THE KELLY GANG.

Otago Witness, Issue 1495, 10 July 1880, Page 14

THE KELLY GANG.

We take the following additional particulars of the destruction of the Kelly gang from the Melbourne Argus.

INTERVIEW WITH NED KELLY.

After the house had been burned, Ned Kelly's three sisters and Tom Wright were allowed an interview with him. Tom Wright as well as the sisters kissed the wounded man, and a brief conversation ensued, Ned Kelly having to a certain extent recovered from the exhaustion consequent on his wounds. At times his eyes were quite bright, and, although he was of course excessively weak, his remarkably powerful physique enabled him to talk rather freely. During the interview he stated :— "I was at last surrounded by the police, and only had a revolver, with which I fired four shots. But it was no good. I had half a mind to shoot myself. I loaded my rifle, but could not hold it after I was wounded. I had plenty of amunition, but it was no good to me. I got shot in the arm, and told Byrne and Dan so. I could have got off, but when I saw them all pounding away, I told Dan I would see it over, and wait until morning." " What on earth induced you to go to the hotel ?" inquired a spectator. " We could not do it any where else," replied Kelly, eying the spectators, who were strangers to him, suspiciously. " I would," he continued, " have fought them in the train, or else upset it if I had the chance. I didn't care a who was in it, but I knew on Sunday morning there would be no usual passengers. I first tackled the line, and could not pull it up, and then came to Glenrowan station."

" Since the Jerilderie affair," remarked a spectator, " we thought you had gone to Queensland." " It would not do for everyone to think the same," was Kelly's reply. "If I were once right again," he continued, " I would go to the barracks, and shoot every one of the traps, and not give one a chance."

Mrs Skillion (to her brother) : " It's a wonder you did not keep behind a tree," " Ned Kelly : " I had achanoe at several policemen during the night, but declined to fire. My arm was broke the first fire, I got away into the bush, and found my mare, and could have rushed away, hut wanted to see the thing out, and remained in the bush."

A sad scene ensued when Wild Wright led Mrs Skillion to the horrible object which was all that remained of her brother Dan. She bent over it, raised a dirgelike cry, and wept bitterly. Dick Hart applied for the body of his brother, but was told he could not have it until after the post-mortem, examination. The inquest on the bodies will be held at Benalla. Michael Reardon, aged 18 years, was shot through the shoulder, but it is apparently only a flesh wound. The boy Jones was dangerously shot in the thigh. Both have been sent to the Wangaratta Hospital.

A cannon was brought up as far as Seymour, but as the burning of Jones' Hotel had proved successful, it was countermanded

NED KELLY'S STATEMENTS.

" I was going down to meet the special train with some of my mates, and intended to rake it with shot ; but it arrived before I expected, and I then returned to tho hotel. I expected the train would go on, and I had the rails pulled up, so that these blacktrackers might be settled. Ido not say what brought me to Glenrowan, but it seems much. Anyhow I could have got away last night, for I got into the bush with my grey mare, and lay there all night. But I wanted to see the thing end. In the first volley the police fired I was wounded on tho left foot; soon afterwards I was shot through the left arm. I got those wounds in front of the house, Ido not care what people say about Sergeant Kennedy's death. I have made my statement of the affair, and if the public don't believe me I can't help it; but I am satisfied it is not true that Scanlan was shot kneeling. He never got off his horse. I fired three or four shots from the front of Jones' hotel, but who I was firing at I donotknow. Isimplyfiredwherelsawpolice. I escaped to the bush, and remained there overnight. I could have shot several constables if I liked. Two passed close to me. I could have shot them before they could shoot. I was a good distance away at one time, but came back. Why don't the police use bullets instead of duck-shot : I have got one charge of duckshot in my leg. One policeman who was firing at me was a splendid shot, but I do not know his name. I daresay I would have done well to have ridden away on my grey mare. The bullets that struck my armour felt like blows from a man's fist. I wanted to fire into the carriages, but the police started on us to quickly. I expected the police to come." Inspector Sadlier : "You wanted, then, to kill the people in the train?" Kelly : "Yes, of course, I did ; God help them, but they would have got shot all the same, Would they not have tried to kill me ?"

THE BULLET-PROOF ARMOUR.

The armour in which each member of the gang was clad was of a most substantial character. It was made of iron a quarter of an inch thick, and consisted of a lontr breast-plate, shoulder-plates, back-guard, and helmet. The helmet resembled a nail-can without a crown, and with a long slit at the elevation of the eyes to look through. All these articles are believed to have been made by two men, one living near Greta, and the other near Oxley. The iron was procured by the larceny of ploughshares, and larcenies of this kind having been rather frequent of late in the Kelly district, the police had begun to suspect that the gang were preparing for action. Ned Kelly's armour alone weighed 971b, a considerable weight to carry on horseback. There are five bullet marks on the helmet, three on the breast-plate, nine on the back-plate, and one on the shoulder-plate. His wounds, so far as at present known, are : Two on the right arm, several on the right leg, one on left foot, one on right hand, and two near the groin.

THE STATIONMASTER'S NARRATIVE.

