TE AWAITE MURDER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 291, 13 December 1904, Page 2

TE AWAITE MURDER.

FURTHER PARTICULARS OF ELLIS' CAI'TIRK. NEMESIS AT LAST. (New Zealand Times.) Information was received some time ago that there wene traces of some i>erson hiding in tho vicinity, awl it was strongly suspected that [ilcKenzie (or Ellis) was the uian. 11l severnl instances huts were visited, imd provisions and other articles stolen, but in every case these huts were situated on hilltops where the man would have a good view of the country, and could see anyone approaching, so that evidently he walichud, ami knew when the occupants were absent.

A short lime ago Mr W. W. Hirst's station at ». kurn/a was visited by tile man and u .jakc was stolen. A greasy piece of paper which had been around the cake was afterwards found in the bush, some distunce to the northwand, showing the direction the man had taken. On Tuesday week Constable Willcocks was instructed to proceed to Kereru and make a aearcth, aud as the country was very wild thereabouts, lie engaged a guide. On Fiiuay week Detective Broboig joined in the search, wihich has b«jn kept up constantly ever sdnce.

Constable liutier was also searching tiie country back of Takupau in case the man doubled back there, us indications showed that he had ton in that district at least ou three occasions. Constables Carrnody and Riowlufl wcro also tent " . ""f "'f k tu in the search, capture 0 P ''° tol ' ly tt '"' ivu

JUciuinzie who was an export bushmrmlh/'h 8 ! 11 , have cludod capture to, months but lor the fortunate circumstance of the p arty finding, I)im in the hut, as ho kept himself well supplied with ammunition. On hi* first visit to Takapau he hod evidently used the hollow of a burned tree a 9 a camping place, and had lined it with the hide of a bullock which he is alleged to have shot. It also appears that wherever possible, in- lighting lite lire, he used a dry kind of smokeless wood so as not to give indications of his prestance.

it was noticed, howover, on thi first visit to the hut where ho was, eventually captured tjiat a fire liuci ■been recently lighted, agd this put the search party on. the scent. Thej kept cloae handy in case ho Suio uki return, and an indication of thi kind of country travelled will bi gained when it is stated that they had to wade through a stream ten tdimes in returning to the spot. I CONFIRMATION OP THE NEWS. INSPECTOR ELLISON INFORMEI BY TELEGRAM.

Late on Saituiday night Inspcctoi Ellison, of Wellington, received thi following! wire from Inspector Macdoniell, at Napier "Ellis, alias HcKenzie, was arrested lective Broiberg a nd Constable Will cocks (who were accompanied by u guide), in a wharo at the back o: John Anderson's Kereru station. Hi went into the whare for shelter, and they ( the offlcersi) did the same. He went into the whare for shelter, and they (the officers) did the'same. He was well armed, but was secured before he could use Iris weapons. Detective Urobcrg and the constable are twinging the prisoner to Waipawu, which they expect to reach at about 1 n.in. Spvernl nrlicles which are alleged to have bwn stolen were found in accused's possession."

