SHORT-LIVED BUSHRANGERS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2705, 8 January 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

SHORT-LIVED BUSHRANGERS

SERIES OF SENSATIONAL STORIES tralian Bushrangers/’' “Old Convict Days,” etc.) (Published by Special Arrangement.) XIV.—THE MAIL ROBBER AND THE CHEQUES. As a rule bushrangers counted all cheques on persons or in possession of their victims as so much valueless paper owing to the difficulty of passing them on the one hand, and the source of danger they becamo on the other, if the passing proved successful, through serving as a means of .tracing the thief as well as the utterer. Friends of the bushrangers were also, as a rule, cnary of dealing with cheques for the same • oasons, and thus it was that such documents were generally passed over, or. if taken, destroyed. But in two or three eases, either through ignorance of the facts stated or from downright recklessness, cheques taken from che bags when a mail coach bad been stuck up were passed by the bushrangers or their friends, and became the means of their undoing, the following being one of the oases: —

On the Ist March. 1864, the mail coach from Forbes to Sydney was struck lip by two armed men when on the road near Wellington. It was bound for Sydney, and contained no passengers, the driver, Willian Johnson, being alone. The two men were mounted and had blankets about them, fastened rounqV their necks in such a fashion as allowed their arms full play, and when the coach was approaching a culvert they confronted it, and, presenting their carbines, ordered the driver to •drive into the bush at the side of the road. He obeyed the order, of course, and when lie had pulled up, the bushrangers lifted the five bags constituting the mail from the body of the vehicle and proceeded to act as unpaid mail sorters, breaking the seals of the bags, ■opening the letters, and appropriating the contents of such' of them as contained money or other valuables. Amongst the money taken was a £5 note and three cheques for small

amounts

Three days afterwards, a man named Fitzgibbons r-ode up to the house of a icefer named .Henley, with whom he was .acquainted at The Billabong, about twenty' miles from- Forbes, and, after having Lad a meal, asked young Henley to go to the house of a woman named Welsh Heannie, and purchase a bottle of brandy. This he did, and the pair drank pretty freely. Next morning, Fitzgibbons sent young Henley to McMahon's public house for some more grog, giving him a cheque for £1 to pay for the same, and subsequently he sent him to the same hotel with two other cheques, for one of which he received change from McMahon. The third cheque McMahon could not change, and when Henley called the next morning ho told, the publican that lie thought there must be something wrong witli the cheques. On March sth, McMahon rode into Forbes with the cheques, and gave them to Mr. Baron Cohen, a storekeeper there, telling him the manner in which they came into his possession, and the suspicion attaching to them. Cohen said he would sooa discover whether they were correct- and forthwith deposited them separately for collection in the Oriental Bank, ; t Forbes. A few days afterwards the bank received word that the cheques had been stolen from the mad after leaving Wellington, and that fact having been communicated to the police at Forbes, who had been searchingunsuccessfully for the mail robbers, Inspector Sanderson set out to look for Fitzgibbons, and found and arrested him at. a place fifty miles from Forbes. A £5 note which Fitzgibbons had given co a storekeeper at Billabong, in payment for' some articles which he had •purchased, was also proved to have been amongst the money stolen from the mail.

When Fitzgibbons was brought to trial in Bathurst, it was at first doubtful Avhether a comdction Avould be obtained, as the mailman could not. identify him as one of the bushrangers, but, as ho offered no explanation of the manner in which the cheques'apd notes had come into his possession, and as the postmasters at Wellington and Montefiore swore positively that they had placed the same in the mail'bags on the morning of the robbery, the jury ’had i.o hesitation in finding the prisoner guilty. The Chief Justice sentenced Fitzgibbons to fifteen years’ .hard labor on the roads, remarking that the crime of robbing the mails appeared to be considered a very trivial matter, and that the contents of the mai) must necessarily be GoA'ernment property. He had repeatedly mentioned, he said, Avhen sentencing prisoners for' these outrages, the pain and anguish the losses by transmission of money occasioned poor families; and it Avas surprising that feedings of common humanity did' not prevent these cruel deprivations. Fitzgibbons’ companion was. never traced.

XV.—AMONGST THE BOGAN STATIONS.

CHASED FOR 300 MILES AND SHOT DOWN.

Station-holders out West were placed i! ader contribution to both gang and individual' bushrangers during the bushranging era, the stations being good' places for obtaining the best remounts and the men of the' road required above everything else, horses fleet of foot and strong: It was owing to their possession of superior horses that tho

gangs managed so succesfully to evade or escape from the police, who, during the greater portion of that time, were supplied with very sorry mounts, the majority being fit only for the boneyard. And, on not a few occasions, the station-holder whose favorite animals had been appropriated by the bushrangers was also called upon to find a supply lor the pursuing troopers a call which, he loyally obeyed, for he was as anxious that the bushrangers should be caught as the troopers were to catch them. Readers of my work on “Australian Bushranging” will be able to call to mind several instances bearing oi: this point in connection with Gardiner’s and Ben Hall’s gangs, notably the cases in which Messrs. Icely and Campbell were the sufferers. And the loss of valuable horses was only one item on the debit side of the station ledger, as the dwellings were invariably looted as well as the stables, although the bushrangers soon discovered that to attack some of the homesteads involved them in considerable danger. Thus two members of Bon Hall’s gang lost their lives when attempting to stick up homesteads in the bush, whoso owners wore men of determination and courage, Burke being shot at Dunn’s Plains by Mr. Knightley, and o'iueally at Goimbla, by Mr. Campbell, although the establishment at Dunn’s Plains could not be called a station.

