Mrs. Skillian's Hoax--A False Alarm--Searching the Warby Ranges--Among
the Kelly Sympathizers--Ill and dispirited--The Tenant of the
Haystack--Relieved after Eight Months' Camping Duty.
It was perfectly wonderful how all the trains were watched by Kelly
sympathizers. You could tell them in a moment, they were to be seen
on every railway station. It is not to be understood that all these
men could communicate with the outlaws; my opinion is they trusted no
one but their own blood relations, but the information concerning the
police was sent to persons like Aaron Sherritt, there being perhaps
three or four men in the whole district who could communicate to the
outlaws' sisters any information that was obtained concerning the
movements of the police. Hart had a brother and sister, and they were
always on the move. Byrne had a brother and two or three sisters; the
former was always riding about. Reports came in that Mrs. Skillian
used to be seen at all hours of the night riding about the bush,
sometimes with large packs on her saddle.
A curious incident occurred one morning about daylight. Some policemen
had got to Mrs. Skillian's house about two o'clock in the morning, and
were within a short distance of her place, and in some way she must
have become aware of their presence there. She went into the paddock
about three or four o'clock, caught her horse, saddled it and tied a
large bundle on the saddle, mounted the horse, and started off towards
the mountains, the three policemen following her, but without the
slightest idea that she was aware of their presence. She made for a
very steep gap in the mountains, the men following on foot, thinking
they had a good thing on hand. The sun was nearly up when they reached
the top of the gap, and the first thing they saw was Mrs. Skillian
sitting on a log facing them, and her two hands extended from her
nose, and taking what is called a "lunar" at them, with a grin of
satisfaction on her face. They went up to examine the pack on the
saddle, and found it to be an old table-cloth wrapped up evidently to
take a rise out of the police, who had been watching her.
After I left the cave party, I was constantly on the move. My object
was to harass the outlaws as much as possible. I had parties of men
out in every direction, going all day, and watching for fires at
night. I remember on one occasion I had been out in the bush for about
ten days with a party, and having consumed our provisions, we came
back to Benalla. The evening I returned Captain Standish got a letter
evidently from a well-to-do farmer, who stated that he had on the
previous evening seen four men walking in the direction of a certain
man's house, giving a description of the place, and how to find it out.
He gave his reasons for thinking they were the Kellys, and altogether
it appeared a very good opportunity of falling across them. Captain
Standish was in great glee about the information, and I remember
sitting up half the night with him talking about it.
At twelve o'clock I went round to my men, awoke them, and told them
to be ready to start with me at four o'clock next morning. We were up
again about three, got our horses and provisions ready, and away we
started at daylight, and went through the town of Benalla before any
one was up. As it was Sunday morning, and it was an unusual thing
for us to start away on that day, instead of going in the direction
indicated in the letter, I went directly in the opposite one. When I
got into the bush, about five miles from Benalla, I dismounted the men
and read the letter to them. I was afraid to do so before, in case the
information we were going on might leak out. They were all in great
spirits at the probabilities of success, and thought our chances very
good. We camped and let our horses feed in the middle of the day, and
so we travelled along until after sunset, when we doubled back, and
made in the direction of the farm described in the letter.
About four o'clock in the afternoon we passed a hut. Of course every
one, knowing we were in search of the Kellys, came out to see us.
One of my men drew my attention to a man standing watching us, and
told me he was one of the principal spies of the Kellys. I replied,
"Well, he can never guess where we are going, for we have the Warby
Ranges between us and the spot we are making for." We passed on, and
thought nothing more of him. We got into camp about eight o'clock,
tied our horses up, and after having some water, bread, and beef, laid
down until one o'clock in the morning. As the men got out of their
hammocks, Lawless cried out, "I say, Mr. Hare, I think some of these
hammocks will be for sale to-night." He meant by that that some of us
would be shot, as all felt convinced we were going to meet the outlaws
that morning.