WHAT THE POLICE HAVE BEES DOING, Ever since the day of Leonard CoUubton's d*»atj> the police liuvo [juuii searching for the man for whose- 'arrest in connection with "the ailftir a uariunt was i&siued shortly uitei the crinia wus reported, the ropori tlwt the constables, wllo were liim dutuilud for duty in the Martinboiough (lisj.nct, were withdrawn from active ware It for Ellis, was mainly aibtiud. In any case, a large bod} of nun, once the wirnud man tooK la the bush, was considered worst ulian useless, inasmuch as it \va: calculaittd to iuipode, rather than assist, in the ultimate apprehension of the main. Accordingly Inspector Ellison, who has been controlling tile movements of tho search' part> throughout, decided to recall all tht consitaibles, and after a short delay, despatched i Detective Ilroterg to the back country, with instructions to obtain assistance from tho country police stations where required. llow that search has bewv prosecuted from day to day, and week to week, and month to month, will not be told in detuil until the case comes before the courts. Inspector Elllson'i men, however, tvave kept him well supplied with statements about theii movements, and all tho time he wa>. cognisant of the presence of thi suspected man. Despite the rumours that Ellis had left tho country, the police officers persisted in thcii heavy, aifluous and wearisome task to the firm belief that they liud at last got on the right track. ilw first clue of tho fugitive's wheroalhouts was picked up in July when a bullock was found shot n*w Taknpau (about fifty m il es ■rom Waipukurau). There was nothing very suspicious in the circumstance at first, as the body of the animal was in an advanced state oi decomposition when found, but thi discovery 0 f a camp in am old rate f r ° f Uaed , m ' fl P ici<w . and led, to ion nf l iT t ' gationS ' An , of the carcase of the deao " i ™ , J T? led a hole, S the hn 0 ause< ? Ij y a bullet, in , ™»d, ai «l a little dissecting brought a .SOU bullet to ligJrt. From co l imd°>nt t^h dt ' teCUVC ond lliß,,lcn Oil idcnt they were on the track of the man they were searching for and doubled their efforts to overSum " temporary camps and other traces of the presente 'of J'"" 1 '!" lj , oin fi in this wild country ev,dently brought the search P "m to the vicinity of Ormondville. At intervals settlers and bushmen had =Sri«ss rss SWpwars had been stolen from one hut and that a portion of it lmd been'foSSd wlapped in paper in wild bush coun"T some miles away. This wn a " wl'ich U lod T ,h U ' St ' and flnu1 ' clue winch lod to tho man s arrest. HARDSHIPS op THE CHASE.

'''funics of successfully carnnh i° USk Sel «»« I'»liCC C Rn who A f Cl "' ! ! (e,y by those v- mo f ""' lllal ' Willi bush country. Nine months tramping over truckless wastes is calculated to take the heart out of most men. Often the detective and his assistants hn<i to subsist on the scantiest fare and very l.x-quonUy their pl„ ce of 7" thl ' "I'on-nir •„ ok, ~ shed which they happened! to drop acioss (after a day's tramnlri? through the bush. At other times they called at the huts of hospitable stUleis m the wild country traversed, and were provided with food and fi,St tho had in getting <i duo as to lulis s whereabouts, and Hie search was naturally slow and tedious but since July, when the dead bullock Wfis discovered, the men have been' working night and dav. the densely wooded country tie services of guides had perforce to be obtained, and the services rendered by tho men who acted In that capacity were Invaluable in briiKftiK about the ultimate capture ot

suspect. However, Detective BroIwrg und the constables who worked under him, uml Inspectors Elllson and Macdonell, who controlled the search, are deserving of great praise for effecting the arrest of the man against whom an information had been laid charging him with cuusing Leonard Colitason's death. Undoubtedly the chu.se has been one of the most remarkable in the criminal records of this or any other I colony.

ELLIS'S WANDERINGS. The opinion which prevailed at the time the murder was that Ellis would capture as long as possible by keeping; well into the back' country, with which he, as an experienced bushnian, had an intimate acquaintance, hag been veri- ' lied. The actual story of his wanderings, to anyone who knows the rough nature of the country traversed, would almost read like a Rougemoiit narrative. After the crime. Ellis, from ind'eations reported from time to time, neems to havo roamed among the Tararua ranges, lha rugged und uninhfJbited nature of which would eminently suit the desires of one upon whoie head there was a price. Leaving the Wellington provincial district behind hJm, Ellis would And ample shelter in the continuation of hills connecting from the Tararuas with the Ruahine mountains, in llawkc's Bay. Behind the Riiahines, westwards, 11$ the Kaimanawtt ranges, though this country is not, perhaps, quite go mountainous as that through wfcloh Ellis must have travelled to reach the Kaimanawas. All along this route from the Tararuas there are, sheep runs in some most isolated places, and the bush teems witfc Mrds, so in the matter of food gupplies Ellis would have found almost everything ho needed, especially as he had a rifle and ammunition in his possession. Ellis was venturing pretty close on the borders of civilisation when he got down as far an Koreru, for in that locality, extending foe miles along the foot of the Kaiiwanawa ranges, there are run»; indj moreover, rabbit inspectors am locajted all over that district. From. tho 5 Tararuas to the Kaimxm&wias, with the huge stretch of wild country lying between thoso two ranges, is a vast field for any man to have covered, and as Ellis evidently put i« the winter in thoso hills, he most havo had some grim experiences.