Aaron Sherritt--A Disappointment--At Mrs. Byrne's--A Twenty-five-day
Watch--Manufacturing Brands--Sherritt's Revenge--A Letter from Joe
Byrne--Whorouly Races--On Watch at Mrs. Sherritt's--Mrs. Byrne's
Discovery--Break-up of the Camp--Arrest of Kelly Sympathizers--A
Dynamite Scare--Aaron jilted.
Directly the bank was stuck up at Jerilderie I started off to
Beechworth, and sent for Aaron Sherritt. His first words to me were,
"Did I not tell you they would stick up a bank in New South Wales?" I
replied, "Yes, but you told me they were going to Goulbourn." I said,
"Well, what is to be done now?" He replied, "They will be back probably
to-night, to Woolshed." He told me to meet him that night at a place
indicated by him in the ranges (known to the detective); he would then
show me where they tied up their horses, whilst they went into Mrs.
Byrne's house for supper. I agreed to his suggestion, and told the
detective what I had done. His reply was, "I have known Sherritt for
years, and if he likes he can put you in the position to capture the
Kellys, but I doubt his doing so." I told him Aaron felt sure they
would return from Jerilderie that night, and I had arranged to go with
him, and meet him at eight o'clock that night at a certain spot in the
ranges, which I described, a party of police accompanying us. Having no
men at Beechworth, I drove the detective to Eldorado, which was beyond
Woolshed, where I had a party of police stationed. As the detective was
well known in the locality, and I was not, I put him in the boot of the
buggy under the seat, and he remained in that position nearly all the
way. I merely state this to show how cautious we had to be in all our
movements. Had he been recognized driving in a buggy, the friends of
the outlaws would soon have heard of it. I had to take him because he
had to direct the party where to meet us that night, and I had not been
in the district for very many years, and knew little of it.
At eight o'clock that night the detective and I met Aaron at the
appointed spot in the ranges. We waited anxiously for the men from
Eldorado to turn up. After waiting for an hour, Aaron said to me, "You
will be late, Mr. Hare. We should have been nearly three miles from
this by this time." I was very much annoyed at the men not keeping
their appointment; and I turned to the detective and said to him: "Will
you stick to me, as it will never do to lose this chance of getting the
outlaws?" His reply was: "Yes, Mr. Hare, I will stick to you and do
whatever you tell me to do." I turned to Aaron and said: "All right; we
are ready to go with you now." He turned towards me to see if I meant
it. I said, "Come on."
We mounted our horses. I followed Aaron, the detective following me.
The night was terribly dark, and Aaron took us at a good pace. The
country was rugged and broken, but he rode ahead just as if he was
in his own garden. He appeared to trust to his horse, and I trusted
to him. We rode along without a word being spoken by any of us. He
might have taken me over a precipice, as I could see nothing before
me. Suddenly Aaron stopped, and in a whisper said to me, "This is the
bushrangers' country; no one ever comes in here but them." We were then
about ten miles from Beechworth on the ranges at the back of Woolshed,
and so we rode along, winding round a drain one minute, and over logs
and rocks the next, trusting entirely to our horses. Suddenly Aaron
pulled up, and I went up beside him, the detective doing likewise.
Aaron said, "They are back from Jerilderie. Do you see that fire in the
distance?" I replied, "Yes." He said, "The bushrangers are there; I
have never before seen a fire in this place, and for some reason they
have lighted one, and there they are." We all three dismounted from
our horses and sat down on the ground to decide what was to be done.
Aaron said, "What do you wish me to do? I will do whatever you like." I
thought "nothing venture nothing have," so I questioned him as to the
fire being made by the outlaws, but he was perfectly convinced of it.
I then told him the first thing I wanted to be sure of was whether the
bushrangers were sitting or sleeping near the fire, and he had better
take off his boots, leave his horse with me, and crawl along the ground
as close to the fire as he could get, and see if he could recognize the
voices if he could hear any, if not, to get as close up as he could
and find out whether the outlaws were there. He never hesitated for a
moment, and did exactly what I told him to do, and the detective and
myself were left alone. We both were fully convinced we should have to
"do or die" that night, and we were quite prepared to take the risk.
We stayed in the same spot for about ten minutes, deciding how we were
to make the attack, when we heard footsteps coming towards us at a
quick pace. The detective said, "He has sold us; who is this coming
towards us?" I said, "Keep quiet." We both, with revolvers in our
hands, remained perfectly still until the footsteps came within a yard
of us, and a voice we recognized as Aaron's said, "Mr. Hare, we have
been deceived, that fire is on the opposite range and some miles away."
My first thought was that Aaron had gone up to the fire and started the
bushrangers off, or else had given them notice he would bring us up to
them. I questioned him and he appeared perfectly honest, and said, "If
you will come with me I will convince you that what I am saying is the
truth."
We mounted our horses and found that what he had stated was perfectly
correct. Aaron then said, "We are awfully late, we must hurry on to
Mrs. Byrne's house," and we again followed him in the same order as
before. He commenced to go down a fearfully steep range. I said not a
word but followed him, until he pulled up and said, "I am afraid to go
down here to-night, it is so very dark." I said, "Is there no other way
you can get down?" He replied, "Only by going a mile round." He said,
"Be careful not to move from your saddle, for this is a terribly steep
range, and if you attempt to get off you will roll down some hundreds
of feet." He told me to get off the horse on the off side, he doing the
same himself, and the detective also. We then led our horses round and
got down another gap in the mountains. After riding about a mile Aaron
told us that we had better dismount and tie our horses to a tree, and
walk down to the spot he would take us to.
