Whilst Mr. Craig, assistant superintendent, and Mr. Pierpoint, chier warder of the gaol, were inspecting the yard, two long-sentence convicts and a three years' man attacked them from behind. The convicts (Chinese) had armed themselves with knives and the blade of a plane which they had purloined from the workshop, and with these they rushed upon the unwary men, wounding Mr. Craig in the back of the neck. He sharply turned round and, taking in at a glance the grave nature of the attack, put his back against the wall and defended himself, as also did Mr. Pierpoint, who was wounded in the leg. Hearing the disturbance, four Indian warders and two European prisoners hastened to the assistance of the two officers, all getting cuts and bruises, but eventually overpowering the convicts.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.