THE ESCORT TRAGEDY.—FULL PARTOCULARS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 276, 30 September 1864, Page 7

THE ESCORT TRAGEDY.—FULL PARTOCULARS.

Tun following particulars of this fearful incident have been forwarded lo us by our To Awanmtu correspondent, in a letter dated the 17tli, IStli, and lUth ultimo:—

" I considered it incumbent upon me to send you intimation of tae lamentable occurrence, wliicli will form the subject of this communication, for telegraph, but tliatmeans of intercourse only affording opportunity for the transmission of a brief outline of the fearful event, your readers are, doubtless, anxious to ascertain the full particulars of the matter, which L will endeavour to place before them in as clear and concise a manner as I can ; though the eontlictim; accounts, and various opinions of tin; witnesses, render this duty rather a difficult one.

Uefore dwelling •j>:n-licuhii'ly upon tlio sail events of 10-dav, it will ho necessary for 1110 lo give you some idea of tlie manner in which the escort duty between tliis .station and To Jiori is performed. A convoy proceeds every morning either from this Camp to Te Hori, or vice versa, and every day two parties of men are detailed to act as an escort, one of these parties being furnished by the detachment at I'aterangi, and the other from this garrison ; the two escorts meet half-way. when charge of the convoy is given over to the escort nearer the point of destination. To-day the convoy came from Te I'ori, so that the escort furnished from this garrison had to meet the Paterangi party midway, mid then return to this camp in charge of the carts.

This morning tlic escort, consisting of one subaltern, one sergeant, one drummer, and ;i0 rank and file detailed from the 40th and (!otli regiments, paraded at lialf-past 10 o'clock, and having been inspected, started towards To Jtfori. !XoLlii»K unusual had occuvrcd until they had marchi'd a distance of about (our 111 iles, when it was noticed by the corporal of the escort, whose duty it, was to keep the men of the escort together, that one of the party, ti man named Donovan, of the -10th, was gradually slackening his pace, until he was left a distance of about 30 yards in rear ; the corporal, on finding that lie did not attempt to rejoin tin; column, went up and ordered him to fall in his place at once. Donovan, on being addressed, halted, and, in a most determined manner, said. " You had better go away, or I'll shoot you." it was then perceived thai, his rille was on the full cock and capped.

Corporal Jlainmerton, (lie corporal of the cscort, llicii proceeded to inform the olliccr in charge, Ensign Gomez, 40th regt., of the circumstance; on receiving information the olliccr orilcrod the escort to halt. The men having halted, the sergeant- Doney, <10th, turned ronnd and perceived that the man named Donovan had halted ftlso, and was regarding the actions of the escort with the utmost jealousy. Sergeant Doney, not imagining that the man Doiiovau would lie so inhuman as to carry his threat of " shooting some one" inlo effect, approached hiin and told him to "fall in," he answered firmly " I will not," the non-commissioned olliccr then addressed him more familiarly saying, " How is it you won't fall in ! J Fall in man on the left." Jhit he still, with a horrible oalh, expressed his determination to remain where lie then was. He was then about thirty-yards from the line, in an oblique direction, having his arms at the "trail." The sergeant finding that it was useless to waste more time with him, rejoined the cscort, who, by this time,were in a considerable staie of anxiety. Seeing that the man was bent upon doing serious mischief, a plan was instantly devised, by wliich to take him prisoner, without, incurring any Joss of life; this was to march on, and when passing the old Maori redoubt, which is close to the road, to let four men drop quietly into the ditch, tbo rinininder proceeding en-

