GAOL-BREAKING EXTRAORDINARY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 317, 25 December 1862, Page 6

GAOL-BREAKING EXTRAORDINARY.

EXriIAOIIDINARY. The folluwiag account of the outbreak of 300 pri socers from the State prison, St. Quentin, is from the Alia California of 26th July :- . At ten minutes to one o'clock yesterday (Tuesda'v\ afternoon, h> or six prJuom let out of S east wicket gate of the prison, when iW turned around and knocked uowu the' turnkey by name Murphy teize-i the keys, and opened the laic «ite when about threeiiundred prisoners luXedW seizingLieutenant-Govemor Chellis, the ward-n <* the + pn.on, and rushed for the six-pound brass piece oil the westsideot the prison, which they capts and earned oft with them.

About one hundred, comprising all the desperadoes of the prison, made for the mountains with the L eu-tenant-GuyeiMor and the brass piece. Abjut one hundred ot )es*r offenders hung^round the prison aud about art equal number made for the sloop Pike County -The gang with the Lieutenant-GoW.« succeeded m taking a second brass six-pouter which they earned otf with them, having thrown the fiist captured lato the bay. The sloop got aground inputting off, and the guard opened hre on ber, killing ten aud wou,din<- fifteen ot the. prisoners, when ti.e re,t surrendered and were inarched back to the prison. A correspondent of tke^AUa, writing from St. Qaentxa, gives this interesting ac-oaat ot the manner m which tne outbivak terminated:— Just before reaching the great front gate of the prison, we wore informed that Lieateuant-Governor Ghel.is had made his escape from his captors on the previous evening,, arriving at St. Queutiu about eight o'clock. We found the good news to be true aud ma moment many of the party had entered his cuamber and were eagerly listening to his narrative. He was lying m bed, having suffered- some scratches and great latigue from his tramp. He cave us a succinct statement, the gist of which, is as f o {! IOWS • ■

At half-past twelve o'clock on Tuesday afternoon whilst in his otfacd m the north end of the front of the mam building, he heard a loud exclamation of lheresabieak!" On going into his chain., er immediately adjoining, aud lookiag out of the north window, lie was saluted with a volty of stones, thrown by some of the gang of eleven convicts running up the road on the outside of the walls. They had come from the brick yard below. Immediately afterwards two pistol shots were fired, the balls i&ercin*the wall auove the bed. Simultaneously with the firing a half-dozen of tlie convicts rushed into the room, and seizing Oiellis shouted, "Now wove got you <*ov." The rest of the p.-a-ty at the same time^attacKed the outside guard (at the main front g-ate) named Oovue'ius Murphy. They made a ferocious onslaught, but were met by a man of the most .determined bravery. • Although the gate-keeper had no arms on his person or within reach, he still fought desyarately with his padlock keys. His assailants., meantime, threw stones upon his head iuflictiug many severe gashes. Finally, they succeeded m. overpowering him and getting possession- of the wicket lock key. With this they unlocked the little gate, but could not secure the padlock loys wich Murphy retained to Ihe last. The convicts, by m tin strength, then tore oif the padlock with an iron bar lliey were now in an ar-.a at the furth r eiiil of which is another heavy iron door, guarded by a ti-mty couvictnainea J,h,so.). The desperadoes Jwld a knife at his thi-oa; whilst they toic the faiteuiujrs from th* inner door. ° . •

