AFFRAY WITH BUSHRANGERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 267, 21 November 1879, Page 2

AFFRAY WITH BUSHRANGERS.

A Sydney telegram to the Post gives the following details of the receut desperate affray with bushrangers in New South Wales : — A terrible encounter took place between the police and the bushrangers who bailed up the Wantanbadgong station. Immediately on hearing of the defeat of the four policemen who first went in pursuit of the men, tea constables Btarted off from Wagga Wagga to a secluded part of the bush, where the robbers were supposed to be ia hiding. They succeeded in tracking them to their stronghold, and called on them to surrender. The bushrangers refused, and the police fired a volley into their midst, killing one of the robbers on the spot. The rest of the men then retreated into their hut. The latter appeared to be constructed with some idea of repelling an attack, and its shelter gave the robbers considerable advantage of position. They were enabled to hold their assailants at bay for about half-an-hour, a constant fire being kept up on both sides during that time. Another of the bushrangers was wounded by a shot from the police, while, on the other side, Police Sergeant Bowen was shot in the neck, and it is feared that the wound will terminate fatally The police ultimately made a rush on the hut, and succeeded in capturing three of the remaining occupants. One of these was found to be Captain Moonlile, a notorious character, and captain of the gang. A fourth managed to effect his escape into the bush. LATER. The gang have been identified as a party organised by Moonlite in Victoria. It consisted of two men and three lads. Moonlite and the other man are well known aa desperate chasacters ; but whether the lads have previously engaged in criminal acts of this kind, or were led into the affair from a love of adventure, hag not been ascertained. One of the lads was killed, and another was wounded. The third, who escaped into the bush when the police stormed the hut, has just been captured after a prolonged' chase. The men were found to be uninjured. It has been ascertained that the gang came with the intention of robbing the Gundagai Banks. On reaching the Wantanbadgong station, however, they stuck it up for the purpose of obtaining arms and horses, and thua ultimately led to their being captured as stated. From the appearance of the hut in which they were found, it is conjectured that they had been in the neighborhood for some time, and had a regularly organised plan of operations, which they were about to carry out when their proceedings were checked. It turns out that Moonlite was formerly in New Zealand, and served ia the war, being wounded in one of the engagements with the Maoris The latest intelligence from Gundagai states that Sergeant liowen is dying. The bullet loJged in a vital part of the neck, and the surgeons in attendance on him are unable to extract it. Considerable surprise is manifested at the desperate manner in which the gang fought —especially as three of them are very young — and the successful manner in which" they managed to defy the police for so lone a time. B