We did so, and we followed him down the ranges until we came to a
house, which turned out to be Mrs. Byrne's, the mother of the outlaw
Joe Byrne. Here also, as in Power's case, we met some watch-dogs in the
shape of a flock of geese, and they did give the alarm, and no mistake.
However, after a short time, Aaron crawled up to the house, so as to
ascertain if there was any one talking inside. Everything was quiet,
there was a candle burning. He returned and said, "They expect them
to-night. You see, they have left the candle burning, and some supper
ready on the table." He then said, "Let us go up to a clump of trees
at the back of the house, where they generally tie up their horses."
I had previously been told by another agent of this clump of trees,
where marks of horses having been tied up were to be seen. Aaron said
to me, "Go into that clump. They often tie up their horses there, and
lay down beside them and have a sleep, after having their supper at
Mrs. Byrne's." I walked into the clump, but found no horses there,
and returned to Aaron. Aaron then said, "We must now wait in this
stock-yard, which leads up to the clump. If they come they will come
through here." It was then about two o'clock in the morning. We sat
down and waited until daylight, and then, nothing happening, we started
back to our horses, reaching Beechworth at eight o'clock.
Aaron suggested to me that I should bring a party of men and come
and live in the mountains at the back of Mrs. Byrne's house. He told
me he could put me in a spot which was unknown to any one except the
bushrangers, and the only danger of my being discovered was by them. He
said I could stay in the mountains by day, and take up my position in
the stock-yard behind Mrs. Byrne's at night, and that if I had patience
I was certain to get them. I complied with his suggestion, and that
evening I brought a party to the spot indicated by him. We brought
our blankets and some provisions, intending to stay there until we
caught the Kellys, watching by night, and laying in our camp all day.
In camp I arranged that no two men should be together throughout the
day, whether sleeping or at meals, so that if we were attacked by the
outlaws, and some of us were shot, the others could fight.
The life was extremely monotonous, for me especially; but the
excitement kept us up, and we always expected that sooner or later we
should come across the outlaws.
Our daily life was as follows:--At dusk in the evening, one at a time,
we used to leave our camp and make down to the stock-yard, I always
leading the way, and the other men following. We had to be most careful
where we trod, for fear of our tracks being seen on the following
day. We each took up positions behind trees outside the stock-yard,
I taking the opening into the yard myself. I had given orders to the
men not to move from their positions until I called to them, no matter
what happened. We were all lying about ten or fifteen yards apart. The
nights were bitterly cold.
Aaron used to spend his evenings at Mrs. Byrne's with his young woman,
and he obtained all the information they were possessed of, and when
he left their house between twelve and one o'clock he used to lie down
and watch with us. He always took up his position beside me, and used
to relate all kinds of encouraging reports that he had obtained during
the day as to the prospect of the Kellys turning up. Hardly a night
that we took up our positions but we thought we should have some luck.
As day broke in the morning we used to make back to our camp in the
mountains in a very disappointed mood, walking singly, and avoiding the
paths or soft places, so as not to leave any tracks behind us.
The great danger I felt was a surprise when getting into the camp of a
morning and taking up our positions in the evening. I felt sure that
some morning or evening when we took up our post the Kellys would find
out our camps and take possession of them, so therefore I always went
into camp first in the morning and left it first in the evening, and
felt a relief when we all got into our places without being fired on.
We dared not make a fire for fear of the smoke being noticed, so we had
to live on water, preserved beef, and bread. I stayed in this camp for
twenty-five days, and during that time, although we used to see some
members of the Byrne family passing to and fro, they never discovered
our whereabouts. I always kept a sentry by day over the camp, and
the sentry's position was behind a rock near the spot I had made my
resting-place, which was the highest, above all the men.
Night after night Aaron used to go and see his young woman, and bring
back hopes of success. This used to keep up the spirits of the men,
and we all felt sure if we could keep watching without our whereabouts
being discovered we would eventually be successful.
I should have stated before this, that when I went with my party into
the mountains, I also placed four men in a spot pointed out to me
by Sherritt, which was one of the camps used by the Kellys. It was
here they stayed for two days after the murders, while Aaron supplied
them with food. It was a wonderfully romantic spot, on the edge of a
precipice, and only approachable on one side. Two men could keep off
a dozen. This camp was placed under Senior Constable Mayes, a bold,
trustworthy, well-tried man, in whom I had the utmost confidence. He
had a difficulty in getting water for his men, and had to send two
miles for it. Sometimes the men were sent by day, but generally by
night, and through an indiscretion on the part of one of these men,
our whereabouts was discovered. Old Mrs. Byrne was a most active old
party. She was constantly looking about for the tracks of police,
horses, and men. She was walking along the bank of a creek where the
men at the upper camp were in the habit of getting their water, when
she discovered a spot where a man had been sitting and amusing himself
with a stick--as it is called, "whittling" it. She immediately came to
the conclusion that some police were camped close by, and that night
she confided her fears to Aaron, and told him he must have a good look
in the ranges next day. He promised to make every effort to find out if
her surmise was correct, and he came straight to the stock-yard where I
was watching, and informed me of the discovery the old woman had made.
Aaron next day got his horse and pretended to make a search, returning
next night and telling Mrs. Byrne he could find no trace of anybody.
The old lady was convinced there must have been some police about,
because she said the foot-marks were evidently those of a policeman.
These people appear to know the difference between the foot-prints of
police and other persons. However, the old woman could not be convinced
she was wrong, and up to that time had perfect faith in Aaron, and so
also had his young woman, her daughter.
