THE TE AWAITE TRAGEDY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12736, 13 December 1904, Page 5

THE TE AWAITE TRAGEDY.

ELLIS' WANDERINGS,

A REMARKABLE CHASE.

[by telegraph, —press ASSOCIATION.]

Waipawa, Monday.

Ellis was charged at the Court to-day with the murder of C'ollinsoH, and with robbery from Hirst's house. He was remanded to Wellington, where he will appear on the 19th inst.

Wellington. Monday.

Ellis was brought through by train from Hawke's Bay to-day, and to-night was lodged in the Terrace prison. He looks thin almost to emaciation. Those who know him say that this is his normal physical condition. He was comparatively well clad.

When Detective Brobei-g, Constable Willcocks, and the guide, went to the hub at Kereru they had no idea that the man they wanted was inside. On opening the door they saw Ellis sitting inside.

" Ob," said Broberg, as lie entered, "are you the man in. charge here';"'

"Oh, no," replied Ellis, rising to his feet," I just looked in."

Then he moved towards the door. He had a rifle in his right hand and a revolver slung around his neck. Seeing that the police and guide barred the way Ellis suddenly sprang buck, but as ho did so the police rushed him and had him disarmed in a. moment. Ellis was well supplied with ammunition. Ther. were three- belts around his body, each full of cartridges. The coat he wore was the one- he had. on when last, seen at the bushmen's camp at Te

Awaite,

[BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Welling to , Monday.

The opinion which prevailed at the time the murder was committed, that Ellis would keep well into the back country, with which he, as an experienced bushman, had an intimate acquaintance, has been verified. The actual etory of his wanderings to anyone who knows the rough nature of the country traversed would almost read like a Rougemont narrative. After the crime Ellis, from indications reported from time to time, seems to have roamed among the Tararua ranges. Leaving the Wellington provincial district behind him, Ellis would find ample shelter in the continuation of hills connecting from the Tararuas with the Rualiino mountains, in Hawke's Bay. Behind the Ruahines westwards lie the Kaimanawa ranges, though this country is not perhaps quite so mountainous) as that through wider. Ellis must have travelled to reach the Kaimanawas. All along this,ijo.ute, from the Tararuas, there a'*e cheep rune in some most isolated places, and the bush teems with birds, so, in the matter of food supplies, Ellis would have found almost everything he needed, especially as he had a rifle and ammunition in his possession.. Ellis was venturing pretty close on the borders of civilisation when he got down as far as Kereru, for in that locality, extending for miles along the foot of the Kaimanawa ranges, there are sheep runs, and, moreover, rabbit inspectors are located, all over that district. From the Tararuas to the Kaimanawas, with the huge tit-retch of wild country lying between those two ranges, is a vast field for any man to have covered, and as Ellis evidently put in the winter in these hills, he must have had some grim experiences. The difficulties' of successfully carrying out the task set the police can only be accurately gauged by those who ate familiar with bitah country. Nine months' tramping over trackless wastes is calculated to take the heart- out of most men,. Often the detective and his assistants, had to-sub-sist oil the scantiest fare, and very frequently their place of rest was th© open air or an old shelter shed, which they happened to drop across after a day's tramping through the bush. At other times they called at the huts of hospitable settlers, in. the Mild country traversed, and were provided with food and lodgings. At first the police had great difficulty in getting a clue as to Ellis' whereabouts, and the search was naturally slow and tedious, but since July, when the dead bullock was discovered, the men have been working night and day in the densely-wooded country. The services of guides had perforce to be obtained, and the services tendered by the men. who acted in that capacity were invaluable in bringing ■about the ultimate capture. However, Detective Broberg, and the constables who worked tinder him, and Inspectors Ellison and McDonald, who controlled the search, are deserving of great praise for effecting the arrest of the man. against- whom an information had been laid charging him with causing Leonard (Jollinsou's death. Undoubtedly, the chase has been one of the most remarkable in the criminal records of this or any other colony.