The Argus at KellyGang 11/10/1879
The man Edward Evans, who is supposed to have fired at Constable Monks obtained a mitigation of sentence while undergoing imprisonment at Pentridge for giving important information to the authorities. According to his record he has been a prisoner of the Crown since his youth, and was transported from home. After his arrival in Victoria, in the year 1853 he organised and headed a gang of desperado bushrangers who were the terror of the part of the country they frequented. According, to his own account he was the principal member of the gang and he admits that when sticking, up persons on some occasions fire arms were freely used. As a prisoner he was most cunning and artful, and he used to boast how he escaped from the police when he was arrested near Belmont. He asked the constables to allow him to change some articles of clothing in a small house, which was granted. As soon as he got in he placed the toes of his boots under the door and escaped through the back. The constables stood watching the toes of the boots for some time, but not seeing them move went into the room and found the prisoner had escaped, but he was re-arrested a few days afterwards while crossing the Murray, despite his desperate resistance.
On one occasion, when at Pentridge he induced a prisoner to attempt to cut out of a cell at night, in which twenty of the prisoners were concerned. It was arranged that the trap- door was to be cut and the door of the cell unlocked. The warder was then to have been seized, and a number of the prisoners let out. When Evans found that all was ready he gave information to the authorities. When the cells were opened a number of files and chisels were found for the purpose of cutting out. For this act he got a mitigation of sentence, but was always put by himself to work. Previous to his discharge in 1877 he pretended to have discovered a plan by means of which he could unlock doors from the out side with a piece of wire. Several of the detectives were sent out to test it, but it was never known if the plan would answer the purpose. The last time he was at Pentridge he said he would never undergo another sentence as he would never he taken alive, and according to his recent threat beseems determined to carry out his intentions.
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