John Stanistreet, the stationmaster at Glenrowan, states :— "About 3 o'clock on Sunday morning a knock came to my door. I live at the gatehouse, within 100 yards of the station, on the Melbourne side. I jumped out of bed, and, thinking it was someone wishing to get through the gates in a hurry, I proceeded to dress, and after getting half my clothes on I went to the door. Just as I arrived at the door it was burst in. Previous to that there was some impertinent talk outside to get me to open quickly. When the_ door was burst in I asked, • Who are you ; what is this for?' The answer was, 'lam Ned Kelly.' I saw a man clad in an overcoat, who walked in with me to my bedroom. Mrs Stanistreet and the children were there in bed. There were two little girls and one Infant. Ned Kelly said to me, ' You have to come with me and take up the rails.' I replied, 'Wait until I dress ;' ana I completed my dress and followed him out of the house on the railway line. I found seven or eight men standing at the gate looking over the line near Mrs Jones' Glenrowan Inn. Ned Kelly, speaking to mo, said, 'Now you direct those men how to raise some of the rails, as we expect a special train very soon.' I objected, saying, ' I know nothing about lifting rails off the line. Bhe only persons that understand it are the repairers, and they live outside and on the line.' Ned went on alone to Reardon the platelayer's house, which stands about a quarter of a mile along the line southward. I and the other men were left m charge of Steve Hart. Ned Kelly went on to Reardon's house ; Steve Hart gave me a prod with his gun in the side, and said, ' You get the tools out that arc necessary to raise those rails.' I replied, ' I have not the key of the chest.' He said, ' We'll break the look," and he scot one of the men to do so. They took all the tools out of the chest, which lay in a back shed or tool-house between the station and the crossing. Soon afterwards Ned and two of the repairers, Reardon and Sullivan, arrived. Ned, accompanied by these two men, proceeded down the line towards Wangaratta. We stood with Hart in the cold at tho hut for about two hours. At last Ned Kelly and the repairer returned. Ned inquired about the signalling on the line— how I stopped trains with the signal lamps. I told him white is right, and red wrong, and green generally 'come along.' He then said, ' There is a special train coming, and you will five no signal.' Then, speaking to Hart, he said. Watch his countenance, and if he gives any signal

shoot him.' lie marched us into my house, and left us under the charge of Steve Hart. Subsequently other persons were made prisoners and lodged in my house to tho number of about 17. They wore the Reardon family, the Ryan family, Tom Cameron, son of a gatekeeper on the line, and others whom I don't remember. We were locked up all day on Sunday, but we were allowed out under surveillance. The women were allowed to go to Jones' Hotel about dark. All the men but myself and family went to the hotel soon afterwards. Steve Hart remained with us all night. During the night Dan Kelly relieved Hart, and he was afterwnrds relieved by Byrno. Just before the special train arrived this morning, I was ordered by Hart who was on and off duty throughout the night, to follow him over to Jones', and not to signal the train. I went into the back kitchen, and found there Mrs Jones, with her daughter, about 14, and two younger children. There was also a man there named Neil M'Kean. By this time the train had arrived, and firing was going on furiously, and we all took shelter ab.mt the chimney. The house is a mere shell of a structure. The gang disappeared from me when the firing commenced. A bullet passed through the kitchen, and grazed the temple of Jane Jones, aged 14, the daughter of the londlord. Hie exclaimed, ' I am shot,' and as she turned to me I saw her head bleeding, and told her it was nothing serious. Poor Mrs Jones commenced to cry bitterty. I left the kitchen and went into the back yard, and passed the gang there. They were standing together at the kitchen chimney. I cannot say whether there were three or four of them. One of them said, 'If you go out you will be shot.' I walked straight to my house. Firing was going on, but I was uninjured. Of course I was challenged as I passed through. I omitted to state that on Sunday night Steve Hart demanded my revolver from me, and I had to give it up." COMMENTS OP THE PRESS. Referring to the death of Dan Kelly and Hart, the Melbourne Argus of the 29th ult. says :— -" Whether they were killed before the conflagration or were killed by the flames appeared by the first reports to be uncertain, but the narrative of our special reporters, who were present at the scene, shows that the outlaws were dead before the fire was kindled. Thus any maudlin sympathy which might have been provoked by the fate of the last of the band is avoided. Sympathy would have been maudlin, because it must be remembered that there was no occasion for the outlaws, if they were alive, to remain in the flames. They might havo surrendered to justice, or they might have elected to fight for their lives in the open. The fire was lighted of course, not to burn them, but to dislodge them from their cover, and in war it is a common thing to drive an enemy from his position of vantage by these tactics. The duty of the commanding officer was to capture or kill the outlaws, and not expose his own men to be murdered— for each man who fell was a sacrifice to the lawless gang, who had no right to make resistance, but who certainly would have shed more innocent blood if a rush had been attempted. The only pity is that so many of the gang have escaped the halter, which was their proper doom. That, however, cannot be avoided. The gang is blotted out, and that is everything. They leave behind them a melancholy array of widows and orphans ; the bodies of some of their hapless victims still lie uncovered, appealing to heaven as did the body of Abel. B t every other consideration is merged in a deep sense of thankfulness that a disgrace is removed from Victoria, and that the men-wolves have perished, except the wretch who can survive his wounds only to expiate his crime on the gallows." , The Melbourne Herald says that the date on which the reward for the capture of the gang expires is the 23rd July