DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH THE BUSHRANGERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 624, 14 November 1863, Page 6

DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH THE BUSHRANGERS.

BURKE SHOT,— £SOO &ANSOM PAID TO

THE BUSHRANGERS.

(From the Bathurst Timts, 28th October.)

On Saturday evening, between six and seven o'clock, Gilbert, O'Mcally, Ben HaH, Vane, and burke made their appearance at the hoube of Mr Keightley, assistant poll commissioner, at Dunn's Plains, fiockley. Mr Keightley was at the door at the lime, outside the house, and seeing the men advancing, thought at first they were policemen in disguise. On their coming up they called out to him to •' bail up," but T'ithout paying any attention to the command, he ran into the house— about thirty yards off— with, the intention of arming himself -tour or five shots being Bred at him as lie went. It seems Mr Keisfhtlby had been expecting a vi-ib from the gang, and had provided himself with the necessary means of defence ; but, owing to a most unfortunate circumstance, they were beyond his reach at the very moment he required to uaethem. Havingcccasionshortlybeforetosendaletter to the post, he had dispatched it by a nun servant, who beare the character of being a trustworthy and courageous fellow, and he, it appears, had taken a brace of revolvers with him for his own protection. Suatcliiug up a double-barrelled gun (only one barrel of which, was loaded), as also a revolver, Mr Keightley, accompanied by a guest, Dr. Pechey, took bis station at the door, where a shower of bullets greeted their ippearance, eorae of them passing within a Lab.' 1 ! breadth of their bodies, and bu> ying with a " ping" in the woodwork about the threshold. The plan pursued by the bushrangers was to keep under cover as much as possible. Burke from time to time creeping up at the side of the house, and suddenly swinging his arm round, managed in that way to fire at the gentlemen as they stood in the doorway. Vane is mentioned as coming out in full view, and deliberate)taking aim. Unwilling to risk a shot at him, Mr Keightley waited for the next approach of Burke, who came up shortly afterwards in the way described, and incautiously exposing hia body, he was instantly shot iv the abdomen, whereupon he was seen to reel like a mnken man, and stagger to the side of the house. Leaning with one hand against the wall, he cried out, " I'm done for, but I'll not be taken alive ;" and then with the other hand he pulled out a revolver, and | placing it to bis head, endeavoured to blow out bis brains. The first shot appeared to have merely grazed the skin on his forehead, but the next blew away a portion of his skull. He then fell to the ground. The bushrangers seeing what had happened still continued to conceal themselves, while they kept up a constant fire upon the house. Dr. Pechey, at tnist juncture, made a rush across the yard towards a kitchen, in the endeavour to obtain possession of a gun placed there, belonging to the servant, William Baldock, whom we have mentioned as having been dispatched to Bockley. He was, however, encountered by Vane, who, presenting a- revolver, ordered him back, at the same t»e firing at him. The doctor accordingly retraced his steps. | The two gentlemen, unable, by reason of the tactics ' pursued, to get a shot at their a&ailants, now resolved I to effect a change in their position, and with this object in view, they walked out of the door, and, j by means of a ladder, deliberately mounted to a j loft above the house, being exposed the whole time Ito an incessant fire ; but although the bullets passed around them in a shower— some cutting through Mr Keightley's beard and hat -miraculous to say, they reached their destination unhurt. I The bushrangers still kept under cover, and fired about twenty shots at the loft, when Gilbert called out to them to come down, and Ben Hall said if they did not they would burn the house, Mr Keightley fearing ihat they would carry their threat into execution, and perhaps murder his wife and child, who were below, determined to give himself up,and accordingly called out his intention to surrender. On reaching the ground, Vane ran up to Dr. Pechey, and struck him with the buitend or his revolver a violent blow on the forehead, immediately below the left eyebrow which knocked him down. Mr Keightley remonstrated, asking him why he treated him in that manner, when Vane made some answer, which showed that he mistook the doctor for Mr Keightley, whom thay believed to have been the instigator of the resistance they had exp rienced. Just at this moment some persons in the employment of Mr Wm. Bowman, whose station is iv close proximity, were observed standing on a rise of ground. [IvI v justice to these, it must be mentioned that, through private means, we are possessed of information which exonerates them from the charge of standing coldly by while thp murderous assault was gang on. It seems Mr Keightley has leen in the habit of fi:iug for practice ; accordingly the reports of the firearm-* created no surprise, and it was not until the voice of Ben Hall was heard, threatening to burn the house (jown, that their attention was aroused, and they came up the hill to see what was going on.] Ben Hall at once fetched them down in a body to where the other 3 were standing ; and such a scene was presented as we trnst it will never be our fate to chronicle again. In one corner of the yard lay the boy highwayman, while on a portion of the welltrame sat Mr Keißhtley, under sentence of death - Vaae staniing close to him loading the pun with wh eh Burke had been shot. Mrs Ke ghtley turned to the others and implored them to epare her husband's life, but seemingly without avail. Vane said dougedly that Burke and he had been brought up as boys together, that they bad been mates ev*r since and that the gun that bad deprived him of life should in tarn take the life of the man who killed him. The gun being loaded, he threw it oyer his arm, and turning to Mr Keightley told him to follow him down the paddock. Iv frantic agitation, Mrs Keightloy ran up to Ben Hall, and clutching him by the coat collar, said — " I know you are Ben Hall, and they say jou are the most humane, respectable, anl best of them all ; for God's sake do not let them murder my husband— save life life !*' She then turned to Gilbert, and addressing him in bimilar terms, begged him to interfere (O'Mealley, it appears, was away looking alter the horses) j Gilbert and Hall appeired to be moved, and the Jatter called out to Vane to desist. A parley ensued, when Gilbert and Hall dictated the terms upon which Mr Keightley's life should be spared, viz , that as the Government had placed five huudrei pounds upon Burkes head, the amount o> the reward should be handed over to them, an! they agreed to allow a certain time (till two o'clock the follow>ng day, Sunday) for the production of the money. Dr. Pechey then examined Burke and discovered a largo wound in the abdomen, tnrongh whicb his entrails, in a frightfully torn and lacerated condition, were protruding, He was still breathing, though unconscious, and the Doctor said he tould do very Uttle.for him without bis instruments. He asked if one of them would go into Bockley and fetch what he required, but they said it would be of no use, and that it would be better to shoot him at once and to end his misery. The Doctor thought something ought be done, and at length'prevailed upon them to let him go and obtaiu nuch things as he wanted, having fi st pledged his honor that he would not raise an alarm. Before he returned the man was dead We have said O'Mealley was absent, and Mrs Keightley, fearing lest he might not aeree to accept the ransom, prevailed upon one of the party to fetch him. When he came, he at first refused to listen to the proposal, and declared his intention to revenge the death of bis companion ; but he was, however, eventually pacified by the others. They then went into the house and remained there for a considerable time, awaiting Dr Pechey's return, and drank some spirits and wine, Mrs Keightley having first tasted it, in order to assure them the liquor was not drugged. Some conversation passed, in whi<-h the bushrangers said that the reason Burke was ho daring, aroeeiromthe fact that they bad juat previously beeu twitting' him with the want of courage, and seemingly he was determined to convince them to the contrary. In answer to a question from Mrs Keightley, as to what could induce them to pnrsue tie course they did, when, by the many robberies they committed, they must possess considerable wealth, Gilbert replied— that, with all their depredations, they had not so much as would keep them a week. arrangements were next made for the payment of the ransom. Mr Keightley was taken to a place called the Dog Rocka, on a hill near, and Mrs Keightley was warned that if any information was giveu by which the police might* be brought down upon them they would shoot her husband immediately. She was to go into Bathurst with Dr Pechey, and fetch the money, and if any treachery was attempted, after shooting Mr .Keightley, they said they would come dowa and fight those who approached ior the LSOO. The position they took upon the bill enabled them to overlook the roai, so that they could see whoever might arrive, and it was stipulated that Dr Pechey should alone approach them with the money. Burke being dead, two of the men, engaged at Mr Bowman's, were hired to take the body in a spring cart to the house of hia father, being paid £2 eaoh for tbe «ervice by the bushrangers. On the return of Dr Pechey, Mrs Keightley, under his escort, rode into Bathurst, where she sought out her father, Mr Kottox, ML, A. That gentleman instantly repaire 1 to the Commercial B?rk (it being about four o'c'ock in the moraine) and procured the cum required, with which, accompanied by Dr Pechey, he started to Dunn's Plaiun, where upon its being banded over to the party by the brave doctor, Mr Keigntley was set at liberty, and soon after arrived in safety at Uathursl 1 . 'A body of police had, however, some time previously ■tarted in pursuit of the gang. Mr Keightley speaks most favorably of the

