How McGrath was Killed

An account of the murder of Captain McGrath was given by M. J. Leahy in a despatch to the “Sunday Sun,” which was written on February 24.

Mr. Leahy says that with his brother, Dan, and 35 native carriers, he had crossed the Ramu-Purari divide and reached the Kuramantina River, a tributary of the Purari River, 120 miles from Salamaua.

They found the tribesmen swarming in the vicinity and very excited and calling out from the hill-tops, “We have killed the master.”

Messrs. Leahy hurried to McGrath’s camp, and there found everything in dis order. McGrath and Dugan and their boys were missing, and there were many signs of a struggle. They found McGrath’s body 300 feet away on a grass ridge. He had an arrow through his side and another through his heart, from which he was still bleeding. His body was wet from perspiration—the attack had oc curred only a little time before. Beside him was a single-barrel shotgun.

Reconstructing the affair, later on, Messrs. Leahy decided that McGrath was suddenly attacked and wounded. Most of his boys fled. McGrath tried to get across to the Dunantina, where his com panion Dugan was camped, but the natives closed in on him from all sides.

He was inadequately armed; and he was struck down with another arrow.

Dan Leahy and five armed boys left immediately for the police post at Ramu aerodrome. Mick Leahy camped with his boys on top of the grass ridge, maintain ing a double guard all night; and he attacked and scattered crowds of natives who began to come in to share in the loot.

Early next morning one of Guinea Air ways Junker ’planes circled over the camp and dropped a note from Dan Leahy, saying that he had duly reached Ramu landing-ground; and he and Cadet Aitchi son, with police boys, were on their way back. Later in the same day Mr. Ubank, who is a miner on the Ramu, arrived with a team of boys. Ubank recognised a revolver picked up in McGrath’s camp as belonging to Dugan. At this time, they were sure that Dugan was killed.

That night, they saw a torch flashing and heard a shot fired. Soon afterwards another miner, Mr. Lance Peadon, arrived and Dugan was with him. Dugan ex plained that four of McGrath’s boys had

climbed around a mountain, 7000 feet high, to get to his camp and tell him of McGrath’s fate. Dugap, with McGrath’s boys, marched 20 miles through the night, to Peadon’s camp.

Soon afterwards, Dan Leahy with Cadet Aitchison, and a long line of police boys, arrived. That night was made hideous with the howling of the excited natives on the hill-tops, around the scene of the murder.

Next morning Dugan, who was prac tically exhausted, remained in camp and dug a grave for McGrath; while the rest of the party, with young Aitchison in charge, set out to deal with the native murderers. The latter had retreated to a thickly timbered hollow, 2000 feet above the camp, and they met the advancing police with showers of arrows, two police boys being wounded.

There was some fighting, and the police party returned to the camp. Then a D.H. 50 aeroplane, belonging to Holden’s Airways, in charge of Pilot O’Dea, circled overhead and dropped a note, asking for signals as to whether Dugan was alive, dead or missing. Dugan answered the inquiry, in person by going out into the open and waving to District Officer Tay lor, who was in the ’plane.

D.O. Taylor then dropped a message to say that he would be along presently, with a punitive expedition.

“Over McGrath’s grave,” says Mr.

Leahy, “we laid a small quantity of white quartz, the mother-stone of the gold, to mark the furthest inland grave of just another prospector who had gambled with his life for gold—and lost.”