The adventurous habits of a hunting life, favored by the early
necessities of the settlement, trained the prisoners to
bushranging.[86] The lawless pioneers of the settlers repeated in
Tasmania the exploits once common in Great Britain, when the merry green
wood was the retreat of the outlaw; and always found where the
population is scanty and the government feeble: the popular names of
places denote the character or tastes of their early visitors and
heroes.[87] The bushrangers at first were absentees, who were soon
allured or driven to theft and violence; but so early as 1808, Lemon and
Brown, by systematic robbery, had excited feelings of alarm: one of
these men was surprised asleep, and decapitated, at Lemon Springs, which
bear his name.
The severity of corporal punishment, which prevailed at that period,
when no prison more secure than a stockade had been built, induced the
accused to obtain a respite by retiring to the bush. Some men of milder
disposition abstained from all active violations of the law, and kept
aloof from offenders of a different temper. Of a sailor, who deserted to
the forest, it is said that he not only refrained from robberies, but
often prevented them: he had carried to his retreat a young woman whom
he professed to love, and remained for three years in his seclusion. The
romance of this event was, however, extinguished at the close of their
exile: the man grew prosperous, abandoned his faithful companion, and
married another.
Towards the close of 1813, the daring and sanguinary violence of
bushrangers, reduced the colony to the utmost distress: the settlers,
generally of the lowest class, received their plunder, and gave them
notice of pursuit. Their alliance with stock-keepers, who themselves
passed rapidly, and almost naturally, from the margin of civilised to a
lawless life, was well understood: nor could they readily refuse their
friendship: the government, unable to afford them protection, left them
no other source of safety. The division of the colonists into those who
had been convicts, and those who controlled them, naturally ranged all
of loose principles on the side of the outlaws. Nor was their mode of
life without attractions: they were free: their daring seemed like
heroism to those in bondage. They not unfrequently professed to punish
severity to the prisoners, and like Robin Hood of old, to pillage the
rich, that they might be generous to the poor. The course adopted by
the government indicated the strength of the robbers: despairing to
reduce them by force, in 1814 Macquarie tendered pardon, except for the
crime of murder, to those who, within six months, should return to their
duty. To give effect to this treaty, time was judged necessary for its
publication; and to allow for the hesitation of the penitent, a distant
day was appointed for closing the door.
This singular document was prepared by his Majesty's judge, who was thus
himself bound in honor to its unexampled conditions; but the legal
acumen of the robbers soon detected the error: its effect was not only
pardon for the past, but, with the exception of murder, a license to
ravage the colony until the date expired. Thus, they gathered the
harvest of crime, and continued their depredations to the last. Nor was
another advantage foreseen, although eagerly embraced by the robbers:
they almost universally submitted, and having cleared with the law, were
prepared again to abscond, and risk once more the chances of the field;
but if the document was absurd, the conduct of the local authorities was
not less impolitic. The removal of men, so well acquainted with the
colony and its hundred retreats, was an obvious, yet neglected,
precaution: some were satisfied with their past experience, but others
lost no time in returning to the bush.
For several years the settlement suffered the utmost mischief from these
bands of robbers: among those celebrated for daring, for resolute
resistance, and for frequent escapes, Michael Howe, a seaman, obtained
the largest share of fame. Formerly in the royal navy, and afterwards
owning a small coal craft, he had acquired some notion of order and
command. On his arrival in Van Diemen's Land, in 1812, he was assigned
to Mr. Ingle, a merchant and stock-holder; but he had declared, that
having served the king, he would be no man's slave, and to cast off the
yoke of such subjection was, perhaps, the main object he contemplated.
