CAPTURE OF PATRICK DALY.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 46, 17 April 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

CAPTURE OF PATRICK DALY.

(From the Lachlan ObserverA)

Almost coincident with the arrival of the mounted constabulary, under Mr Inspector Black, we have to chronicle the capture of one of the notorious Gardiner's gang. It appears that a portion ofthe newly arrived police were drafted off to form a station in the immediate vicinity of the Weddin Mountains. On Wednesday morning last, whilstSir Frederick Pottinger with Billy, the black tracker, and some of the mounted police were out in the neighborhood of the suspected bushrangers, near the Weddin Mountains, the tracker detected fresh footprints of a horse crossing the path Sir Frederick and bis party were pursuing ; and directing his master's attention to the circumstance, Sir Frederick turned his course in the direction of the track. Billy soon pointed out the identical tree which had afforded such friendly protection to Mr J. O. Norton, the sub-inspector of police. Sir Frederick Pottinger was directing his couis^ again, when he espied in the distance, through the foliage of the trees in the bush, a mounted horseman, and at once gave orders for pursuit. The party were now in the vicinity of the Pinnacle reef, and, first of all ordering two his troopers to make round the hill, on which the reef is situated, in order to intercept the flight of the horseman, Sir Frederick, with the black tracker and the two remaining troopers, continued the chase. All this was done in less time than it takes to write, and very shortly afteri ward, Sir Frederick pulled up before i some deserted-looking huts and found a horse, with a saddle on it, tied up to one of the huts. He at once recognized the horse to be one he had seen the night before in Ben Hall's paddock, " all in a sweat," to use the baronet's own language. The black fellow also recognised a pair of girts on the horse as being a portion ofthe property stolen from the police barracks, at the Pinnacle station, on the occasion of that place being stuck up and robbed during the temporary absence of the police, shortly before. Entering the huts, Sir Frederick saw two or three men inside, and finding them unwilling to answer the questions, he threatened them, whereupon he was informed that the rider of the horse was down a shaft on the reef above named. Proceeding to the place indicated, Sir Frederick called to the man (presuming him to be there) to surrender, but received no answer. Again, after an interval, the same request was repeated, but met with no response. After several minutes, the supposed bushranger was again summoned to appear, without eliciting a reply. At length, finding mild exhortations insufficient, Sir Frederick hreatened that he would at once proceed to burn and smoke him out like an opossum. The man not liking the latter alternative, surrendered at discretion, and was immediately taken into custody. Daly is a mild, youthful,

whiskerless looking person, with light blue eyes and fair complexion. There is nothing in his physiognomical ex.pression outwardly to denote the degraded villain.