Capture of Hughes, the Outlaw.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 216, 20 August 1887, Page 7

Capture of Hughes, the Outlaw.

Thomas Hughes, the notorious West Australian outlay was captured by the West Australian police on Saturday, June 2oth, after having been a fugitive for eleven weeks. What this man has experienced during his term of wandering must havo been tearful. The manner in which he fought single-handed until wouuded proves him to be a man of an common stamp, nnd possessed of a wonderful endurance. Btories of

Almost Unparalleled Audacity linvo for weeks and weeks been tol-I of him. He has, so it is reported, taken advantage of nightfall to frequently visit the town of Fremantle and the city of Perth. He has exchanged shots with the police on two oi-casions, and then managed to avoid being captured by them. Three times dm ing 1 his eleven eventful weeks have the police taken his swag ; which, each time, was found to contain ammunition and provisions, as well as a few newspapers. On Saturday, the 2."> th ult.,it\vas reported thao two houses had been robbed in Fremantle, and soon afterward a man informed the police that he had ceun Hughes that morning in Mooie's Paddock, Fremantle. Constables dee and O'Leary at once proceeded to the spot, and were shoitly afterwards joined by other constables. The ground in this part of the country is very uneven, being broken by sandhills ; and in places it is thickly covered with scrub. At the far side of FianciscoV paddock the police party found an open swag. It appeared that while partaking of food there Hughes had become aware of the presence of pursuers and fled. The native trackers s-peedily found where the tracks of Hughes broke off from here ; and Corporal Hogan followed them. In the meantime (.Joe galloped to the top of a near sandhill, from which a good view of the surrounding bush might be obtained. No sooner had he got theie than he saw Hughes running at full speed across .«ome open giound. Gee fired two fchots at him, causing Hughes to take shelter behind a big tiee. Seeing this, Gee boldly galloped down straight at the fugitive ; and

Hughes Opened Fire as lie came dashing up. First he fiied his Miulini-Henry rifle, and then a revolver three times, each bullet passing across dec's face. The latter drew up when he was within a few yaidsof hi< man ; and then his horse began to rear and plunge. Tin owing himself clear from his hoi>e, llee scrambled into the scrub and made his way to a sapling, behind winch he took sheltei. Corpoial Hogan and Constable O'Leary at thi.s point came riding toward Hughes, who for a few moments turned hi^ attention to them. Both their oHiceis fiied fiom horseback, Hughes replying with his icvoher, but without effect on both sides. When (-!ee had fairly placed himself behind a sapling, ho called out to Hughes, " No, fire away. Let us have it ;" and the latter, seeing his fre.sh dange 1 ", replied with iive shot I*,1 *, three of which struck (jee's sheltering sapling. Hughes was now in a perilous position, as, in sheltering himself from the the of dee, he expo>ed himself to that of the oiiicers on horseback, and vice versa. Gee, who was only twenty-live yards away from his man, says that he could have

Shot Him Dead with case more than once, when lie was obliged to expose the whole of his body. He did five, .after reloading, five shots at Hughes's left leg, which was exposed from time to time, from the knee downward ; but each bullet & truck in the .sand under tne raised boot. Hughes, however, then incautiously exposed the whole oi his left leg ; and, taking rapid aim with his reM>lver, Gee shot him in the left thigh. The moment he was struck Hughes staggered back from the tiee, and, raiding his left hand, called out loudly,

" I'll Surrender." All the members of the police party then closed in upon him. Being 1 the nearest, Gee reached him first, and, taking 1 him by the shoulders, told him if he dared to move, he should shoot him. Hughes replied, "I'll die like a man " His captor, Gee, replied, "You have fought like a man," and shook hands with him. The prisoner now gavo up his Martini-Henry rifle, upon which he was resting- when taken, and quietly allowed himself to be handcuffed. He appeared to be quite cool and collected. He remarked to the officers that he supposed he would have to suffer for what he had done. Turning to Gee, he added, " I wish you had shot me through the body, instead of through the leg, and finished me." He did not appear to be in much pain from the wound. He was lifted on to the hoi^e of the native assistant ; and the police party then began its return to Fiemantle with its prizer The spot at which Hughes was taken is about three miles from Fremantle. Constable Gee, after re-capturing his horse, took possession of

The Swag which Hughes had deserted, and it was found to contain fourteen Martini-Henry cartridges, forty-seven bull-dog revolver cartridges, one Martini-Henry rifle, one bull-dog revolve^,- a quantity of tea and sugar, some mea#, jams, split peas, tobacco, matches, and rugs. It transpired that Hughes's rifle had jammed, and also that his revolver spring had snapped. He was able still to fire with the revolver, and when he surrendered had fired over a dozen shots altogether. When the police station was reached his wound wns attended to by Dr. Barnett, who found that the bullet had lodged in the fleshy part of the thigh, and that it had not broken the bone.