Generally when we left the stock-yard in the morning, Sherritt would
leave us and go to his own hut on the ranges, or else to his father's
place, which was between our camp and Beechworth; but sometimes he
would come into our camp and get his breakfast, and perhaps stop a
part of the day. Very often he had to carry provisions for us from
Beechworth during the night. He was always ready to do anything for
me, and yet many of the men distrusted him. I never did from the first
moment I took up with him, and his end showed I was right in my opinion
of him. Of a night, whilst I was watching with him, he would sit beside
me and tell me the adventures of his life, and give me information of
many things that were formerly unexplained. He told me how he, Joe
Byrne, and Ned Kelly used to steal horses wholesale, and how they used
to dispose of them, and the way they changed the brands of the horses
so that the most experienced hand would not discover the trick. It was
as follows:--Supposing a horse was branded H on the near shoulder, they
would turn the H into H B (conjoined) by getting a pair of tweezers,
pulling out the hairs to make a B, and then prick the skin with a
needle dipped in iodine. This burns up the skin, and for about a month
afterwards it looks like an old brand; new brands were also put on in
this fashion, and they never could be detected. After branding the
horses they had collected, they would make for some squatter's station
where they were unknown, ask permission to put their horses into his
stock-yard, on the pretence that they had met a stranger who wanted to
purchase the mob of horses, this stranger being one of their own party.
Generally speaking, the squatter or some one belonging to the station
would walk down to look at the horses, and he would hear them making
bargains about the price of each animal, so as to lead the people of
the station to believe that it was a genuine sale. At last they would
agree to a price, and then would ask the squatter to allow them to go
into his office to draw up a receipt, in which all the brands would be
entered, both old and manufactured ones. After the receipt had been
drawn up the squatter would be asked to witness it, and the supposed
buyers would start off towards Melbourne, and the seller appear to
return back to New South Wales. If by chance any of the horses were
claimed by their owners, the receipt would be produced, and they would
so avoid being arrested.
Aaron used to tell me they made raids on horses from about Wagga to
Albury, took them a back track to Melbourne, and on their return would
pick up a number of horses in Victoria and take them over to Wagga
or Albury for sale. One of the party used to act as the master, and
the others as his servants; the master always going ahead and making
arrangements where the horses were to be paddocked for the night.
For hours did Aaron relate anecdotes to me of the same description as
the above, and he enlightened me greatly into the ways and the life of
horse-stealers. I cannot refrain from telling another of his stories.
I was sitting beside him one night, when he had brought us some very
hopeful information, and we were all very elated at our prospect of
success. I said, "Well, Aaron, I feel sure you will get the reward
offered for the Kellys." (I had promised him he should have the whole
sum of £8000 if it was upon his information that the Kellys were
captured.) At this time his young woman was getting rather suspicious
that he was working for the police, although she used to meet him of an
evening very near our camp and walk with him. I asked him how he would
like the reward disposed of, supposing he got it? He said, "I should
like to have a few mares and an entire horse, and get a nice farm." I
told him he should get a respectable girl, marry her, leave all his old
associates, and begin life again amongst new people. He agreed with all
I said, and turned round and said to me, "Mr. Hare, do you think, if
you got me the best mares you could buy, and got me the best entire
horse you could purchase, that I could withstand the temptation of
taking my neighbour's horses and selling them? No, I could not, no more
than fly."
On another occasion we were expecting the outlaws to bring some money
they had stolen from the bank to Mrs. Byrne's. Amongst my men I had one
who was a thorough larrakin, and Aaron took a great fancy to him. I
sent him to Beechworth for some supplies, and Aaron met him on the way,
and they both rode into Beechworth together. My man was taken for one
of the Kelly spies, especially as he was in Aaron's company. The people
of Beechworth at once became alarmed, seeing Aaron and his companion
riding about the streets--no one knowing the companion was a policeman.
Numbers of people went at once to the police station and reported that
Aaron and another suspicious person, riding good horses, were seen in
the outskirts of the town. The constable was delighted to have a chance
of being seen with Aaron, and made the most of his opportunity.
On the way back to my camp Aaron took the constable into his
confidence; he told him that he felt certain that the bushrangers would
return from Jerilderie after they had stuck up the bank there, and the
first place they would come to was Mrs. Byrne's. Aaron said to him,
"I want you to join me in a scheme, and if it comes off we shall have
the best of the arrangement." The constable said, "What is it?" He
replied, "I feel sure the Kelly gang will return from Jerilderie either
to-night or during the course of this week. Joe Byrne will be leading
a pack-horse, with the gold and notes fastened up in a brown cloth
coat. Directly Mr. Hare opens fire on the men, the pack-horse will, in
all probability, break away with the treasure. You and I can go after
the horse, catch him, and take his pack off in the bush, hide it, and
let the horse go; and next day, in the excitement, we can slip away
and divide the cash. It can do no harm to any one, because some one
will get it, and we might just as well have it as anybody else." The
constable appeared to agree to Aaron's suggestion, and told me what had
passed between them. I told him not to tell any one else in camp about
the arrangement, and to lead Aaron to believe that he would assist him
in the matter. Unfortunately the Kellys did not put in an appearance,
and so the matter fell through.
I must give one more narrative about Aaron, just to show the peculiar
kind of man he was, even on the chance of being thought tedious. He
came to me one morning and said, "Mr. Hare, I want to go away for a
couple of days to look after some cattle of mine. I will be back within
two days." I questioned him closely, what cattle he was going after,
and asked him if he wanted any money. I had not engaged him at any
fixed salary, but whilst he was watching with me he used to ask me for
a pound or two, and I gave it to him. He often refused to take money
from me, as he thought I was paying him out of my own pocket, whereas
the Government refunded me all I paid him, and he only took sufficient
to pay his expenses. Before he started off after his cattle, I said
to him, "Are you sure you have got enough money to pay your way?" He
replied, "I have a pound of the money you gave me last time;" and away
he started, and returned according to his promise.
