THE LATE CAPT BROWNRIGG.

Temuka Leader, Issue 931, 23 March 1882, Page 3

THE LATE CAPT BROWNRIGG.

Commander Hewitt, R,N.,late senior lieutenaxt H.M.S. “ Challenger” writes to us as follows : “ I beg to enclose the accompanying clipoings from the Broad Arrow of 7lh January, which 1 think will interest all your readers as the account of an heroic fight of a brave man, but more particularly the many old friends of the late Captain Brownrigg, and of the officers of H.M.S Challenger, of which ship he was commando* when she was so frequently in New Zealand waters, particularly in this port between the years 1567 and 1870. No words of mine can add to this testimony of the bravery of my old commander and friend, with whom I worked for four years. There are many eld ‘ Challengers’ in this province who took their discharge out here will join with us in regret and admiration for his gallant death,” The extract forwarded to us by commander Hewitt, is a despatch from Acting Commander Somerville Goodridge. We learn that Captain Brownrigg left his ship in a pinnace with a crew of seven, together with his steward his interpreter, and a writer, for the purpose of visiting the boats engaged in the suppression of the slave trade of Pomba Island. A dhow, flying French colours, was sighted, ami Capt Brownrigg went alongside for the purpose of verifying her papers, as it was his habit never to board French dhows. When the boat was quite close to the dhow, a man, supposed to be the captain of her, stood up aft with a bundle or roll of papers in his hand , and said something as he unfolded them and pointed to the French flag. There were then visible on board the dhow, four men, two aft. and two forward, all armed with the usual Arab swords and creeses. As the coxswain was standing on the stern of the boat, in the act of making fast to the hook rope, he caught sight of some eight or ten men crouched in the bottom of the boat, with guns at ‘ready’ position. He sang out to the captain aft, when they rose up and fired ; he flung the hook at them, and closed with one, both falling overboard together. The Arabs, the number of whom is variously estimated at from 15 to 25, then jumped into the pinnace with drawn swords and clubbed guns. As their first fire seems tc have killed one man (a stoker) outright, mortally 1 wounded another, and severely wounded : two others of the boat’s crew,the Arab’s found but little difficulty in driving the rest, unarmed as _they were overheard. Captain Brownrigg and his steward were the only two left, and both were in f (the afterpavt of the port. Ho appears

to have seized a rifle at the first volley and fired, knocking an Arab over, but before he could reload three cr four of them rushed aft to attack him,';' t, gon the top of the canopy and at the sides but he, clubbing bis rifle, kept them at ba), fighting with a determination that has filled the survivors, who were then in the water unable to get on board, with the greatest admiration, they describing him as fighting like a lion. Ho knocked two of bis assailants over, but was unable to get at them properly, owing to the structure of the boat, he being in the stern sheets, whilst they were above him in the canopy, cutting at him with i..eir long swords, but feari g to jump down and close wi h him. As he knocked one over, another took his place. The iir.it wound that seems to have hampered him in the gallant fight was a cut across the forehead, from which the blood pouring over hio face, | artially blinded him. He was then cut across the hands, the fingers being severed from the left and partially from the right one, and so badly wounded in both elbows, he could no longer u>e the r'fle. He then appears to have tried to get hold of any of Ids foes, or anvthing wherewith to fight on, but, blinded as he was, his efforts were in vain. He fought thus for upwards of 20 minutes, keeping his face to his a sailants, and having no thought or making any effort to seek satefy by jumping overboard. At length he was siiot through the heart aud fell dead, having besides the fatal one. receivul 1 no fewer than 20 wounds, most of theai j of a severe, and two of them of a mortal j nature. During this lime the men in the water, Thomas Bishop, ordinary, | was ba lly wounded, and was supported tothedinuy astern of the pinnace I>s William Venning, leading stoker (who was himself slightly wounded in the head by slugs). There be held on, but the Arabs, hauling the h-.at up alongside the pinnace, cut him over the head until he sank. Samuel Murray, A. 8., was severely wounded, and was supported to the shore, a distance of about 700 yards, by Alfred Yates, leading seaman, and William Collision, ordinary. The remaining stoker swam there by hfmself, as also did the interpreter, the writer (third class), John G. T. Airs, having been mortally wounded at the first fire. There was left on board the pinnace the captain’s steward (a Goanese), who states that after the captain fell the Arabs knocked the boat abo.ifc a bit, but did not touch bis body beyond looking closely into his face to see if lie was dead. The steward himself was at the time lying aft pretending to be dead. The Arabs then left the boat and sailed away in their dhow, when the leading stoker got on board of her, he having been in the water all the time, got up steam, and picked up the men on the beach. The dhow’ was subsequently captured, land eight Arabs implicated in the attack were taken prisoners, while another Wr-s shot.—Wellington Post.