The men were all in great spirits. We had to cross the railway gates at
Glenrowan. We often found great difficulty in crossing the railway, for
many of the gate-keepers were in league with the friends of the Kelly
gang. The keeper required a lot of calling before he got up. We then
struck across the bush until we were compelled to get on to the roads;
when amongst the farm-houses we had to travel very quietly to avoid
alarming the occupants, for we looked upon every one as a sympathizer
of the outlaws. After travelling about four hours, the constable who
undertook to take us to the farm referred to, said he thought we were
near the place, so we all dismounted and left our horses on the road
in charge of one of the party. The remainder approached the house
carefully, and we got in front of it just half an hour before daybreak.
I told my sergeant, with three of the men, to take up his position at
the back of the house, and that I would, when it was clear daylight,
put my hat on my rifle as a sign for him to approach. I remained on
the spot with three men for about half an hour. They were strung up to
such a pitch that I thought I should hardly be able to restrain them
from rushing ahead of me.
At the appointed time I gave the signal, and we started for the house.
We had to pass a window before getting to the door, and in doing so
one of the men stepped in front of me. He told me afterwards that he
thought a shot would have been fired out of the window, and he wanted
to get between me and it. We went to the door and listened, but all was
silent within. I knocked, and a man inside called out, "Who's there?"
I replied, "Police; open the door." After a few seconds he did so. I
said, "Have you any strangers in your house?" He said, "I have." I
suppose our appearance there frightened the life out of him, for he
turned deadly pale; but the moment he said there were strangers inside
we all rushed into the house and into every room in the building.
I said to the farmer, "Let me see the strangers," and out came the
individual whom we had passed the previous evening, the greatest
sympathizer Kelly had. I asked him what brought him there. He said he
came over to see his friend and spend the night with him.
We saw at once our chance was gone. I never could learn whether
this man, upon seeing us pass the previous evening, had gone over
to warn the Kellys to be on the look-out. We searched the haystack,
outbuilding, and every place that we could think of, but all to no
purpose. There was nothing to be done but to return to the camp a
disappointed crew. I don't think I ever saw the men so down-hearted.
Whilst returning, I thought I would try to raise their spirits, and so
I took them across country. We got in amongst the fences, and there was
a good deal of jumping to do to get back to camp. One of the men had
a narrow escape of falling off, his horse blundering over a fence. He
landed on its ears, and had the greatest difficulty in getting back to
his saddle. This little incident put the men in good humour again. We
had our breakfast, turned the horses loose, and got into our hammocks,
where we remained all that day, both men and horses requiring rest.
Next day we took a turn in the Warby Ranges, and made back to Benalla.
I had a great many trips with my party in the Warby Ranges. I was
told by a sergeant of police, who ought to have known better, that I
could search these ranges thoroughly in a couple of days. However,
after a month's experience, I found every day new hiding-places where
the outlaws could conceal themselves. I had a splendid lot of fellows
in my party. My right-hand man was Mayes, who acted as my sergeant;
next to him was Mills, and the others were Lawless, Faulkner, Barry,
O'Loughlin, and Kirkham. They were all men who belonged to my own
district, and had served under me for years. There was not a weak spot
in any of them. I felt that I could at any moment have said, "I think
the outlaws are in that cave, go and pull them out," and they would
have been proud to have been selected for the purpose. No work was too
much for them, day or night, and I never heard a grumble. Lawless and
Faulkner were equal to any bush-riders in the world, and I often wished
that they might have a chance of showing whether they or the Kellys
were the best men on horse-back. Johnstone was another of my men, but
he was not always with me. He also was a magnificent rider, but he
required some restraint, being both wild and reckless, and inclined to
lose his head.