Some few days after this, Mrs. Byrne went to the police station, and
reported that a valuable horse of hers had been stolen from Woolshed,
and, after inquiry by the police, it was found in the possession of
Mrs. Skillian, Ned Kelly's sister. She produced a receipt for it, as
having purchased it from Aaron, and signed by him, for the small sum
of £3 or £4. Mrs. Byrne obtained a warrant for Aaron's arrest, for
they all suspected he was then a spy of mine. I spoke to Aaron on the
subject, and he admitted that he had taken the horse and sold it to
Mrs. Skillian. He said, "I could not help doing this. I did not want
the horse, but I felt I must do something to old Mrs. Byrne. She has
not behaved well to me lately, and her conduct towards me is so cool
that I could not resist the temptation of stealing her horse."
All the time Aaron was with me, only the police who were actually in
my party were aware he was working for me, and most of the others were
delighted to hear there was a warrant out for his arrest. They made
every effort to capture him, but could not find him. I was greatly
annoyed with him, because it crippled his usefulness immensely.
However, he kept out of the way of the police, and when I was relieved
from the district I left it to my successor to get him out of his
difficulty. I don't quite know how this was managed, but I was told
he was directed to be at a certain spot one day, and a constable
was ordered to go there and apprehend him. The constable afterwards
took great credit for his capture, not knowing that his arrest was
an arranged matter. He was brought before the police-court, but the
evidence was not sufficient for the magistrates to commit him for
trial, as the horse was not forthcoming, and Aaron was acquitted. I
am not quite sure I am right in all the details of what occurred with
reference to his arrest, but I was told that this was how the matter
was managed.
A number of letters fell into our hands written by the outlaws, most
of them by Joe Byrne. He was, for a bushman, rather clever with his
pen, but I do not intend to disclose how we became possessed of them.
However, I got one addressed to Aaron Sherritt, Sheepwash Creek, near
Beechworth. This was the address of his father. I opened it and could
not understand a word of it, as it was written in bush slang. I at once
went for my boy Tommy, as I christened him, for Aaron was too uncommon
a name to be constantly using. In sending telegrams concerning him to
the members of the force who knew him, I always called him Tommy, for
had I used his name, every one would have guessed who Aaron was. As I
said, I sent for Tommy, and met him on a large granite rock at the back
of Beechworth. I showed the letter to him. He looked at me and said,
"How did you get this into your possession?" I said, "Never mind,
read it to me; and who is it from?" He said, "Why, from Joe Byrne, of
course." He sat down and read the letter without the least difficulty.
I could not make head nor tail of it. I had the original, but I don't
know what became of it. The purport of the letter was to the following
effect. The writer told Aaron to be at the Whorouly races, which were
to take place within a week, and where to meet him, at the back of the
course, ordering him not to say a word about their going to the course.
He also said that he had the black mare which Aaron had ridden in a
steeplechase previously, and that the mare was in good order and sure
to win. I asked Aaron what he thought best to be done? He said, "You
must give me a good horse to ride to the races, and I will assist in
every way possible."
I consulted with my brother officer as to what was best to be done,
and we decided to send the usual mounted constables in uniform, and
we then selected three good riders amongst the men, who were unknown
in the district, and sent them separately to the races. They were all
splendid riders and magnificently mounted. The men and horses could
have been backed against the Kelly gang, man for man, at anything. We
also arranged that I should ride out myself and appear to take great
interest in the races. I did go out, and saw the three constables in
plain clothes. One had a table and was playing the three-card trick;
another had erected an Aunt Sally, and was bawling out at the top of
his voice, and the third kept on his horse riding about. I was more
afraid of the third man than any of the others, because he was a most
excitable fellow and bold, and as good a rider as ever sat on a horse,
but with no discretion. He would have faced the four outlaws if he had
had the chance, and shot them one after another if it were possible.
I may as well give the names of these men. They were the most dashing
of all my party. The first was Tommy Lawless; the second, Faulkner;
the third, Johnstone; three pluckier fellows never trod the earth. My
fear was that the mounted police on duty would arrest some of my men
for gambling, as they were not known to each other; but they were not
interfered with.
After Lawless had been playing his three-card trick for some time, he
thought he would enter his horse for the steeplechase that Aaron was
supposed to ride in, thinking he would thus have a better opportunity
of seeing everything all round the course. At the time appointed for
this race to come off, we were all looking very anxiously for Aaron
to turn up on the black mare, but alas, we were disappointed. I saw
him anxiously looking out in the direction he thought the mare would
appear from, but there were no signs of it. Joe Byrne's brother (Paddy)
was a good deal with Aaron all that day, but the subject of Joe was
not mentioned by either of them to each other. Lawless rode in the
steeplechase and won it, and that was the only bit of excitement during
the day.
An incident occurred during the steeplechase that I must state,
although it is against the discipline of my men. Just before the
steeplechase started, Johnstone saw three men riding outside the
course; he took it for granted they were the outlaws. Without a
moment's consideration, he galloped off alone towards them. I saw him
do this, as I was wondering who the men were, and at a glance saw they
could not be the Kellys. Faulkner was at the time on his horse close
beside me, in the middle of a crush. He looked at me. I shook my head,
and he remained where he was. I walked quietly out of the crowd, and
Faulkner followed me, and we saw Johnstone returning terribly ashamed
of himself. He could give me no explanation of his conduct beyond
saying he could not help himself. He thought the three men were the
outlaws, and he made straight for them.
