THE LACHLAN ESCORT ROBBERY.

Otago Witness, Issue 554, 12 July 1862, Page 8

THE LACHLAN ESCORT ROBBERY.

The following further particulars of this daring outrage are from the Laehlan Observer, June 18 : — ' " On Sunday night last, about nine o'clock, the township of Forbes w.'H roused from the repose into which it was gradually subsiding, by the arrival of one of the gold g'uaul on horseback, with the intelligence that the escort had been stuck-up near the Rocks, opposite the station of Mr. J. I<\ Clements, on Eugowra Creek, by a band of about ten highwaymen, armed with revolvers, rifles, &c., and thatVifter'firing two rounds at the quawl and coachman, the latter jumped from their seats and the affrighted horses galloped oft" into the bush with tbe vehicle, Besides this, tho messencfer knew little beyond the fact that two or three of the men were wounded, andtliecoachman'h hat perforated with a ball. Iv a short time the police were in _ motion, and about ten o'clock, Sir Frederick Pottiuger, accompanied by about twenty mounted men, includina troopers, and by Mr. R. B. Mitchell, late acting C.P.S., and Dr. fiutoliison, left Forbes for Ru»owra Creek — tho scene of tbe robbery —and it was noC until the return of Dr. Ilutchi on that anything definite could be gathered c memaiinc; the aftair._ From that gentleman we have gathered the following particular^ : — As tbe ciach was ascending the hill by the Rocks, at Mr. Clement's staLion, near Eugowra,, a party tf seven armed men came out iiroin the Lu-h, and ordered the coachman to pull up. A volley was fired, but whether by tbe etu.ard or the robbers first lias not transpired. Sergt. Condell an I one of th« troop 'is are slightly wounJeJ, the former in the vicinity of tbe ft'ioin, and the latter in the left side. In this case the bullet penetrated a little above" tho hip, passert under the skin, and out by the back, making a wound two or three inches lonu:. The coachman, perhaps, most nairowly escaped death, although not scratched— a bullet pierced the lnim oflils hat, and pa?sed through the top of it. The poor fellow was so alarmed at thi3 that it appear 3ha fell oiTthe box of the coach. The goldboxes were found broken open, by means of a cold chisel, a short distance off in the bush. The gold had, of course, all been carried away, and the mail bags were nowhere to b ; seen. Seven armed men, it was ascertained, had been seen the night before, at the back of Mr. Brotherton's Inn, at South Wangan. Tbe following particulars, which have been kindly furnished to us, may be relied on : -The gold sent by tbe escort amounted to 27190z 9dwt Ggr ; gold mid note 3, £3700. Of this the Oriental Bank sent 26070z 18dwt6n;r; the Bank of Australasia, t5210z 13dwt 6gr; nnd the Bank of New South Wales, 12907. 18dwt. All the notes, about £3000, belonged to the Commercial Bank. The Sydney reg-istcred letters, it would appear, were left untouched, but the Bathurst mail is entirely £one, and the presumption is that the letters have been destroyed. We learn from another source of a reliable character, that upon the arrival of Sir Frederick Pottinger and his men nt Eugowra Creek, he was joined by Messrs. Campbell, Cropper, and Clements, resident stockholders of the immediate neighborhood ; aud thus reinforced, they commenced scouring the country adjacent to the scene of the robbery. They found the four gold boxes emptied of their contents, within half-a-mile of

the spot wheie the attack took placs, amongst the hills. _ Having carefully examined fjhjj ground in the neighborhood, the blackfellows convinced tracking, and wre led by the imprints of horseY feet across Eusowra Creek, thence over the Lac'hl&n into Neweli'a paddock, situate about twelve miles from Forbes ; thence the tracks proceeded through Toinmandbil paddock to within three miles of Fenn's Hotel. At this point, Mr. Cropper and the other civilians lofc the police, who were still on the trail with the blaukfellows, assisted by Mr. Win. Darwin, who'e bnsl"uanlike qualities are well-known on the Lachlan aud Bogan. Amongst the gentlemen present there appears to be a difference of opinion as to w'-» thcr tho attacking 1 party consisted of seven or eylit, but :ill aie agreed that the number was not larger. Tho statement, therefore, that there were fifteen parsons in the party, is an exag^eiation. Many absurd rnmois have been afloat in town, in reference to the affair, the first which obtained currency being that seven men were captured, and the whole of the sold found. It it hardly necessary we should svy, that there is not a wordof truth in tliisstatemfnt. The s>r rwant in charge has been several times killed and resn«i"itated, ui'til the fact 00/es out that he was •■•H^htly wuuniled in the nether portion of his person. There is one important circumstance of which we are happy to be informed, that the whole of the registered letter.", containing, it is believed, a considerable sum of money, remain untouched ; and as we happen to know that many small sums of money were in course of transmission from working men to their wives in Bathurst and elsewhere, the senders will not be sorry to learn the infoimation." The Ovens and Murray Advertiser, after giving the teleinum from Orange which appeared in The An/us of "the 24th, adds ;—; — " By a ttilcjmm from another source, we learn that the troopers, while prosecuting their search, were divided into small parties, for the more effectual scouring of the bush ; and while ho einplojed, two of them perceived somo men riding in advance at a rapid pace, whom they belie\ed to be Gardiner and his followers, but from the smallnes^ of their own number, they did not think it advisable to follow them up without acquainting their comrades. Judging from this, we make little doubt but the robbers and their chief are by this time in the hands of justice."