THE JINDEN MURDERS.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 164, 31 January 1867, Page 3

THE JINDEN MURDERS.

The Braidwood correspondent of the Sydney Morning JETefald gives the fallowing account of this tragic affair : — The victims of this cokUblooded assassination are four men latety sent by Government as detectives, to try and arrest, and also put down, the. exiorided bushraugmg operations of Clarke, his brother, and their gang. Their names were John Carroll, the officer in charge of the party, Patrick Kcmiagh, E S. Macdonald, and John Fagan. The' first three men, until their new appointment, were warders at Dariinghurst Gaol. About four months ago, they reached tliis town, en rouie to the Jingora and Jemibogully llanges. After being a -.fow.. days camped in the midst of the ranges as a surveying party, always keeping their '.■'horses, saddled, and themselves • carrying their revolvers, on a dark, wet night, at about seven o'clock, . a volley was tired on the tent, the inmates being inside. How they escaped ..unhurt is really a mystery. However, nobody was- hurt.; They all rushed out -of their tent, took position behind trees, and kept firing on their assailants without, effect, under a pelting rain for about two hoars, 'until :ib last the cowardly murderers- fled without accomplishing their object. They at once determined never tp camp any more in a tent. From that occurrence, the greater part; of their duty was performed on foot, and they began "to puzzle tlie bushrangers and, their confederates in a most disagreeable 'manner. .; One day they were iv a locality,: and the, next day they were fifty .miles away. Everywhere thoy were to be seen, everywhere they were to be heard of. At that tiiue their plan was to come unexpectedly- on the bushrangers and take them by if possible, dead or alive. But the country being little less than a den of thieyea. connected cither by marriage or misdeeds, the i>ublic officers had no chance of carrying ou. t their plans , as they were . closely watched by-ttie outlaws' associates, ; , and after several narrow chances of success, ■they were compelled to. adopt 'different, plaus... Carroll determined to try what bribery would do, and iin that they sneceeded so well thjit they soon found who was harbormg 1 Clarke's gang and supplying, them with the munitions, of war! Several arrests were made — Michael Connell, a relative of the' outlaw, and postmaster and publican at Oremmeir, was the first brought before. theßraidwood Bench, and after a lengthened examination of the clearest evidence, he was committed to take. his Jtrial at.the ; next sessions. ; At; the :time the aiTests of the accomplices, were being 'made, the party had several' times to be divided. Once, when Berry when going to bo apprehended, KeiinaghaiKl Phegari were sent by their officers to Ginness' house, ton miles away, through a.scrubby ;c()uutry, from where Berry usually resides. Just as they started, "two suspicious looking characters passed by Berry's house, and CaiToll veiy justly feared that an attempt at rescue might be made, and was' in a fix how to 4ct, as he wished to keep ?\vatching Berry's h()use, when two constables properly mounted arid '.armed, came by at the time. He informed them of what' he was about, and also of his fear, asking them to go and meet his men bytlleregular road, as they, had taken the road, through tlie bush. The troopers only laughed, at him, and told him to do his work himself , and decamped. However, the arrest was safely made, and the prisoner duly lodged in Braidwood gaol. When the ' cases were brought before the Braidwood 1 Bench, Carroll conducted tlie case for the Crown, and m his opening speech said that, in the pe.iformance of his duties, he. had.: met with more interference and trouble from the regular police than he had with the bushrangers and their confederates, excepting Mr Superintendent Orridge^and Sergeants Duffy and Smith. He was asked to make some specific charges, and he then stated that even that morning,' before the Court was opened, the prisoner Conncll was allowed 'to spea*k in private to his wife,; although in- custody at the time. Of the result of this, com plaint, the public never heard --a word.. This shows the feeling of some of the officers these unfortunate martyrs. ; Threats were freely indulged in by men under the surveillance of the secret police, and by those who had been arrested as harborers. On the nigjit oftlie sth inst., Carroll and the ; others; started on tneir : last expedition j! and wliat took places from that time is not known ; I will therefore let you know what 1 have heard. Oh<3 of Uie.objects of this trip into the ;biisli;was to complete evidence against some of the police for havirig-act.ually partaken of the. plunder of the Foxlow robberies. As I said. before, on the night 0f ..-.the sth inst., our volunteers, as they were mcknanied in the town, left Braidwood for the den of their nmrderers. On Thursday evening, the 10th instant, it was reported that four bddies were discovered- a short distance from each other. From what 1 caitgather it appeai's-tha.t Carroll and his party were