tvards, the general opinion being tliat Donovan 1 would lollow the escort, ami, having passed the l'edoiibt, he could then be. surprised by the am-; buscade in the ditch, who would attack him in" reftr, ! anfl thus iiiake liini prisbifciv Huh as tho sequel- will show, there - was Hot'time alloived for the developement of' this well-laid scheme. The ruse was concocted in a very lew moments, and lour men were detailed to secure. Donovan, al'tcr which (.lie otlieer gave the word "loft face, quick march," aud the escort moved forward. They had not, however, proceeded more than live paces when the bugler (Hogbeii, 40th), looking round, perceived that Donovan had his rille up to his shoulder iu the act of taking aim. Jiogben instantly cried out, •' Loo!c out," but these words had hardly escaped his lips when the man Donovan tired. He had taken a deadly and sure aim, firing into the very midst of the men, the one bullet making dreadful havoc, there being three wounded,' two of whom instantly fell to the'ground. As may be imagined the whole of the escort immediately turned round and perceived that Donovan was lixiujj his bayonet, and come down to the charge. I have been informed by many persons that they never lvcollect having seen the action performed witii such rapidity. The men were now in a state of the most intense excitement and somewhat confused. Perceiving that some decisive step must be taken before the man had time to reload, the pllieer ordered a section of the men to approach and take him prisoner. .Extending themselves so as to form a semi-circle round him, about ten men (hen moved forward, some with their bayonets lixed, whilst others had not taken this precaution. One man of the 05th rushed tor ward with greater impetuosity, andeloscd with Donovan, but iu the heat of the moment he had neglected to fix his bayonet, he was then in a measure left at the mercy of his opponent, who was a strong ami active man, aud doubly dangerous when actuated by the savage and murderous spirit; which then possessed him. the man of the (iath parried one of the thm-sts made at him by his blood-thirsty adversary. The conflict- between the two men was monientaiy, and after one or tno passes, Donovan was in the act of thrusting his bayonet, into his opponent's breast, when a shot was heard anil the villain was seen to fall forward on his face. The confused cry of voices was instantly hushed ; the silence was broken by the voice of theollicer who called out " who shot that man," and there being no immediate answer, lie gave orders to the sergeant to " examine arms," and discover the man who had done so. The sergeant was in the act -of obeying this order, when one of the party said, " sergeant it is unnecessary to examine arms, for McCoy is the man who shot hint." iVicUoy was then made a prisoner. The excitement had now somewhat subsided, and other matters forced themselves upon the minds of the men, the wounded must be attended to, as for the villain Donovan, he died within a minute of receiving his death wound, having been shot in the centre of the chest. A messenger was immediately dispatched to Paterangi, for the purpose of obtaining surgical assistance, and iu the meanwhile everything that could be done was done to alleviate the suflerings of the wounded men. '

i must, however, particularly commend the conduct of Sergeant Doney, '10th, for my eiirs cannot be closed to the ninny expressions of ii])])robation used with regard to the wanner 111 which lie acted on this critical occasion. From the skilful manner in which he dressed the wounds of one of the poor men, he may congratulate himself (and this is no mean cause of gra(uialion) on having saved the life of a fellow creature, as but for his kind ollices, the poor fellow would certainly have bled to death.

A part of the convoy from Te J>ori now arrived upon the scene, when (ho men cut. a quantity of fern, which was placed in the bottom of an empty cart, thus forming a rough bed upon which the more severely wounded man was placcd. and conveyed to this camp, a man having been sent on before for stretchers. On arriving here Uie unfortunate men were immediately taken into hospital, and attended by Doctors White, ]{eal, and Dempster, who did all that lay in their power to make tlicm comfortable. Donovan's body was also brought in and laid in a dead tent, where it will remain until after the sitting of the Court of inquest to-morrow mori\ing.

The three men wounded are private Jolin .Smith, Got It J'egt., (dangerous) ; private David liogers, -With. (severe) ; private Thomas liicliardson, '10th. (slight) ; the one bullet did all the injury, as it first- struck Smith, entering at the right thigh, cutting through the groin, and passing out at tile back ; it then grazed liieliardson's wrist, inflicting a very slight hurt, after which, it wounded i'ogers. entering at the back of right thigh, and lodging just above the knee joint; the builcl was extracted at the right side of the knee. L am glad to say that the unforltimile mvn are all progressing favourably.

McCoy (wlio belongs to the 40th ißegty) is now a prisoner in 1 lie guard-room, awaiting the verdict. of the Court of inquest. His case is a most peculiar one ; there can be 110 doubt that if he had not fired, the life of the' (55th man would have been taken, as when Donovan 1011, he was in the act. of thrusting his bayonet into his opponent's breast "Wo can perfectly comprehend the intense state of excitement in which the men were, placed as they were in such a critical predicament, having to capture a man maddened by rage, and the most brutal passion, and with a terrible instrument of death in his hands, and yet to effect this without risk of life. The .scene was one of indescribable excitement, the voices of the officers ancl sergeants ordering the men not to fire, being drowned by the cries of the men who were shouting out " shoot him," at the top of their voiccs. M'Coy states that he only intended to maim Donovan, and not. to If ill him outright, but the whole affair was only the work of a moment, so that we can perfectly understand that the prisoner had not time allowed him to take aim at any particular part, but-only, iked in the direction of the man. I have been informed that; M'Coy is a man of a very impulsive temperament, and it must be allowed that the circumstances which prompted him to tire, were of a most extenuating description. He saw three of his comrades wounded by the hands of a murderous wretch, ami anodier about to become the victim of his savage fury : 1 say that considering all the circumstances, M'Coy is raiher to be justified, if not- eon'miended, than blamed, and it is sincerely to be hoped that the jury on the inquest will take the siitrie view of the matter.

