The Australasian Sketcher.
THE END - THE HOTEL BURNT.
The siege kept up all the forenoon, and till nearly 3 o’clock in the
afternoon. Some time before this the shooting from the hotel had ceased, and
opinions were divided as to whether Dan Kelly and Hart were reserving their
ammunition or were dead. The best part of the day having elapsed, the police,
who were now acting under the direction of Superintendent Sadlier (sic),
determined that a decisive step should be taken. At 10 minutes to 3 another and
last volley was fired into the hotel, and under cover of the fire Senior
constable Charles Johnson, of Violet Town, ran up to the house with a bundle of
straw, which (having set fire to) he placed on the ground at the west side of
the building. This was a moment of intense excitement, and all hearts were
relieved when Johnson was seen to regain uninjured the shelter he had left. All
eyes were now fixed on the silent building, and the circle of besiegers began to
close in rapidly on it, some dodging from tree to tree, and many, fully
persuaded that everyone in the hotel must be hors de combat, coming out boldly
into the open. Just at this juncture Mrs. Skillian (sic), sister of the Kellys,
attempted to approach the house from the front. She had on a black
riding-habit, with a red underskirt, and white Gainsborough hat, and was a
prominent object in the scene. Her arrival was almost simultaneous with the
attempt to fire the building. Her object in trying to reach the house was
apparently to induce the survivors, if any, to come out and surrender. The
police, however, ordered her to stop. She obeyed the order, but very
reluctantly, and, standing still, called out that some of the police were ordering her to
go on and others to stop. She, however, went to where a knot of the besiegers
were standing on the west side of the house. In the meantime the straw, which
burned fiercely, had all been consumed, and at first doubts were entertained as
to whether Senior-constable Johnson's exploit had been successful. Not
very many minutes elapsed, however, before smoke was seen coming out of the
roof, and flames were discerned through the front window on the western side. A
light westerly wind was blowing at the time, and this carried the flames from
the straw underneath the wall and into the house, and as the building was lined
with calico, the fire spread rapidly. Still no sign of life appeared in the
building.
When
the house was seen to be fairly on fire, Father Gibney, who had previously
started for it but had been stopped by the police, walked up to the front door
and entered it. By this time the patience of the besiegers was exhausted, and
they all, regardless of shelter, rushed to the building. Father Gibney, at much
personal risk from the flames, hurried into a room to the left, and there new
two bodies lying side by side on their backs. He touched them, and found life
was extinct in each. These were the bodies of Dan Kelly and Hart, and the Rev.
gentleman expressed the opinion, based on their position, that they must have
killed one another. Whether they killed one another, or whether both or one committed suicide, or whether, both being
mortally wounded by the besiegers, they determined to die side by side, will
never he known. The priest had barely time to feel their bodies before the fire
forced him to make a speedy exit from the room, and the flames had then made
such rapid progress on the western side of the house that the few people who
followed close on the Rev. gentleman's heels dared not attempt to rescue the two
bodies. It may be here stated that after the house had been burned down the two
bodies were removed from the embers. They presented a horrible spectacle,
nothing but the trunk and skull being left, and these almost burnt to a cinder.
Their armour was found near them. About the remains there was apparently nothing
to lead to positive identification, but the discovery of the armour near them
and other circumstances render it impossible to be doubted that they were those
of Dan Kelly and Steve Hart. The latter was a much smaller man than the younger
Kelly, and this difference in size was noticeable in their remains. Constable
Dwyer, by the by, who followed Father Gibney into the hotel, states that he was
near enough to the bodies to recognise Dan Kelly.
As to Byrne's body, it was found in the entrance to
the barroom, which was on the east side of the house, and there was time to
remove it from the building, but not before the right side was slightly
scorched. This body likewise presented a dreadful appearance. It looked as if it
had been ill-nourished. The thin face was black with smoke, and the arms were
bent at right angles at the elbows, the stiffened joints below the elbows
standing erect. The body was quite stiff, and its appearance and the position in
which it was found corroborated the statement that Byrne died early yesterday
morning. He is said to have received the fatal wound which was in the groin,
while drinking a glass of whisky at the bar. He had a ring on his right hand
which had belonged to Constable Scanlan (sic), who was murdered by the gang on
the Wombat Ranges. The body was dressed in a blue Sac (sic) coat, tweed striped
trousers. Crimean shirt, and very ill-fitting boots. Like Ned Kelly, Byrne wore
a bushy beard, in the outhouse or kitchen immediately behind the main building
the old man Martin Cherry, who was one of the prisoners of the gang, and who was
so severely wounded that he could not leave the house when the other prisoners
left, was found still living, but in articulo mortis from a wound in the groin.
He was promptly removed to a short distance from the burning hotel and laid on
the ground, when Father Gibney administered to him the last sacrament. Cherry
was insensible, and barely alive. He had evidently suffered much during the day,
and death released him from his sufferings within half an hour from the time
when he was removed from the hotel. It was fortunate that he was not burned
alive. Cherry, who was unmarried, was an old resident of the district, and was
employed as a platelayer, and resided about a mile from Glenrowan. He was born
at Limerick. Ireland. and was 60 years old. He is said by all who knew him to
have been a quiet, harmless old man, and much regret was expressed at his death.
He seems to have been shot by the attacking force, of course unintentionally.
While the house was burning some explosions were
heard inside. These were alarming at first, but it waft soon ascertained that
they were cartridges burning. Several gun barrels were found in the debris, and
also the burnt carcass of a dog which had been shot during the melee. All that
was left standing o the hotel was the lamp-post and the signboard bearing
the following device, which, in view of the carnage that had just been
perpetrated within the walls of the hostelry, read strangely:
THE GLENROWAN INN. ANN JONES. BEST
ACCOMMODATION.
In a small yard at the rear of the buildings
four of the outlaw's horses, which had been purposely fired at early in the day,
were found and were killed at once, to put them out of their agony. They were
poor scrubbers. Two of them were shod. The police captured Byrne's horse, a fine
animal.
About the same time that Mrs. Skillian (sic)
appeared on the scene, Kate Kelly and another of her sisters were also noticed,
as were likewise Wild Wright and his brother Tom, and Dick Hart, brother of one
of the dead outlaws. Mrs, Skillian (sic) seemed to appreciate the position most
keenly, her younger sisters appearing at time rather unconcerned. Dick Hart, who
was Steve Hart's senior, walked about very coolly.
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