going from Smith's place to Jinden, where they were in plant at about eight p.m., towards the house of a man named Guineas, about four miles distant, wliich was known -to them to be a favorite place of resort for Clarke's party. .'Shay had to pass- through a very scrubby bush,. At about half a mile from Smith's place .the first two bodies- Avere found ; and on each side of the road two very large trees were standing,. behind Avliiuh — it is -the -opinion of the black trackers — several men. had been standing. On- following the trail from these trees, the two other bodiesworc'found. M'Donald had been Avoundcd iii the thigh, and -when his body Avas found, his leg Avas actually twisted round his' body. He had several shots- thro ugh his body. The other two unfortunate men seem to have had quicker deaths; Carroll was shot through the temple, and Keunagh throngh the throat. Carroll was found-lying on his back ; anil the.'murderous .'villains, had, before leaving, him, pinned a Ll note across his chest, «\fter having rifled his pockets. They- carried with them, wheii leaving Braid wood-,, five of. Tranter's best revolvers, tAvo five-barrel revolving rifles, and a large quantity of ammunition, 'three of Avliich have been found. -Carroll had also a very large yum of money iv notes, as lie had to,, pay very high for liis information.- It is surmised that Aviien in plant at Smith's our volunteers were -informed' by a spy. of the bushrangers that Clarke's party, avjis thenat Ginness's, and Avhcn on their road : thither they av are murderously attacked and .dropped,, one by one, without having a' chance o£ sofcurning lire. I know they Avere four brave men, determined at any risk to fulfil the duty ■ they entered upon^ajtul to; honestly earn, the reward they ciqieeted for their hazardous duties. I know they have been several times can-' tionad, and even been begged not to trust their lives' in that locality ; but at every friendly remonstrance they answered, " We have a ;duty;tc> ; . fulfil ; Aye. will do so fearlessly, let the consequences be what tlioy Avill." It is a prevailing opiuioii in town that neither the ou'ilaw Clarke nor any one of his gang committed this murder, but that the perpetrators are some of thoharborer&and associates, : Four p. m, —Since yritiug"the above the 'magisterial enquiry is ' oyss ; and from Avhatl can lear.n I find that a few corrections are to be made, to lay before tho public a true stdry of the traged-- . It appears that on -Tuesday night. Bth instant, Mr Carroll's party camped at Smith's at Jinden, and seemed yexy nervous. On Wednesday, after breakfast, they left on a foot patrol, and in the evening. Avere returning to ward's Smith's from the direction of Ginness's, along a cattle track on an open country. When Avitliin about half a mile of then.- station for the night they were fired'' upon."".' Two fell, Pliegan and McDonald. The latter must have bled to death in less than five minutes; Phegan must have been helped out of his suffering' 'by. some extra shots, as he had several in his body, some of them not mortal. The other two bodies Avere found at about hilf a mile distance, also' iii an' open country, and. from the direction the bullets took, they must have been at the time they were murdered on their knees, their clothes wore;, singed, and they had each only one Avound--Catroll through the heart, Kennagli through the throat and lungs. This cold-blooded murder must have boon done ' at arms-length. The pockets of tliese unfortunate men Avere not emptied of their contents, as on each of them; cash was found, but the pound-note Avas pinned on poor Carroll's chest, as previously stated. Three revolvers were also found near the first tAvo bodies ;.. therefore the two rifles and two revolvers were carried away. Although the firing was heard nobody Avent out to soe what was the matter, nor even" Avhere they were expected that night. With regard to the obsequies the bodies Avu*.e put in a hole close to the scene of their full. Mr Caroll Avas about thirty-eight years of age, and leaves jiAvife and fiVe children Mr Kennagli Avas about twenty-six years of age, has been five years warder at Dariinghurst, and leaves a Avife and' two 'children!''.; ' Mr Pliegan Avas about'tlnrty years of age, a widower, and: leaves a littlegirl, aged ten years, behind him. Mr McDonald Avas a bachelor,, about fifty, .ami leaves'. behind. him a rather large sum of money deposited in a bank, the receipt of "which Avas found on his body. He has relations in Ireland.