The Argus at KellyGang 30/10/1878 (3)
see previous
The post-mortem examination upon the two bodies, by Dr Reynolds, showed that Lonigan had received seven wounds, of which one, through the eyeball, must have caused speedy death. Scanlan’s body had four shot-marks upon it, and the fatal wound was caused by a rifle ball, which went clean through the lungs. Scanlan was 35, Lonigan 37 years of age. A magisterial inquiry was held by Mr Kitchen, JP, at the hospital. The principal witness was Constable Thomas McIntyre. Nearly the whole of his evidence was anticipated by yesterday’s despatch, but the gravesome additional details of the talk with Edward Kelly, which it may be worth while to relate. He had not seen Edward or Daniel Kelly before, but recognised them at once from the descriptions given in the Police Gazette. The remark Edward Kelly made when he saw he had shot Lonigan was, “Dear, dear, what a pity that man tried to get away.” They then sat down to wait the absentees. One of the two strangers told McIntyre to make some tea, and asked for tobacco. He supplied tobacco to two or three of them, and had a smoke himself. Daniel Kelly suggested that he should be handcuffed, but Edward pointed to his rifle and said, “I have got something better here. Don’t you attempt to go; if you do I’ll track you to Mansfield and shoot you at the police station.” Edward Kelly said he had never heard of Kennedy, but Scanlan was a flash —. McIntyre asked whether he was to be shot. Kelly replied, “No; why should I want to shoot you? Could I not have done it half an hour ago if I had wanted?” He added, “At first I thought you were Constable Flood. If you had been, I would have roasted you in the fire.” Kelly asked for news of the Sydney man, the murderer of Sergeant Wallings. McIntyre said the police had shot him. “I suppose you came out to shoot me?” “No,” replied McIntyre, “we came to apprehend you.” “What,” said Kelly, “brings you out here at all? It is a shame to see fine big strapping fellows like you in a lazy loafing billet like policemen.” He told McIntyre if he was let go he must leave the police, and McIntyre said he would. The best thing McIntyre could do was to get his comrades to surrender, for if they escaped he would be shot. “If you attempt to let them know we are here, you will be shot at once. If you get them to surrender I will allow you all to go in the morning, but you will have to go on foot, for we want your horses. We will handcuff you at night, as we want to sleep.” McIntyre asked Kelly if he would promise faithfully not to shoot them if they surrendered, nor let his mates fire. Kelly said, “I won’t shoot them, but the rest can please themselves.” Kennedy rode into the camp first and Scanlan followed close behind. They went to the usual dismounting place. McIntyre had advanced to within a yard of Kennedy when the men called out, “Bail up, put up your hands.” Sergeant Kennedy grasped the case of his revolver, and immediately shots were fired at him. Scanlan was dropped as he made for a tree. McIntyre saw the blood spirt from his right side as he fell. A great many shots were fired, but the police had no time to draw their arms. Though Kennedy surrendered the fire continued, and McIntyre made up his mind that Kelly did not intend to spare any lives. He therefore mounted Kennedy’s horse and bolted. As he rode off he heard Daniel Kelly call out, “Shoot that —.” More shots were fired, but none struck him. Kennedy was quite close to McIntyre when the latter mounted, but did not say a word. McIntyre got a severe fall as he rode through the scrub, but remounted, and went a long distance further before his horse gave in. He made a brief memorandum of what had occurred as he lay concealed in the wombat hole. It concluded with the words, “the Lord have mercy on me.” At dark, he started on foot, and walked for an hour with his boots off to make no noise. He took a westerly course to strike the Benalla and Mansfield telegraph line. On Sunday afternoon he reached the latter place.
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