AUSTRALIAN OUTLAWS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7727, 10 June 1903, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN OUTLAWS.

» BUSHRANGERS OF A BYEGONE DAY. THOMAS LAW, ALIAS "MIDNIGHT." [All Ri&hts Rkbbbvbd.] Daring the latter part of 1878, on the Macquarie River, N.S.W., a bushranger of mojrt. desperate character bad a " run," both short and bloody. His proper name was not known, but he was entered in the gaol register as Thomas Law, alias George Gibson, alias Henry Wilson, alias " Midnight." Before appearing on the Macquarie he had been a confinee in Parramatta Gaol, but had' escaped. All efforts to trace him had proved ineffectual until the latter part of 1878, when he came into collision with the police in the back country through appropriating other people's horses. In the year mentioned ; the police connected with the ; Dubbo Station managed to locate Law, and a man said to be his brother, and warrants were issued for their apprehension on charges of horse-stealing. The men heard that they wero " wanted," and immediately adopted all means known to them for evading the police. For a length of time they were successful, bub at last the diligence of the officers of justice was rewarded. They found their men, but, as the sequel will show, it had been better for at least one of the officers of police had he never heard of "Midnight." News of the whereabouts of the brothers Law having been communicated to the police at Dubbo, the supposed brother of •'Midnight" was arrested, and the tracks of the bushranger himself taken up. This was in September, and the police_ engaged in the search wero Sergeant Wallings arid Constable Walsh, of Dubbo, and Seniorr Constable Scuter, of Warren. It having been reported that Law was in hiding, at Mrs Mills's inn, the two first-named officers arranged to meet Senior-Constable Souter near that spot, and the three, having camped for the night within sight of the place, on the following morning proceeded together in the direction of Mills's •house. They had no rifles, but were armed withrevolvers, and when starting Sergeant Wallings remarked to Walsh that they had better bring plenty of ammunition, jokingly adding, " For one of us might get a ball through him." Poor fellow! he little thought he was foreshadowing his own doom. They reached the inn shortly after six o'clock a.m., and Sergeant Wallings at once made disposition of his men, Walsh taking his place near the stables, about twenty or\ thirty yards at the rear of the inn, and' Souter on the opposite side of the house, Wallings himself dismounting and giving his horse to Souter to hold, intending to go up to the house on foot. Before he could carry out his intention, however, Walsh observed a man emerge from the back of the house, carrying a gun and a. rifle, and he at once directed Spntert attention to the circumstance. Souter immediately called to the sergeant to take his horse whilst he started to ride after the Inan, whom be challenged, and called upon to stop ; but the man took no notice, of the challenge, and kept moving on, although he turned round once to call out, "If you come a step nearer I'll shoot you." Souter fired a shot over his head, but this only served to accelerate "Midnight's" speed, and then Souter motioned to Wallings and Walsh to ride through the sliprails into an Adjoining) paddock, which was surrounded by a wire fence, with a view of intercepting the runaway. They at once started, and Souter fired! two more shots from his revolver, Walsh also firing a shot without effect. What then transpired is best told in Souter's own words : "At this moment," said he. " Wallings and Walsh closed on him', and I heard the sergeant call again upon the man to stand, upon which he turned and raised the rifle to his shoulder. Upon this Wallings fired at him, and the man then dropped on one knee, called out something which I did not hear, and fired, after whicn he commenced running again ia the direction of a cross-line of wire fencing. Sergeant Wallings fell from his horse a few paces from where the shot was fired at him, nnd the horse bolted and ran through or rather tumbled over the wire fence. The man then got through the fence, and from behind a tree covered me. with his rifle, being then about fifty paces from me, and seeing that he had me at a disadvantage, being qpvered by the tree, I made towards Constable Walsh. The man then started to run for the bush, and! as he did so I fired afe him again. Constable Walsh then called to me, ' For God's sake come ; I think the sergeant is shot dead.' I hung up my horse to the fence and went to where the sergeant was" lying. I opened his waistcoat, which was covered with blood, and «aw a hole in his right breast as if made by a bullet. Seeing that he 'was dead, I left; Walsh in charge of the body, and went to Wonibobbio station, aibout a mile distant 1 ? and reported the matter to Mr Bird, lessee of ths-run. The body was subsequently carried to Wonbobbie." The bullet had penetrated the heart and lungs, causing initantaneous death. Walsh supplemented this statement by Baying that the sergeant was only five or six yards from " Midnight " when shot, and that he had his revolver pointed at the man at the time. When the sergeant fell Walsh fired at " Midnight " without effect, and the fire was returned, the rifle bullet striking Walsh's horse on the ear, causing the animal to bolt. The news of the death of the deservedly popular officer came as a shock to the' people of Dubbo, amongst whom ho liad re-' sided for many years. He had been in the police for nearly a quarter of a century, although he Avas not more than forty years •f age when thus ruthlessly murdered; His remains were removed to Dubbo for interwont, the funeral being more largely at-.