Donovan has paid the penally of liis crimes, and death having visited him so 'Suddenly, it would not become me to add farther opprobrium to lii.s memory. I must, however, say that ihi,s lust crime of hist, is, only the crowning point of a long course of vice. Jn liis regiment his loss will, I am confident, not he mourned, as I have been informed, that ever since lie. entered it, some eight years'ago, liis course lias been ever downward ; liis character is described as having been of the worst description. From the*interoour.se which T have had with the gallant and esteemed 'JOth regiment, I can safety affirm that siieh " black sheep" as the man who lias to-day paid the penalty of his crimes, are indeed rnreh" to be found in its rants. Il'is end lias been a most melancholy one, and stands forth as a salutary warning to others.

, . September IS., ■. Two Courts vc-ro convened yesterday lor the purpose of investigating .. the circumstances attending , the :death of Private Jeremiah Donovan. <U)tli regiment, who died from the efleets of a gunshot wound on the preceding day. The first,- n Court''of inquiry',''was. composed of three .officers of the garrison—Major Howdler, .loth regiment, being president, Capt. Ai'instroug, and Captain Warren, 65th, membcre, Tho othor, tv Court of inquest, com-

posed of tvrelvc sergeants of the garrison, four lroin Ukj artillery,, <M)th,..am!, Gsth regiments, as Wlijte. TQgimcnt, acting, in t v.\° ,«|L>Bcn<se of a Coroner, as President., llaving. viewed tlio Uoiiy of ijie," deceased, both Courts assembled at Jinjf-past nine in .the morning -oh' 4 continued their silling until six o'clock, last evening, when it was found necessary to ad journ t ie proceedings until Monday morning, when the Court will resume the investigation at halfpast niue o'clock.

esterday, several witnesses were examined,, 1 1 a ver ' Jil^ln report of tlie proceedings .w oukl bo found too lengthy for insertion in your columns, I have thought it xinnecessary to note aoivn ;l "3 r t-lio evidences ; suffice it to say that tho whole of the facts ndduccd iii the examination of witnesses, were in accordance with the detailed account ot the mournful- occurrence which I have given in my communication of the 10th instant. I shall he unable to give the verdict of the jury until the close of the inquest to-morrow morning. • ' The body ,ol' tho man Donovan was iuterred this afternoon. He was buried in unconsecrated ground, outside the Church-yard," awl without the performance of religious rites. Gnlv a fatigue party of twelve men attended, who lowered his.body, sewn up iu a blanket, into itslast resting place.

September 10. u]) to the time of posting, tlic proeeedings of the Court of Inquest, liave not. terminated. 1 trust, however, in my next, to be able to let you know the verdict at which. they arrive.

September 20. ' i-he Court ol Inquest, convened for the purpose of investigating tlie circumstances connected with Uio decease of private Jeremiah .Donovan, 40th regiment-, on the lltli inst., terminated its "proceedings on Monday, at halt-past twelve o'clock, - when they returned the following verdict:—" 'llie Court having duly weighed and considered the evidence, are of opinion that (lie deceased Jeremiah Donovan, 40th regiment, camo by his death from a gunshot wound inllictcd by Private Thomas McCoy, 40th regiment, whilst the deceased was attempting to bayonet private llirani Travers, Glsth regiment, and arc unanimously of opinion that private McCoy was fully borne out- in the act, it being merely one of justifiable homicide." '

McCoy, though honorably acquitted by the Court, will have to remain a prisoner until the proceedings .'ire confirmed in Auckland, and an order is sent froui the proper sourco l'or his release. Great sympathy was felt for him, and the vcidict of the jury was received with signs of approbation. There only remaina one thing to be desired, that he ma)' in some manner he separated from tho .Regiment to which he' belongs, so that lie may not be subjected at any. time to expressions made by thoughtless persons reflecting in. any manner upon his character. It is well known that in the heat of a quarrel. or even after a too free indulgence in intoxicating liquors, men arc apt to cxpiess themselves in a-maimer which thev-would not in their more temperate moments. It i* rumoured that he will receive his discharge,'and such a consumation is greatly to be desired. Too much cannot be said in favour of the manner in which the jury performed their duty through the long and tedious inquiry. To Doctor "White, the president of the court, is to be attributed the clearness with which all the evidence was drawn out and summed up ; by the exercise of his perspicuity many important, matters were elicited from the witnesses which might, otherwise have been overlooked. The court seem thoroughly to have felt tho responsibility of their position, and acted as men in whose hands was entrusted the destiny of a fellow being. Military men seldom have to iuliil the post of jurors, stiil ■with this inexperience, the twelve, sergeants who acted in this capacity on. this court of intjuest, displayed an amount of intelligence and sagacity .which 1. have never seen equalled by aiiy twelve jurymen on an ordinary coroner's inquest. The three men who were wounded while on escort last Friday, are, I am happy to say, all progressing favourably.