Now, jumping into the main yard, drawing Murphy with them, they began seroamins like°iu" .tariau-d demons. In a moment the prisoners from the workshops and various outbuilJings came nuhma: frantically to the open «utes from till ponious of ci£ yard ;to the •number of ac last, iwo hundred' th-y poured unmolested through the twoiiojes ami into the street, where the Lieutenant Governor was beinefaeld moutody. The crowd, witlt their prisoiie-s moved do.vn the front of the prison, (Jhelis calling upon Murphy to give up h.s l<evv, which he persists try refused to do. ihey ihju hurried round the soutu-eastcorner of the air, and go ou up tlie liill south-west which was snrmouiitad by a brass sixpjunder. As they advanced. Uuard Watson discharged hid piece, but cautiously, and at the rear of tUe crowd, inasmuch as Gove.nor C'iieiJia, bein* thrust in the van was exposeu to imminent •dauber' iV) one was injured by this, the only shot tired from Watsons gun; lor the convicts, on the instant, ran up and seized it, but not before Watson had managed to effijjtu illy spike it. Tiiey threw vVatsou over [ho chit, and the cannon after Iran. He tumbled from rocii to rock, and in thi descent the cannon bounded over lam, to which circumstance he h indebted for uU hie. Mr Watsou, however, su.stairte.l much i.miry, aud his body is covered with sever* bruises The crowd, at this junctu c, began to be fearful of a second cannon, alao a brass slx-pounder statioue-l at th« guard-house, ou the nortL-west bauk. i his was favorably situated for rakiug the rascals, ami (hey would almost certainly have b en annihilated had their worthless bodies hoc beeu protected by the Lieutenaut-lxoveriior. lie was purposely kept in h-out, and repeatedly the eouvLts assured him that if he did not order him men t> dessr, tiLs life should be t n-ieited. He accordingly waved his kuid, and otherwise manifested his uuw.llin^noss to permit them to hre, as to do m wouM be certain death 10 the officers By adroitly sighting the gun, h nvever, a uumtier of r-.uudsof grape ami canister too* effect in the ranks of che scouuurals, and finally Jed to a p irtinl disbaudmeut of. the mob. Thi in ijor portion of them liowever, still stuck to Gover.iOi- Cnellis, aid f roel him up Corte Madeira 0; eek iv a west-riy direction. I'he now fugitive waig of the escaped rascals, numbering- some seventy or eighty, turned do-xa the ; >ay side- but a large jwrtion being pi etty thoroughly scared returned a,ud gave themselves up ro the guards. Tlie remainder repaired to the * Pike Uouuty' prison boat, which was lying in harbor, abreast the cannm at the north-west end. They cut the lines with aa axe, lowered the tackle, and let her drift i.ito the stream. The sheet w.is hoisted, but at this moment a a'eiiiily hre of soiall arras was pmredin from ihe roof aud tome weil sent fchots scared the fellows prtui.iiousiy. Besides tli^re was uo wind, and the craft ■ a *cow aloop, drifted ashore. To adi to their Cucoiufature, the Horse Gua ds came down and ordered them to .surre .der uncoaditionally. About this time a number had jumped overboard. Three were shot m the water aud seeu to sink from the s lore, others cried lustily for mercy The remainder capitulated and were at once marched into the yard. We left the pious pai ty acting a3 escort tt the I leuteuaut-iiovernor t n route to the Tarn ilpais via Cone Mad.'ira Cre.-k. A small bmd of thj mounted «uard had, unknown to tile fljiug prisoners, followed iv t.i'eir wa'ie. Whttt the latter reached a poiut some five miles from the prison they were suddenly surprised at se.ing a large number of hoisemea c^nirootmg them. At the uame time they got :* waroing of the p-esence of the rear guard. The hi* par;y coasisted ot the professional and rnoiva'iti-ld men aud yeomanry of Marin, who liad lioard awiul ac--bunts of the emeute, and le illy supposed that huudreds of bloodthirsty villains were abmt topju.ice upon their homesteads, aud pevhrps to stop t irf flaw of their hearts" blood. So tho ga.iatit Mariuit-s tv the iastaut turaed out t > repel tha'riihlosa ossa sias aid most nobly did they faiai their mission. Suc'i a akeuaiduaguever wws seen since tli-> runs of Prica and Pioyd. The Lrwfc!na::t-Gkiveraorwi<t 'reseu id pus-iuto a camafte, and brought hack to the prlso-i At least half a dozen fell before the unerring aiai «,f the;.sharpshooters of Marin. Sotiie forty we,e retakmand conveyed,to St Quantia, and later in tho evening five desperate cases were captured and ;o I"d id gaol. ■ °"