NEW CALEDONIA: DARING ESCAPE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5650, 25 December 1879, Page 6

NEW CALEDONIA: DARING ESCAPE.

The mo3t daring escape ever attempted at Noumea was effected on tho evening of Thursday, 11th December, at between the hours of 4 and 5 p.m. The particulars are a? follow :—A small schooner, the Mondewai, 35 ton? register, having taken in a large quantity of provisions, wine, &c, forettlers up the coast, was lying within a few hundred yards of the He JNon, the convict settlement opposite to Noumea, taking in the remainder of her cargo, consisting of some bags of lime, which was being shipped by the Government. At 4 p.m., when the convicts had knocked off work for the night, a stiong breeze blowing, they were pulling themselves back to He Non, iu charge of a surveillant, in a large barge. The surveillant was urging them on to pull, «hen th;y bound him, and pulled alongside the Mondewai, swarmed on board, made all sail, an 1 ran before a strong bre°ze, passing nnder the stern of the man of-war Dives, and round the breakwater out by the Dombea Pats. It is understood that there are two old Bailors amongst tho gang (which numbers 15), and that accounts for the ship-shape manner they set their sails. Before sh» was well out of sight round the point, the Constantino cutter had slipped her cable, and with a muster of about twenty volunteers, was making after her full swing. The Mondewai had the advantage of being able to pick her own oourae, and probably baffling her pursuers. The Dives got up steam and followed soon and three other small French vessels were a'.l in pursuit, but it is probable that the runaways are out of sight if they managed to clear the reef. On Friday, at 12 noon, the Dives wae seen inside the reef, but there was no signs of any other vessel. The runaways are what were known hero as " Lifers," five years of which were in irons, which some of them were at the time of escape. On board the schooner were a rifle and revolver and a largo quantity of ammunition, so that had they been caught, it is probable that there would have been some hard fighting. Of course several rumours were aUoat before they had well got out of eight. The first alarm was given by one of the native crew, who was the bret of tho five natives to swim ashore. He said that the captain, who was aboard at the time, was brutally murdered, bis head having bien severed from hia body, by,a convict, with a

tomahawk, and that the snrveillant had been bound and thrown overboard ; bu; at Ga.m. on the following morning the captain arrived in Noumea in the dingy bslongin" to the Bchooner, the convicts having set him at liberty a short time after clearing the harbour. They took from him his watch, but aa he beggei them to give it back, being an old family relic, they acceded to his request, and cave him also a bottle or wine to solace him for the loss of hia craft. His case was more deplorable, as the vessel was his own, and he had just entered into several contrasts with Gilliea and Co., m Noumea which -would have brought him in from £1000 to £1200 a-year, and public sympathy with him runs very hiyh. The eurveillant got himself unbound, and swam ashore to lie Non, so that no lives have been sacrificed.