Such was his pretence. Having received the benefit of the amnesty, he
soon joined a gang, of which one Whitehead was the leader; among whom
was a deserter of the 73rd regiment, and two aboriginal women. The
settlers of New Norfolk, they deprived of all their portable property,
their arms and ammunition; and shortly after, thus equipped, they burned
the wheat stacks and barns of the police magistrate, Mr. Humphrey, and
those of Reardon, the district constable at Pittwater. The following
month they appeared again at New Norfolk, and pillaged the residence of
Mr. Carlisle, who advising his neighbour, Mr. M'Carty, of their
vicinity, induced him to arm for the protection of a vessel, the
_Geordy_, which he presumed they would endeavour to capture. M'Carty,
and those who were with him, coming up with the robbers, demanded their
arms. They were under the cover of a large hollow tree: the settlers
were thus exposed to their aim: Carlisle himself received a ball in the
groin, and three slugs in the breast, and died within an hour. O'Birnie,
master of the vessel, was wounded by a ball in the cheek, which
perforated his tongue and lodged in his neck. The banditti now commanded
instant surrender, which being refused, the firing was renewed. The
settlers were compelled to abandon one of their number, who was
preserved by Whitehead from the violence of his comrades. When an
account of this skirmish was received, armed parties were dispatched
from Hobart Town, and came closely on their track. They re-appeared at
the house of Mr. Humphrey, and compelled his servants to tie the hands
of each other: they then plundered whatever they found useful,
destroying the rest in revenge: they had discovered handcuffs in the
house. Hitherto Whitehead had been the leader; but his spite ultimately
led to his destruction: he conducted his gang to the house of M'Carty,
into which they wantonly fired a volley of shot: a party of the 46th
regiment were lying in ambush; a brisk fire commenced, and Whitehead was
mortally wounded. The darkness of the night prevented pursuit: Whitehead
ran towards Howe, who, at his request, immediately cut off his head.
They had bound each other thus to provide against the recognition of a
fallen companion--to deprive their pursuers of the promised reward. Howe
then became the leader of the band. A party of soldiers succeeded in the
capture of two who had separated from the rest: they also recovered
ammunition and fire-arms, of which the settlers had been pillaged. To
effect the reduction of such disturbers of the public peace, martial law
was proclaimed by Lieutenant-Governor Davey--an exertion of power beyond
his commission, and opposed by his only official adviser, the Deputy
Judge Advocate. Macquarie promptly disallowed this interference with his
authority. It was argued, that the right to declare martial law, if
vested in Davey, might be claimed by any subaltern, whose distance from
the central authority gave the plea of necessity. To bring the offenders
to justice at all, it was first necessary to take them: when in bonds,
they would cease to be dangerous, and might be forwarded to the
tribunal appointed by the crown. These arguments did not prevail to stay
process: a court-martial condemned to death Macguire and Burne,
bushrangers, and Stephens, a perfidious stock-keeper, by whom they had
been countenanced.
The movements of the robbers were rapid: they plundered the residence of
Mr. David Rose, near Launceston, and escaping a diligent pursuit, they
re-appeared at Bagdad, a distance of 100 miles. Their scouts had
informed them that property to a large amount would be found there:
their confederacy was extensive, and it was asserted by Howe, that some
most active in his pursuit, had been sharers in the profits of his
crimes. The tone assumed by this robber, was that of an independent
chief, and in the management of his men he attempted the discipline of
war. They subscribed to articles, which bound them to obedience:
penalties were inflicted, such as cutting and carrying wood for their
fires, or even stripes. He professed the piety of a quarter-deck, and
read to them the scriptures: his style and title was "Governor of the
Rangers," and he addressed the King's representative as "Governor of the
Town." His taste for ceremony was once curiously exhibited: having met a
traveller, he ranged his party, and called on the stranger to witness an
oath, which was administered on the _Prayer Book_ by one of the gang.
The purport of their vow might be inferred from their message: they
said, they could set the whole country on fire with one stick, and
thrash in one night more than could be gathered in a year.