A case also occurred in the Bogan district of three bushrangers coming to ,-ief when raiding the stations there — one being shot dead, the second severely wounded, and the third captured. On the 17th March. 1864, three men named

Vin Taylor, Samuel Clarke, and Charles Donally “took to the bush,” and began operations by stealing three horses from Mr. Hill’s station on the Queensland border. They then proceeded to Mr. Hughes’ station on the Bogan, some fifty miles from Bourkc, where they stuck up the inmates and robbed the place of all the valuables upon which they could lay their hands, also taking a full supply of provisions. As soon as the bushrangers had left the station, a ■ messenger was despatched to Bourke to . give information to the police there, this being the first intimation they had received that bushrangers were operating so far “out back.” Without loss of time, Sergeant Cleary, with troopers Johnson and Brown and a black tracker, started on the chase, which proved a very long one with a most exciting and tragical close. Arrived at Hughes’ station, they picked up their tracks and followed them until the 24th, the blackfellow doing splendid work in tracking the trio, sometimes over very difficult country. On the morning of the 24th they reached Bellaringer Creek, and here they found the horses which the bushrangers had stolon from Hill’s station, but which they had abandoned. It was not likely that they would remain long looking for the tracks of three other horses. These the bushrangers had “lifted” from Mr. Baird’s station, about half a mile from where the police found Hill’sf horses.

Following the fresh tracks for two days at a hand gallop, Cleary and his men reached Martell’s public-house, on the Bogan, and learned that the bushrangers had been there on the previous day and had stuck up seA'eral persons aa-lio were in the neighborhood. Stillfollowing the tracks, next day the police reached Gilmour’s station, where they learned that they were fast OA rertaking their quarry. The bushrangers had that morning called at the station, stuck up the inmates and robbed the store, and,were reported to he then at Gordon’s ‘public-house, distant only about a quarter of a mile from the homestead. Coming within sight of Gordon’s, the police dismounted and proceeded on foot towards the house, AA'hich they reached without being seen ; and here they put in some most effective work.

Approaching the hotel at a rapid run they saw two horses hitched to the post in front of the door, and a man with a revolver in his belt standing in the doorway as if on guard. The sentry was startled beyond .•; measure at hearing Cleary’s shout of “Surrender!” close behind him, find he was in the act of drawing his revolver as he turned, Avhen both the sergeant and Brown fired at him simultaneously, and wounded him in. tire shoulder, at the same time rushing upon and disarming him. The shout and the sound of the firing alarmed one of the. Avounded man’s mates, who was inside the bar, and ho made a rush for a loaded rifle that was standing near; but Johnson, who had advanced Avhile his companions were dealing Avith their man, Avas too quick for him. Before the bushranger could raise the rifle, Johnson Avas in the doorAvay Avith his rifle at “ready,” and divining the man’s intention, he fired. The bushranger fell dead upon the floor. Learning that the leader of the gang, Dan Taylor, had gone back to look for a lost pistol, the police quietly waited for him in the house. Presently they heard him approaching at a. gallop, and when he had drawn*. . near enough, Johnson and BroAvh covered him Avith their rifles and ordered him to stand.

Too surprised to turn or fight, even if the police had given him time, Taylor reined in at once, and was speedily thereafter pulled from his horse, disarmed, and handcuffed. . His surprise Avas greater when ho learned the fate of his two 'coinpanions, Avho lay in the bar, one dead and’tlie other apparently mortally wounded. The men were all armed and had on their horses rifles and several revolvers, a large quantity of ammunition, and many, of the articles they had stolen from" dif-ferent.-stations'. , ” v ' /

The police at once set out for Obley, the nearest town, with the body of the dead man and the two prisoners, and reached there on the morning of the 2Sth March. On. the evening oF the same clay, Sub-Inspector . Hogg Arrived from

Dubbo, and next morning a magisterial inquiry was held by Mr. Paterson, J.P., upon the body of the dead man,, which was interred after a finding of justifiable homicide had been returned. A start was then made for Molong, which town the party reached on the 80th, and Taylor was placed m the lock-up, while liis Avounded companion Clark, Avas handed over to the care of Dr. Ross, Avho succeeded in extracting the bullet from his shoulder, and pronounced in favor of a speedy recovery. The bushranger Avho had been shot dead was Donnelly. After his recovery, Clarke was placed upon his trial Avith Taylor, and each received a heaA r y sentence. • The Burke police received great praise for their activity, perseverance, and skill in folloAving and capturing the bushrangers, Avho Avore evidently intent on raiding the Avholo countryside, and Avould undoubtedly have committed many more robberies, and perhaps have taken life, if they had not been hunted so promptly and effectually. Cleary and liis companions Avero ten days in the saddle, slept on the tracks withoutshelter, lived on scanty fare, and coA rered a great distance, Gilmour’s station, on which the affray took place, being 300 miles from Burke in a direot line. One of the Bathurst papers referred to their efforts in most laudatory terms, and ofter expressing* a hope that the GoA'ernment A\ r ould deem the policemen engaged in the chase and capture Avorthy of something more substantial than praise, closed the commendatory article thus:—“A few instances of determined perseverance and bold daring, such as.Averc displayed by the police in this case, Avill be calculated! to strike terror into the hearts of the A'illains Avho seek to enrich themseh-es at the expense of their felloAA-s, and Are hope that the example of Sergeant Cleary and Constables Johnson and Brown Avill be followed bv the Avholo of the force Avhenevcr opportunity offers.”