The Argus (25)

STATEMENT OF GUARD DOWSETT

Jesse Dowsett, guard on the Victorian railways, states - I came up with the train that left Benalla at 5 o'clock on Monday morning and on arriving at Glenrowan I found they were still firing at the hotel. I had a Colt breech loading revolver supplied to me by our department. A women was screaming near the hotel. I crawled up under the fence on my hands and knees, and got within 30 yards of the hotel. I called upon her in a low voice to come on and she walked towards me. She proved to be Mrs Reardon, with an infant in her arms. I caught hold of her, and brought her down to the platform, where I handed her over to the reporters. After getting some cartridges from another guard, I made my way back again to the front from tree to tree. Got pretty close up to the house, and was challenged by the police. I replied, 'Railway.' Went along side a constable, and at this time there was warm firing from the skillion window.

All at once I saw the figure of a man looming up in the bush behind us, about 150 yards away. I called out to Senior constable Kelly, 'My God, who is that?' The senior constable ordered the troopers who were nearer the man to challenge him, and to shoot him down if he did not answer. The man only replied firing four or five shots at me with a revolver, and steadily advanced, as if making for the hotel. We then made for cover, and went for him. After we had fired at him for some time, he sat down behind a tree, evidently to reload his weapon. I asked senior constable Kelly -'Cannot you pot him off from there?' The senior constable fired, and I saw that his bullet hit the right hand side of the tree. He fire again, and I said, 'By ---, you have hit him on the hand,' for I saw that he had been wounded there.

The man then left his cover and came straight towards us, walking right out into the open. I fired five shots at point blank, from a distance of 12 or 15 yards, and hearing the bullets thud upon him with a metallic sound, and seeing him still advancing, I exclaimed, 'This must be the devil.' He then tapped his helmet with his revolver, and said, 'You - dogs, you cannot shoot me.' I then thought the man was mad, and that he was ringing a bell. He then went into the fork of a fallen tree, and I went up to the butt end of it. I said to him, 'You had better surrender, old man. Throw up your hands.' He replied, 'Never while I have a sot left.' I then took a 'pot' shot at him over the log, and said, 'How do you like that, old man?' He rose up and said, 'How do you like this?' firing at me. I was not hit. At this juncture Sergeant Steele left his tree, and ran towards the man to within 12 or 15 yards and fired. The man dropped behind the log. Steele, Senior constable Kelly, and I ran up. Steele seized the man by the hand, Kelly caught him by the head gear, and I caught hold of his revolver. Kelly pulled off his helmet, and Steele, catching hold of him by the beard, said, 'By heavens, it is Ned - I said I would be at the death of him.' The reporters came running up to us at the same time, and with their assistance we carried our prisoner to the railway station.

THE KELLY SYMPATHISERS

Beechwoth, Wednesday

The only topic of conversation here, apart from the political situation, which has, however, assumed a somewhat insignificant position in comparison with the extermination of the Kelly gang, is the conduct of the police who were in the hut in which Aaron Sherritt was shot on Saturday last. The inquest, was supposed, would lead to a thorough investigation of the whole matter, and that all the facts would come to light. The result of the inquiry is not, however, regarded as satisfactory, and the general opinion is strongly against the police, who, it is thought, might have done something to capture the outlaws at Sebastopol. Mrs Barry and Mrs Sherritt, however, in conversation express their opinion that nothing more could have been done, and further say that if the police had fired out of the house they must have been killed.

Mrs Barry thinks that Ned Kelly and Steve Hart were in the vicinity of the house at the time, and they were surprised that the police was not fired into. There is very little doubt but that the gang were not then wearing their armour, but they may have had their breastplates on . Byrne and Dan Kelly were only aware that two policemen were in the house, and they knew that one of them was Constable Duross. They found out that the police were in Sherritt's place by a very trivial occurrence. A few days ago one of the Byrnes was seen going into the bush with a parcel, and he was closely followed by Detective Ward, who has been on the tracks of the outlaws for some time past, and the police were also seen to go into Sherritt's house. To night a new phase of the case has been opened up, and it is more than probable that a man (whose name must at present be withheld) will be arrested for aiding and abetting the gang. It is stated that the police in the house were led to believe that the gang were still around the house long after they had gone by one of their companions, who made a disturbance outside the house during the night by talking aloud to imaginary persons and so giving rise to the belief that several persons were near the house. This matter is now being investigated. Beyond these facts there is nothing new.

THE INQUIRY ON THE BODY OF MARTIN CHERRY

(From Our Own Correspondent)

Benalla, Wednesday

A magisterial inquiry was held this morning at Powell's Victoria Hotel, before Mr McBean, JP, on the body of Martin Cherry, who was accidentally shot at Mrs Jones's hotel, Glenrowan, on Monday , during the attack on the Kelly gang. Inspector Sadleir conducted the inquiry. Jane Mulcahy, sister of deceased, deposed, - I am wife of Edmund Mulcahy, labourer, living at Collingwood. I identified body of deceased as my brother. He is about 58 years of age. He is a single man. I am told he has some property and a house here, but I do not think he has made a will.

Nicholson deposed, - I am a legally qualified medical practitioner, residing at Benalla. I made an inspection of the body of Martin Cherry, now on the premises. I find that there is a bullet wound on the lower and left side if the belly. Under any circumstances it must have caused death. The body was strong, and well nourished, and there were no other marks of violence.

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