Aaron Sherritt was noticed by every one riding a magnificent horse
which I had purchased a few days before. He was pointed out to me by
several people as Kelly and Byrne's greatest friend. I was asked why
I did not have him arrested for stealing the horse he was riding, as
he never could afford to come honestly by such an animal. I pleaded
ignorance about either man or horse.
At night a ball was to take place at a public-house near the
racecourse. We thought probably some of the gang might put in an
appearance there; but there was no sign of them again, and we had to
return disappointed.
In writing this narrative I have not kept exactly to the order in
which the things occurred. As I have no paper to refer to, I am simply
trusting to memory. After a time all the men, both in my camp and the
upper, came to believe most thoroughly in Aaron's honesty of purpose,
as I had done from the beginning. He often told me that I had a kind of
influence over him that no other man had ever had before, and he could
not tell me a lie. We kept watching as from the first. Old Mrs. Byrne
began to be very doubtful of Aaron, and treated him very coolly; still
the daughter believed in him, and he continued his visits to the house.
The old woman was constantly abusing him, and telling him that she
thought he had thrown his old friend overboard and was working for the
police. Yet, notwithstanding this, the whole of Kelly's friends used
to confide in him, and tell him all the movements of the police in the
district, which he would repeat to me.
One night he returned, as was his custom, to where I was watching. He
appeared rather anxious, and said, "Is there any news of the Kellys?"
I said, "No; why do you ask?" He replied, "What is the meaning of all
the activity that has taken place among the police to-day in different
parts of the district?" I said, "What do you mean?" He replied, "This
morning at four o'clock two men left Beechworth, and went in the
direction of Woolshed. Three other men started early in the morning
from Eldorado, going in the direction of Woolshed, and some three or
four men started in the direction of Wangaratta." I was perfectly
amazed at the organization of the sympathizers thus to have ascertained
the movements of the police. I said, "Tommy, tell me how you get all
this information." He replied, "I could not do that, but you would be
perfectly astounded if you knew how much we know of the movements of
the police."
To test whether his information was correct, I inquired, and found
every word he said was true; but I never was able to find out how he
obtained his information. I asked him if all the agents in the district
knew as much as he did. His reply was, "Oh, yes, but I am the head over
all of them."
I was in the habit, whilst with my cave party, of getting all
information of everything that was going on throughout the district
concerning the Kellys. One evening Detective Ward came to my camp and
told me that Dan Kelly had been seen near Myrtleford, riding in the
direction of Beechworth. Half an hour afterwards Aaron, on his way to
Mrs. Byrne's, called in at my camp. I told him that Dan Kelly had been
seen that day.
He started up at once, and said, "Then he will call at my mother's
place to-night, or else at my hut, which is about two miles from my
mother's;" and added, "I wish, Mr. Hare, you would bring a couple of
men with you, and come with me to my mother's place; some of the gang
are sure to call there if they are passing by. Let the remainder of the
party go to the usual place at the stock-yard and watch Mrs. Byrne's.
You come with a couple of men to my mother's place, and get two men
from the upper camp and put them in my house."
I consented to this suggestion, and he accompanied me. I left two men
at his house, one of whom knew the outlaws, and I went with two men to
his mother's. I had a conversation with his mother, and she asked me to
be careful and not to shoot any of her sons. She had two besides Aaron,
Jack and Willie. I went inside their barn--a large open building,
within a few yards of their dwelling-house. It was filled with straw,
and the two nights I spent in that building with my two men beggars
description. The pigs slept in the straw, and the fleas beat anything I
ever felt in all my life; the mice, also, were running over me, and I
really believe that a snake went over me also; but there was a chance
of the Kellys coming there, and that was enough for us. I had arranged
with Mrs. Sherritt that if she heard footsteps, or any one coming to
the place during the night, she would call out, as a signal, "Is that
you, Jack, or Willie?" and I could hear their reply. Aaron stayed all
night in his mother's house, in case the outlaws called to see him.
Once or twice during the night I heard footsteps approaching the house,
and, of course, my heart was in my mouth, expecting it might be the
welcome visitors; but, alas! Mrs. Sherritt came to the door when the
dogs barked, and called out, "Is that you, Jack?" and the answer was,
"Yes." I stayed there a second night, but at daylight next morning I
got up and left with my two men. The horrors of that place frequently
come before me, and I shudder when I think of the hours I spent in that
barn.
On my way to my camp I called at Aaron's hut, picked up the two men I
had left there two nights previously, and took up my position under the
rock, feeling as if I had got home again; the bare rock was paradise
compared with the abominable place I had just left.
I must now come to the closing act of my stay at the camp in the
mountains. We had been about twenty-three nights watching there. Our
breakfast consisted of bread and sardines, and a drink of water; dinner
and supper the same, varied with tinned beef. In the midst of our camp
was a large stone, which was used as a table. We never could have a
fire. The food, whatever there was, was placed on the stone. Each man
would get up from his position, take what he wanted, and go back to
where his rifle lay, and eat the food there; no two men went to the
so-called table at the same time.
On the last morning of my stay there, Aaron, who had been watching
with us all the night, came into the camp with us. It was a Sunday
morning. After we had our meal, each of us lay down in the spots we
had selected and fell asleep. I was the highest up the hill, and could
look down upon all the others; near me sat the sentry, and Aaron had
lain down the furthest down the hill, in a hollow below a large rock.