bended than any which had previously taken place in that district. The reader will have observed that neither of the constables avlio were present at the shooting of the sergeant could identify tho murderer as " Midnight," but many days had not elapsed before one of themhad an opportunity of closely examining him, and, in the light of the "Police Gazette" description, identifying him as the Parramatta escapee. At this time the bushranger was himself a corpse, he having been tracked and shot down by the police from a neighbouring station in that sparsely populated district. The story of the chase- and shooting may be briefly told. As soon as the news of Sergeant Walling's death reached Dubbo Sub-Inspector Grainger and Constables Purcell, Walsh and O'Brien started in pursuit of the murderer, Constable Baker, of Warren, SubInspector Duffy, and Constables Hatton and Grey, of Bourke, also going out. It fell to the lot of the Bourke party to avenge the death .of their late comrade-in-arms, and how they did it was subsequently told by Constable Hatton, whose story ran as follows : — > ■ "'\ "Haying received certain information, I went to Enngonia Station in company with Senior-Constablo Duffy and Constable Grey. Between ten and eleven o'clock on the night of October 2 (twelve days after the murder of Wallings) I heard horses crossing the road about 300 yds from Kerrigan's publichouse. I went, with Constable Grey to meet them, and when we' arrived I saw a man on the ground with three horses. I called out; 'Who is that?' and the man at once jumped on the horse he had been riding. I called upon him to stand, and as lie began to movd I told him I would shoot if he did not stand; . but he bent down arid galloped away through the scrub. I fired two shots at him from a distance of about twenty yards. When he galloped away ho left the other two horses behind him, one having on a pack and the other a saddle. I took the horses over to the hotel, and on searching the pack I found a Snider rifle and a revolver, both loaded, wrapped in a coat on top. There were also a bullet-mould and powder flask, some provisions, andl a purse containing money. Grey and I then saddled! up the two horses and went in search, remaining out about two hours. On the following morning SubInrpcctor Duffy, Constable' Grey and the bl" ok tracker took up the tracks from Enngonia with me, ami followed them all day. We kept following them until between ten and eleven o'clock on the morning of Oct. 5. We then saw a chestnut ■horse tied) up in a mulga scrub near the Maranoa, Station, close to the Queensland border. It had a saddle and bridle on. lat once galloped! up and! saw a man rising from the ground, apparently from sleep. Constable Grey and I got in between the man and the horse, which was about twenty yards distant. I had my revolver in my hand, and called upon him in the Queen's name to stand, saying 'We are constables.' I also told! him to put up bis hands or I would shoot him, repeating this several times. Constable Grey did the same, and at one time I thought Die was putting up bis hands. He was then in a sitting posture, and I saidi to Grey, ' You jump down and handcaff him while I keep him covered.' At that moment he jumped) up, ran past my horse, and dodged under Grey's horse's neck to (his own horse, which was tied to a tree. He reached! the horse, and grabbed the reins on the off side. I fired at the horse three