Happily for mankind, the association of evil men is but transient. Howe,
often absent from his party, without assigning reasons, awakened a
suspicion: he retreated with a native girl, Mary, but was shortly after
followed by soldiers. His companion was taken, and he lost his dogs, his
knapsack, and arms: it is said, that he fired at the girl, because she
encumbered his flight; but it was asserted by himself, that he only
intended to alarm, and not destroy her. She became useful to the
government, by discovering the resort of the robbers, and a flock of
sheep they had stolen. At length, weary of his wandering life, Howe
proposed to surrender to the government. A person, who had formerly
joined him in an attempt to escape in an American vessel, became the
channel of communication. Howe affected to dread the violence of the
settlers, who might kill him for the reward, or to prevent his
disclosures; but Governor Sorell sent Captain Nairne to the place of
meeting, with an assurance of present safety, and intercession for his
forgiveness.
Society must have been at the verge of dissolution, when letters and
messages passed between the government and an outlaw. To admit its
prudence, requires a recollection, not only of the power of the robbers,
but the number of their friends.[88]
The disclosures of Howe were not important, and his companions continued
still a terror to the public: their losses were frequent, but they
received continual accessions. They seized the boat, which carried
provisions between George Town and Launceston; probably with the
concurrence of the crew, several of whom joined them. They were now
twenty in number, and it became necessary to unite the colony against
them. The more opulent settlers were compelled to abandon their
dwellings, and to take refuge in the towns. Sorell, by a spirited
appeal, roused their more decided efforts to destroy the marauders:
sums, subscribed by the inhabitants of Hobart Town, of eighty or one
hundred guineas, were offered for their apprehension. A party of
military traced them to the Black Brush, and thence to a settler's house
at the Tea Tree, where they had dined. They had the advantage of
position, but Geary, their leader, was slain, and several others
wounded. The rain had damped the powder of the soldiers, which prevented
their muskets from telling with full effect; but their success was
ominous to the robbers.
Notwithstanding the character of Howe, on the plea of ill-health, he was
permitted to walk abroad in charge of a constable; but whether he
distrusted the promise of pardon, or preferred the license of the bush,
he eluded his guard, and escaped--without, however, trusting his safety
to the fidelity of his former companions. These soon met their fate:
Hillier resolved to purchase his life by the sacrifice of his comrades.
At midnight, while two of them slept, he attempted their destruction:
cutting the throat of one, from ear to ear, and wounding the other with
his own rifle.
The bushrangers were now reduced to three: Howe, Watts, and Browne. The
last, surrendered; but Watts conspired with a stock-keeper, named Drewe,
to seize Howe. This man, when in charge of his master's flock,
occasionally corresponded with him. They accordingly met him, at a place
called Longbottom. Within one hundred yards of each other, these old
companions in crime demanded, and agreed, that both should knock out the
priming of their guns: they then kindled a fire. Watts threw Howe on the
ground; Drewe tied his hands, and took his knives from his pocket: they
then prepared breakfast. After some delay, they proceeded to Hobart
Town; Watts, with his gun, walking before Howe, and Drewe behind him.
The captive disengaged his hands, and, with a knife he had concealed,
stabbed Watts; and in an instant, seizing his gun, he shot Drewe dead.
Watts then expected a similar fate; he, however, reached Hobart Town,
and was thence forwarded to Sydney, where he died of his wounds.