At about eight o'clock in the morning the sentry, without moving from
his post, called me, and said the old woman, meaning Mrs. Byrne, was
in the camp. I sat up in my cave and looked out, and saw her stealing
up. She stood for a moment, saw articles lying about the camp, then
came a few steps further on, looked down in the direction of where one
of the men was lying, then halted for a moment, and retreated. The
camp was so situated that unless a person got within a yard or two of
it, he could not be seen. I watched her, and did not even let her know
that we had seen her. Directly she left I jumped up and went to see who
it was she had seen, and to my horror I found it to be poor Aaron. I
called him up. He was lying partly on his side, and I was not certain
she could have recognized who it was. I told Aaron what had happened,
and he turned deadly pale, and huge drops of perspiration broke out on
his face. He could scarcely speak, and gasped, "Now I am a dead man."
I told him the best thing he could do now was to be off as hard as he
could, and go and show himself to some of his friends, so that if Mrs.
Byrne had recognized him he could prove an _alibi_, and convince her
she was mistaken.
Aaron always wore a peculiar dress, and would have been known by any
one at any distance. His dress consisted of a white shirt, a pair of
trousers and long boots, with his trousers tucked inside. The first
thing I did before I let him leave the camp was to send a sentry over
the hill to see if anything could be seen of the old woman. He returned
in a few minutes and pointed her out on a hill opposite to us.
I should here describe the formation of the country we were hidden in,
to make myself understood. We were on the one side of a deep gully,
with high hills, quite impassable to horsemen, in front and behind
us. A road or track ran at the foot of the gully, and on one side of
the track, about 100 yards from the bottom of this gully, was our
watching-place, about half a mile from Mrs. Byrne's house. We remained
quite quiet, and watched her go up the opposite hill to something white
that was on a rock. This was her shawl, which she had left behind.
It afterwards turned out that she was searching for the police in the
mountains, and when she got to the spot where we saw her pick up her
shawl, she had noticed a sardine-tin on the rock in our camp shining in
the sun. This had been inadvertently left there after breakfast. When
she saw this shining thing, she left her shawl and went to see what it
was, and after being in our camp she returned and picked up her shawl
(this she afterwards told Aaron). I put a watch over her, and saw her
come down the hill again.
When she was out of sight I put my hat and great-coat on Aaron, and
started him off over the back of our camp, so that if the old woman
had seen him walking away she could not have recognized him. When he
was gone, we set ourselves to watch the old woman closely, as she was
bent on finding out how many men we had there. She was evidently under
the impression that she had not been seen by any one in the camp. She
descended the hill and commenced ascending the one behind us. We could
see her crawling down the hill upon her hands and knees, evidently
with the object of looking into our camp to see what she could. I told
Senior-constable Mills to go up the hill and give her a good fright
and drive her off. He ascended the hill in the direction he saw her
coming down, unobserved by her, and lay behind a rock with his rifle in
his hand. The old woman came down to the very rock he had taken shelter
behind, and just as she was going to take a good observation of our
camp, the senior-constable sprang upon her and roared out. She almost
died of fright. She had not the slightest idea any one was near her.
For a moment she shook from head to foot, but soon recovered herself
and began to slang the senior-constable, and tell him she would get
her son with the Kellys to shoot the lot of us, as they did Kennedy's
party. After some conversation she left and went back to her home.
Nothing transpired that day until dusk, when Aaron reappeared as
usual. I asked him what he had done with himself after leaving me that
morning. He said he had gone to an intimate friend of his and shown
himself, and some time afterwards had drawn attention to the early hour
at which he had called. I asked him what he intended doing, if he meant
to go that evening to see his young woman. He said, "Oh, yes, I must go
and see if the old woman recognized me this morning." I said, "Don't
you funk it?" He replied artfully, "But I must find out if she knows
it was me." He went on, "I have brought a penny whistle, and I will
commence playing it within a hundred yards of the house, and perhaps my
girl may come out to meet me, and I can find out from her whether the
old woman has said anything about me."
He left us just as we were going to the watching-place, and about
twelve o'clock came as usual and sat down beside me. He told me he
went with his whistle straight to the door of the house, but his young
woman did not come out to meet him. He walked inside and continued
playing. When he got inside, there was a strange man (a neighbour) in
the room. The old woman said nothing to him, but he said, "I watched
her countenance, and I felt sure she had not recognized me." After a
little while, the old woman went outside, and he followed her. She
said, "A nice trick you have been playing on me." He said, "What do you
mean?" She said, "Who could have put the police into that camp in the
mountains but you?" He replied, "I don't know what you mean." She told
him how she had discovered our camp, and said there were thirty men in
it. He pleaded ignorance, but she said she felt certain he knew all
about it. She asked him how it was that she could find us out and he
could not. He replied he could not tell. She said, "Well, you go there
to-morrow and see for yourself."
From that time I thought it was useless my remaining there any longer,
but all my men begged me to stay, and so did Aaron. I stayed for two
nights longer, but two old women discovered our watching-place. My
men and Aaron pleaded that Mrs. Byrne had no means of communicating
with the outlaws, as she did not know where they were to be found, and
they were sure to seek Aaron out before going to her place. However,
I could not see the use of staying any longer, so I left, though the
men remained for two or three weeks longer. I was not sorry to leave
the spot. It was a most uncomfortable place to sleep in. The days were
terribly hot and the nights bitterly cold.
