'Connor took up a
position in a small creek in front of the hotel, and disposed his blackfellows
one on each side, and stuck to his post gallantly throughout the whole
encounter. The trackers also stood the baptism of fire with fortitude, never
flinching for one instant.
At about 5 o'clock in the morning a
heart-rending wail of grief ascended from the hotel. The voice was easily
distinguished as that of Mrs. Jones, the landlady. Mrs. Jones was lamenting the
fate of her son, who had been shot in the back, as she supposed, fatally. She
came out from the hotel crying bitterly and wandered Into the bush on several
occasions, and nature seemed to echo her grief. She always returned, however, to
the hotel, until she succeeded, with the assistance of one of the prisoners, in
removing her wounded boy from the building, and in sending him on to Wangaratta
for medical treatment. The firing continued intermittently, as occasion served,
and bullets were continually beard coursing through the air. Several lodged in
the station buildings, and a few struck the train. By this time the hotel was
completely surrounded by the police and the black trackers, and a vigilant watch
of the hotel was kept up during the dark hours.
At daybreak police reinforcements arrived from
Benalla, Beechworth, and Wangaratta. Superintendent Sadlier (sic) came from
Benalla with nine more men, and Sergeant Steele, of Wangaratta, with six, thus
augmenting the besieging force to about 30 men. Before daylight Senior-constable
Kelly found a revolving rifle and a cap lying in the bush, about 100 yards from
the hotel. The rifle was covered with blood, and a pool of blood lay near it.
This was evidently the property of one of the bushrangers, and a suspicion
therefore arose that they lied escaped. That these articles not only belonged to
one of the outlaws, but to Ned Kelly himself, was soon proved. When day was
dawning the women and children who had been made prisoners in the hotel were
allowed to depart. They were, however, challenged individually as they
approached the police line, for it was thought that the outlaws might attempt to
escape under some disguise.
NEXT: CAPTURE