SOME ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS OF THE CAPTURE OF DUNN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 685, 24 January 1866, Page 6

SOME ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS OF THE CAPTURE OF DUNN.

(From a Correspondent of the Jlntlnusl Times.) DiTIXO from Dubbo, 2nd .Tannnrv, the writer says : — Your r >a'.lers wi;l no doubt he curious to know the full particulars of the desperate nng.igeir.ont between Dunn ami the poliee, in which I may say all wore wounded. Con-<t,iul.' dawthornn had a bullet put through his hat, senior i-onMable Klliott received ii wouiul irom a. blow of the pistol Dunn carried, while Dunn himself and M'Hale were bmlly wounded, and b .th are in a very low state, neither of them being out of danger. tsuu-Tiispector lioinr. of this plane, set oil' this morning for the scenc oi the affray. From n comparison of Klliott's st atemerit with that of a gentleman juct arrived at Duiibo, and who went expressly soma twenty miles out of his way to Cocnamblfi to hear the facts of the ease, I can vouch icr perfect accuracy of the following 'nformation. Dunn, Thunderbolt, and Co., were in November last sticking tip on the Birres River, in the northern country. They afterwards visited the Demo, Gulgoa. and all the country circumsc:ibed by tho iiogan, the Macquairie, the (Jastlercagh, tho Darling, and thr large cre»ks tributary to these. Inspector Zouch and Sergeant Flynn let the part}' slip through, their hands, and only for the pluck and activity of constable M'Hale, this treblv-dyed murderer would bo at large still. M'Hale, who had been but a few months in charge of the Oannenbar station, on Duck Creek, together with one of his men, named Hawthorno, and Klliott of the ''oonambale station, came early ou the morning of the 24th December, before daylight, to the hut of a man named Walton, in tho employ of Mr. Perry, on tho Marth'guy. This Walton was Matted of harbouring a most notorious scoundrel, a ' caste, that went by the name of George Smith, ultjL.: Yellow George. Klliott had a warrant for him. About dawn, of day tho three policemen proceeded to the hut, and early and cautious as was tho i;pproach, tho party "wanted" was astir. Without returning the civilities of the morning to the strangers, Yellow George bolted off iri the direction of the bush. Elliott and Hawthorne immediately gave chase straight after him, whilst M'Hale, unconscious of the nobler game he was to light on, doubled quickly round the corner of the hut to intercept the fugitive. Having got to the back of tho house, ho saw a young man running at tip-toe speed across the paddock, and he perceived firearms in his hands. He at once said " there goes Duim." He jumped the fence and after him he went, and as M'Halo was very active and complete master of the use of his limbs (of which, poor follow, he no longer i'b) he soon overhauled Dunn considerably. M'Hale three different times challenged tho pursued to stand, as he believed him to be Dunn, and each time Dunn turned his head round, shewed his revolver, and still kept on with all his might. M'Hale then fired a random shot. Dunn turned round to fire, but did not, as lie was evidently husbanding the fewshot3 he had (having only ono revolver with him). M'Hale again called on him to stand as " John Dunn " and then pat forth all hisspeed of running, und when ho came within forty or fifty yards of Dunn he stood, took deliberate aim, fired, and forthwith Dimr fell flat on liia faco to the earth, dangerously woundtd in the loins. Tho blood boon covered hia person, and he was /tort, tic combat. And now it was that Dunn's ferocity, like that of a furious bull at bay, displayed itself. M'Hale had reached within fifteen or twenty yards of Dunn. When tho latter saw him so near at hand, and found the ollieer.s of justice were about to clutch him for tho misdeeds .a'f his life, ho made a desperate effort, rolled himself round on his hack,and by the exorcise of tho energy which the dreadful nature of his case afforded, lie managed to get into a sitting posture. lie toolc deadly aim at M'Hale, fired twico, tho second bullet wounded him in the thigh. From that moment M'Hale was powerless. The ball hit him above the knee, glanced along, and finally lodged it-elf in the groin. 'There they were, tho constable and tho outlaw, within a few yards of each other, each dangerously and desperately •wounded by the other. All this time Hole's mates wero firing after Yellow George When M'Hale found himself unable to apprehend tho man he had so gamely crippled and brought to earth, he called out in a loud voico to his mates, some 200 or 300 yards off, "I am shot." They at once desisted from pursuit of the half-caste, and by M'Hale's directions took positions behind some trees near at hand. Dunn by this time had drawn breath, and seeing that his only hope was to got the po'ice near him and from behind the trees, lie made a desperato effort and got on his feet. Of cour.-e, wounded as he was ho did not go far before the police wore beside him, but he certainly partly succeeded in his intention, for as Hawthorn was about to apprehend him, lie turned round and fired, driving tho bullet through the rim of Hawthorn's hat Elliott then laid hands upon him, upon which Dunn desperately clutchcd his revolver (it being now unloaded), and wounded him with it on the head. M'Hale had fainted from loss of blood. During the fracas Mr. Hogg was distant from the spot only about fifteen miles, after youn» Murphy. ° It was evidently intended to form the nucleus of anotlior band of bushrangers, that should reproduce, during the year 1866, under the command of Dunn and company, the lawless dramas hitherto enacted by Gilbert and Co., but fortunately for the country, tho career of the future banditti has been cut short. The Clerk of Pelty Sessions at Conamble, who happens to bo a doctor, paid every attention, and did all that skill and kindness could effect, till tho arrival of Dr. liamsay. He lias been a surgeon in the army, and will, it is hoped, succeed in extracting the bullots from M'Halo and Dunn.