One circumstance occurred whilst watching which I think worthy of
relating. About ten o'clock at night we were all in our positions, I
at the opening of the stock-yard, lying under a post-and-rail fence
with an old log fence at the bottom, as close to it as I could get,
the men lying behind trees. There were six of us in all. I heard the
footsteps of a man coming down the track from the hills. The footsteps
came closer and closer, until I saw the figure of a man step on to the
rails just above me. At the moment I thought it was most likely to be
Joe Byrne coming down to see his mother, and I was just in the act of
springing up as he jumped down, when I remembered that Aaron was down
at the house, and if it was one of the outlaws he would be able to give
us notice. So I decided to let him pass me. He walked right through the
midst of my men. Not one of them moved, because I had not moved. He
went straight to the house. About two hours afterwards Aaron came to
us. I waited to see if he would say if there was any one there or not.
He did not. I asked him if there were any strangers at Mrs. Byrne's. He
said, "Yes, a man named Scotty, who lives up on the hills, came there."
Somehow or other I fancy the man was Joe Byrne. I have no real reason
for thinking so, but I do, and we let him slip past us. Aaron vowed
it was not, but at the time Aaron was very partial towards his old
school-fellow, Joe Byrne, and frequently he used to ask me to give Joe
a chance of his life if they came into the stock-yard, but he used to
say, "Of course if he fights and shoots at you, you must do the same to
him."
[Illustration: Joe Byrne.]
About this time it was deemed desirable to arrest a number of the
sympathizers who were setting the police at open defiance. They were
galloping round the search parties, watching the movements of the
police and insulting the men. With the sanction of the Government,
we decided to get together all the members of the force in charge of
stations and allow them to submit the names of persons whom they knew
to be Kelly sympathizers, aiding the gang by giving them information
of our movements, and in other ways. The arrest was ordered of about
twenty relatives and friends, and the arrests were made all over the
district on the same day. They were charged with aiding and abetting
the Kelly gang, and were brought before the court and remanded for a
week. No evidence was given beyond the fact that they were known to be
Kelly sympathizers, but upon this statement the magistrates remanded
them from time to time for seven days. They were in confinement for
some two or three months, but still the Kellys were able to find ways
and means of supporting themselves and keeping out of the clutches
of the police. At last the police magistrate, Mr. Foster, refused to
remand them any longer, and discharged the whole of them. It was my
painful duty, week after week, to go up to Beechworth every Friday and
apply for a further remand for seven days, without being able to adduce
a tittle of evidence against them. This move was a very unfortunate
one. It did no good, and evoked sympathy for the men in custody. The
police, I found out, had no evidence against these persons beyond the
fact that they were known to be associates, relatives, and friends of
the outlaws. Had the women been arrested, such as Kelly's sisters, the
act might have done some good, but it was thought advisable not to
interfere with the women. During the time I and several of the police
were going up every Friday night to Beechworth to apply for the remand
of the prisoners next morning, I had to take the constables who knew
these sympathizers every week to Beechworth with me, for I never knew
when the magistrates might call for some evidence, in default of which
they might discharge the prisoners. As these men had been arrested we
were determined to keep them as long as we could, in the hopes that the
outlaws might get infuriated at all their friends being locked up on
their account, but they took not the slightest notice of it.
A few weeks before those arrested were discharged, some of our spies,
or, as we used to call them, "agents," gave me information that the
Kellys had procured some dynamite and intended blowing up the train out
of revenge for our locking up these persons. I took no notice of the
report. On one Monday night the telegraph operator at Benalla informed
me that for some reason the wires would not act between Beechworth and
Benalla. The break was somewhere between Wangaratta and Beechworth, and
the stoppage occurred about nine o'clock. The following morning the
lines were found to be working all right again. The same thing occurred
on Tuesday, and on Wednesday night telegraph repairers from Melbourne
were sent along the line, but could find nothing wrong. Still, each
evening, exactly at nine o'clock, no messages could be sent, and
sometimes the line stopped working in the middle of a message. Thursday
night the same thing occurred, and yet the line was not broken. One
of the operators told me he believed the break was due to some one
putting a piece of wire over the telegraph line and so making a ground
connection. However, the cause was not discovered.
Friday night came, and we were just starting for Beechworth by the
passenger train at about eight o'clock, when the operator at Benalla
sent a message to me at the platform, telling me that the wire had
stopped at about seven-thirty o'clock that night. I remembered then
the information I had received about the line being blown up with
dynamite. The officer in charge of the district and myself held a short
consultation as to whether we should stop the train and inform the
passengers of the danger impending. We, however, decided to get into
the train and say nothing until we got to Wangaratta, when we could
decide on the best course to adopt. We got into a carriage with two
Roman Catholic priests who were chaffing us all the way up about not
catching the Kellys. Still we said nothing about the information we
received. At Wangaratta we decided to go on to Tarrawingee, as it was
between that station and Beechworth the break in the line was known to
be. When I got to Tarrawingee I went to the station-master and told
him to stop the train until I gave him permission to start. He said
he had no authority to stop the train. I then took a constable to the
engine-driver and told the driver he was on no account to start without
my permission, telling him at the same time of my suspicions. The
officer in charge of the district and myself then called the telegraph
operator whom we had in the carriage, and asked him if he could tell in
any way whether the line was open between that station and Beechworth,
as there was no telegraph office at Tarrawingee. The operator said if
he could get up the pole and take the wire between his teeth he could
tell. The difficulty was to get him up the pole, but we got a long
spar and shoved him up, and he discovered connection was open again
to Beechworth. The officer in charge of the district and myself then
decided that we would let the train go on and say nothing at all to the
passengers, who, during the detention at Tarrawingee, were calling out
and grumbling at our keeping the train all that time. We got into the
train and arrived safely at Beechworth, without the passengers knowing
anything about the danger they had been in.