The Lieutenant-Governor, anxious to end the career of this desperate
man, offered, beside the pecuniary reward, freedom and a passage to
England to any prisoner, who might succeed in his capture. Stratagems
were continually devised to entrap him; but he retired into the distant
parts of the wood, only appearing when hunger or lack of ammunition
compelled his visits. His courage and skill made him a formidable
antagonist: none would venture to face him; yet so hot was the pursuit,
that he again left behind his knapsack and ammunition. He continued at
large until the 21st October, 1818. Warburton, often an accomplice,
became his betrayer: he enticed him to a hut, where he said that he
would find supplies necessary for subsistence; and, notwithstanding his
hesitation, which occasioned long delay, he was caught in the snare:
having discovered the ambush, he retreated with precipitation; but was
overtaken, and slain.[89]
Howe was charged with several murders, beside those here recorded. It
was the fashion of the day, to admit every rumour of his cruelty. It was
stated, on doubtful authority, that having quarrelled with Edwards, a
comrade, respecting some plunder, he slew him; that another, Bowles,
having discharged a pistol in sport near his person, suffered the same
fate--that he tied the hands and feet of the offender, and shot him
dead. The death of Davenport, a stockman, without much probability, was
attributed to Howe: his remains were afterwards discovered, without
confirming the suspicion. The relations of these men naturally led to
treachery and revenge, and in the terms of their union retaliation was
included. Howe kept the secret of his gang, and displayed much sympathy
when his companions were sick or wounded. He was a bold outlaw, prepared
to maintain his freedom at whatever cost; nor does it appear that he was
wanting in those equivocal virtues, which are compatible with a life of
violence and guilt. His knapsack contained a record of his dreams,
written on kangaroo skin with blood; he was haunted by visions of his
old companions who were dead: the subject of one, was his sister. He had
made a list of seeds, vegetables, fruits, and even flowers, intended to
adorn the seclusion which he contemplated. Howe's form was athletic, his
countenance strongly marked; his beard of an extraordinary length, and
he was dressed in the skin of kangaroo.[90]
Five years after his death, Howe's dwelling was found. The site was
chosen with taste, in an open undulating country, stretching to the
western mountains: the spot was secluded from observation, was covered
with a large honeysuckle, and on a rise sloping to the stream. A
gigantic tree, prostrate, which he used as a chopping block, was the
boundary to which he permitted Warburton to approach.[91]
The privation, fatigue, and anxiety endured by the bushrangers, they
have often depicted with horror. The country, destitute of indigenous
fruits or herbs, afforded no safe retreat; and they were compelled to
hover round the inhabited districts to obtain ammunition, even when
willing to live by the chase. The increase of the settlers has long
prevented protracted concealment, and multiplied the chances of capture.
Prompted by passion, or allured by the fascination of liberty, an
unbroken succession of adventurers have sought shelter in the bush, and
passed through the miseries of a vagrant life; but their suppression has
usually been easy, and for years the penalty of their crimes certain.
In the progress of these memorials, allusions to bushrangers must
occur; but the records of crime are disgusting. The Italian robber
tinged his adventure with romance; the Spanish bandit was often a
soldier, and a partisan; but the wandering thieves of Tasmania were not
less uncouth than violent--hateful for their debasement, as well as
terrible for their cruelty. They can rarely be objects of interest, save
when points in their career illustrate principles, or exhibit traits in
contrast with their ordinary course. It may be proper to notice
instances of courage, of constancy, or of unusual suffering: they may
set forth the social state out of which they have arisen, and thus the
operation of systems; but who would delight to read the dull details of
wickedness which crowd the annals of this country?
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 86: _Bigge's Report._]
[Footnote 87: The following are some that require no key:--Murderers'
Plains, Killman Point, Hell Corner, Murderers' Tiers, Four Square
Gallows, Dunne's Look-out, Brady's Look-out, and Lemon's Lagoon.]
[Footnote 88: A more singular instance occurred during the rule of
Colonel Davey. A reformed bushranger was dispatched to treat with a
young man who had absconded from the commissariat: he resolved to
accompany the messenger into the presence of the Governor; but he went
armed. The kind old man received him with some rough salutation; but
having discovered his pistol, he asked what was the meaning of that? In
reply, he stated that he had resolved to shoot the messenger, if he
found treachery--a precaution, which rather amused than offended the
gallant commander. This statement, made by a survivor of the scene, is a
curious relic of government.]