manner in which he was treats d during his captivity, and it seems he had a long conversation in the nijrht with one or two of them, in which he was told that the gang would never have come into Bathurst, or visited him, had it not been tor the taunis received from two individuals who ought to have known better thin to spur them to the enterprise. They denied ever having threatened to use any violence towards him, but being told that he (Keightley) was a splendid shot, and would riddle them through, as he was in the habit of practising at a target, they imagined he must be possessed of first-class weapons, and the desire to possess these, as well as to test his courage, had induced them to make the attack they had. Personally, they did not know him. Onca in the night, the galloping of horses was heard, and as for some time the bushrangers had taken it in turns to rest — two sleeping while the others watched — Gilbert, who was standing sentry over the prisoner, went up to the slepp ro, and touched them gently with his foot, railing them quietly by name. They jumped up without noise, and held their weapons in re<tdi.<ess, but as the sound drew nearer, it was discovered to emanate from a parsing mob of bush horses.

The day before the occurrence took place which we have just described, Sub-inspector Davidson with some troopers waa encamped near to Mr«KeightleyV house, and tho bushrangprs told Mr Keightl y that they had been watching them through the night, and mentioned several little incidents ihat had transpired, in proof of their assertion. Mr Davidson, it appears, declined to ac 'ept the accommodation proffersdby Mr Keightiev, preferring to sleep out with his men, and Mr Keightley was told of what happened duiina; a visit In had paid the party, and ako that they (the bushrangers) had been watching both him and the neighborhood the whole day through. There are one or two cit cj instances which we have omitted to mention, but we believe the narrative we have given contains everything connected with the matter which an bo relied upon. As displaying the courage evinced by Mrs Keightley it is perhaps worthy of remark that upon the iwo gentlemen having left the doorway and gained the 1 ft, that iady, undaunted by the firing which wagoing on, carae up into the passage, closed the door, and barred it so as to prevent the entry of We bushrangers. As she did so, we learn, she unconsciously shut out her own little sister, who appears to have been standing in the yard during the whole fray, and it is also Said was actually standing by the side of Burke when he received his death-wound.

The Hathurst Free Press of the same date adds :— A communication was received in Bathurst on Tuesday, to the effect that ten troopers from Cowra had simved at Rockjey. They 9aid that twelve of them had left Oowra in company, and on their way across the country hnd met the two men who had charge of the body of Burke in Mr Keightley's cart. Two ot the troopers then took chßrge of the corpse and returned with the cart, intending to see it safely delivered to the authorities at Carcoar. We have reason to believe that their mission was safely accomplished.