The feeling of alarm over the Kelly gang was so strong at this time,
that had we raised an alarm the passenger traffic on the line would
have been entirely stopped. I have often thought what a terrible thing
it would have been if that train had been blown up, especially going
over some of the steep embankments on the line to Beechworth. For
months afterwards the Government placed men on watch to prevent the
line being interfered with by the Kellys. I remember distinctly saying
to my brother officers, "Well, whatever happens, we shall be in the
thick of it, so they cannot blame us." I also remember the feeling of
relief we both experienced when the train arrived safely at Beechworth.
It was a terrible responsibility on our shoulders, and we had very
little time to decide the best course to adopt, but fortunately
the course we adopted turned out all right. A few days after this
occurrence I was told by one of our "agents" that arrangements had been
made that night to blow up the train with dynamite, but the outlaws did
not know how to use the cartridges that they had been supplied with,
and they were afraid to make the attempt and fail, and so resolved to
defer the dynamite business to some future occasion.
After leaving the cave party, as it was called, I went to Benalla and
organized several search parties, took charge of one of them myself,
and had no end of adventures. My principal place of searching was
the Warby Ranges, and many a hard day have I spent in them. We were
trying to keep a constant watch over the relatives of the outlaws, more
especially over Kelly's sister, whose place was near Greta, within four
or five miles of Glenrowan. The Warby Ranges run just to the back of
Glenrowan. The constables used to watch the house to see if any one
arrived or left during the night. Mrs. Skillian and Katie were aware
they were being watched, and nearly every night before they went to
bed they would take their dogs and hunt round the bush within several
hundred yards of their house. Very often the dogs discovered the police
lying on the ground, and then commenced barking at them until the
women came up. It appeared as if the dogs knew the police were their
natural enemies. At first I used to make one of my men in the search
party carry a lot of poisoned baits, and every now and then drop a bait
in a likely place, but afterwards all the dogs went about day and night
with muzzles on, which were only taken off when they were being fed.
This puts me in mind of another incident in our search. Information
came that the Kellys were expected on the following day, Sunday,
to visit a cousin of theirs, Tom Lloyd, a man who was a notorious
sympathizer, and who made no secret of it. Katie Kelly had been seen
riding from her place to her cousin's with a large bundle in front
of her saddle, which was supposed to be clean clothes, &c. for her
brothers. I was not at Benalla when the news came in, but Aaron
Sherritt happened to be there waiting for me, and Captain Standish sent
out three men with Aaron to watch the place. They left Benalla in a
wagon, and were driven out to within three miles of the spot where they
intended watching. Lloyd lived in a house at the foot of a very high
hill, in fact the mountains surrounded the house on three sides. Aaron
and the three men kept off the road, and did not go within 300 yards of
Lloyd's house. They took up their position in a thick clump of trees,
and got there before daylight in the morning. They had a good view of
Lloyd's house and the surrounding country. Shortly after daylight they
saw a boy come out of the house and unfasten the dogs. They at first
thought he was going to fetch the cows in to milk, but in a very short
time they discovered that the boy had been sent out with the dogs to
see if any one had been about the place during the night. To their
horror they saw the dogs coming on their trail straight towards them,
and they actually followed their footsteps into the clump of trees.
One of the men jumped up, as they did not wish Aaron to be seen, and
immediately the dogs began to bark. The boy ran back to the hut, and
shortly afterwards the inmates came out and looked in the direction
where the men had been hiding. Several shots were fired from the house,
presumably as a signal, and Lloyd got an axe and struck a log of wood,
which was so placed that when it was hit the sound was heard all round
the hills. This also was supposed to be a signal of alarm in case the
outlaws were anywhere in the neighbourhood. The men had to remain where
they were all day, as it would never have done to have allowed Aaron to
be seen with the police.
Shortly after the cave party was broken up. Miss Byrne broke off her
engagement with Aaron, and he was free to look out for some other
girl. He suggested to me that he might try Katie Kelly, and see if she
would engage herself to him. He went there, but Mrs. Skillian objected
to his being about the place. Katie and he got on very well, but she
never mentioned her brother's name to him, nor he to her. They became
very great friends. One night, when Mrs. Skillian went to see a friend,
she left Katie and Aaron in the house together. Aaron induced Katie
to come out for a walk with him, and when Mrs. Skillian returned she
found them both away. She was most indignant, and went to the nearest
police station, Oxley, and laid some charge against Aaron. The police
constable went to the Kellys' house, and when Aaron saw him coming up
to the door he bolted out the back way. The constable followed him,
and fired a couple of shots, but could not overtake him. I received a
report next day from the constable, who stated that to stop Aaron he
had fired a shot at him. Aaron made his way to a school-master's house
that night, a place where the Kelly gang used to frequent. He borrowed
a horse and rode into Beechworth, where he went straight to Detective
Ward and reported the circumstance to him, asking the detective to
wire to me to come up to see him at Beechworth, as he was afraid of
being arrested by the police. This occurrence, strange to relate,
never got into the press, and the constable at Oxley was very much
surprised at the leniency shown towards Aaron. On one occasion Aaron
came down to Benalla to see me. He was unobserved, arriving by train.
I met him in the bush, on the banks of the Broken river. At dusk he
went to the railway platform to await the train to Beechworth. When
he was seen there, there was great excitement, as he was known to be
Aaron Sherritt, the principal agent of the Kelly gang. A messenger
was immediately sent to me in breathless haste to come quickly to the
railway station. I pretended to be very much surprised, but, of course,
Aaron did not recognize me nor I him, and I saw him leave by the train.