[Footnote 89: "JACK WORRALL.--He was entrapped into the mutiny of the
Nore, but the only part which he took in the proceedings, was writing
out in a fair hand several papers for the mutineers; and this he
declared he did for no other purpose than to indulge his own vanity, in
displaying his fine writing, upon which he had highly valued himself. He
was tried after the surrender of the mutineers, and transported for life
to Van Diemen's Land. 'I was now,' said he, 'determined to make a push
for the capture of this villain, Mick Howe, for which I was promised a
passage to England in the next ship that sailed, and the amount of the
reward laid upon his head. I found out a man of the name of Warburton,
who was in the habit of hunting kangaroos for their skins, and who had
frequently met Howe during his excursions, and sometimes furnished him
with ammunition. He gave me such an account of Howe's habits, that I
felt convinced we could take him with a little assistance. I therefore
spoke to a man of the name of Pugh, belonging to the 48th regiment--one
whom I knew was a most cool and resolute fellow. He immediately entered
into my views, and having applied to Major Bell, his commanding officer,
he was recommended by him to the Governor, by whom I was permitted to
act, and allowed to join us; so he and I went directly to Warburton, who
heartily entered into the scheme, and all things were arranged for
putting it into execution. The plan was thus:--Pugh and I were to remain
in Warburton's hut, while Warburton himself was to fall into Howe's way.
The hut was on the river Shannon, standing so completely by itself, and
so out of the track of any body who might be feared by Howe, that there
was every probability of accomplishing our wishes, and '_scotch the
snake_'--as they say--if not kill it. Pugh and I accordingly proceeded
to the appointed hut: we arrived there before day-break, and having made
a hearty breakfast, Warburton set out to seek Howe. He took no arms with
him, in order to still more effectually carry his point; but Pugh and I
were provided with muskets and pistols. The sun had been just an hour
up, when we saw Warburton and Howe upon the top of a hill, coming
towards the hut. We expected they would be with us in a quarter of an
hour, and so we sat down upon the trunk of a tree inside the hut, calmly
waiting their arrival. An hour passed, but they did not come, so I crept
to the door cautiously and peeped out--there I saw them standing, within
a hundred yards of us, in earnest conversation; as I learned afterwards,
the delay arose from Howe's suspecting that all was not right. I drew
back from the door to my station, and in about ten minutes after this we
plainly heard footsteps, and the voice of Warburton; another moment, and
Howe slowly entered the hut--his gun presented and cocked. The instant
he espied us, he cried out, '_Is that your game?_'--and immediately
fired; but Pugh's activity prevented the shot from taking effect, for he
knocked the gun aside. Howe ran off like a wolf. I fired but missed.
Pugh then halted and took aim at him, but also missed. I immediately
flung away the gun and ran after Howe. Pugh also pursued; Warburton was
a considerable distance away. I ran very fast--so did Howe; and if he
had not fallen down an unexpected bank, I should not have been fleet
enough for him. This fall, however, brought me up with him; he was on
his legs, and preparing to climb a broken bank, which would have given
him a free run into the wood, when I presented my pistol at him, and
desired him to stand: he drew forth another, but did not level it at me.
We were about fifteen yards from each other--the bank he fell from
between us. He stared at me with astonishment, and to tell you the
truth, I was a little astonished at him, for he was covered with patches
of kangaroo skins, and wore a black beard--a haversack and powder horn
slung across his shoulders. I wore my beard also--as I do now: and a
curious pair we looked like. After a moment's pause, he cried out,
'Black beard against grey beard for a million!'--and fired: I slapped at
him, and I believe hit him, for he staggered; but rallied again, and was
clearing the bank between him and me, when Pugh ran up, and with the
butt end of his firelock knocked him down again, jumped after him, and
battered his brains out, just as he was opening a clasp knife to defend
himself.'"--_The Military Sketch Book._]
[Footnote 90: This account is taken from the _Sydney Gazettes_, quoted
by Wentworth; _Commissioner Bigge's Reports_, and _Bent's Life of
Howe_.]
[Footnote 91: Bent, the government printer, published a pamphlet in
1818, entitled, "_Michael Howe: the last and worst of the Bushrangers_."
This pamphlet was reviewed by the _Quarterly_; "it is," observes the
reviewer, "the greatest literary curiosity that has come before us--the
first child of the press of a state only fifteen years old. It would, of
course, be re-printed here; but our copy, _penes nos_, is a genuine
Caxton. This little book would assuredly be the _Reynarde Foxe_ of
Australian bibliomaniacs."--1820.]