Generally speaking, we had two pack-horses to carry our provisions and
rugs, enough to last us eight or ten days; after that the men required
a spell in barracks, for our life was a very hard one, sleeping in
the open without tent or fire, living on potted beef, and biscuit, and
sardines. Bushmen think nothing of camping out for months, but ask any
of them in the winter months to camp out without a fire, and see how
long they will stand it. I remember once, when I was searching the
mountains at the head of the Broken river, the weather was terribly
cold, and the men were getting very down-hearted at not having any
luck. Mayes came to me and asked me to let the men have a fire for
one night, as they were very low-spirited, and were feeling the cold
terribly. He said, "I am sure if we could get to some quiet spot in
the mountains you could let us have one good warm, and we shall be all
right to-morrow." I agreed, and took them to a most retired gully, and
told them they might light a fire that night. They were so surprised,
it acted like magic on them. They selected a large hollow tree, set
fire to it, and there was a grand blaze. They heaped up wood all round,
and sat all night enjoying themselves.
After I had had a good warm I took my hammock and went about a hundred
yards from them, and kept, as it were, watch over them, because I never
knew when the Kellys might have crept on us, and without any difficulty
they might have shot the whole of the men standing round the fire; so
I thought if they were attacked I could have assisted them. First of
all they made bets as to how long it would be before the tree would
fall; one said two hours, another three, and so on. Then they began to
bet how many native bears there would be in the tree when it fell, then
who would catch the first opossum, and so they went on all night, like
a lot of school-boys out for a holiday.
The next day they were quite different men, and we had several
adventures, such as one of the pack-horses rolling down a precipice. I
was riding ahead, and hearing a terrible noise, looked round and saw
that one of the pack-horses had slipped and fallen over the cliff. It
was rolling down, turning over and over like a barrel, the stones and
rattling of the pack on his back making such a noise that I thought
half the men were over. The track was too narrow to turn my horse
round, but I jumped off and looked over the embankment, and there I saw
the poor old horse lying on his side eating grass. I expected to see
him smashed to pieces. We had to work our way down to the bottom, take
off the pack, and lead the horse a mile or two round before we got him
to where the rest were. Strange to say, with the exception of a few
cuts, the horse was all right, but this accident caused a delay of two
hours.
The tracks in the mountains are made by the wild cattle, and I am sure
I often thought it a marvel that we did not roll down the sidlings we
crossed. One night we spent a terrible time. We had arrived at the foot
of a steep mountain, and I told the men to camp there, and fixed the
spot where my hammock was to be slung. I then took three men with me
and ascended the mountain. It was a fearfully wild place. I went up to
see if I could observe any signs of fire in the distance. We stayed on
the top of the mountain for an hour or two, and then descended; but we
had a terrible job to get back with our rifles in our hands. It was
pitch dark, and the difficulty of our position caused much amusement.
Every now and then one of us would come bump up against a rock, and we
would be calling to each other to ascertain whether we were keeping
together, and we were very doubtful whether we should find the spot
where the other men were camped. However, I had taken particular notice
of the hills as I went up, and if there is one thing I am proud of
being able to do more than another, it is being able to find my way
about the bush. I have been thirty years knocking about the country,
and I only once lost myself, and had to stay out all night, and that
was under very exceptional circumstances.
We got to the camp, had some tucker, and I jumped into my hammock,
which had been slung between two saplings, when two or three native
bears began to sing out in a most piteous manner, like children crying.
I stood this for a short time, and then called out to one of the men
to cut the tree down, so as to get rid of the bears. He did so, and I
fastened my hammock to the stump of the tree, and fell asleep. When I
awoke in the morning my rug was frozen, the country round was perfectly
white with frost, and the men told me the running water in the creek
close by was frozen.
One night in the Warby Ranges is forcibly fixed in my mind. We were in
one of the most favourite resorts of the outlaws, and were searching a
side of the mountain. The men were stationed at equal distances from
one another. I was very anxious to search all the gullies leading up
the mountain, so I took the lower position myself, the men being all
above me. They searched every nook and corner, behind all the rocks,
the scrub, and any place in which a man could hide.
As I was riding along I saw a newspaper a day or two old folded up
and stuck between two rocks. It had a long article abusing the police
for not capturing the Kellys, and had evidently been put there for
the outlaws' perusal. Not far from this I found a track leading up a
gully in the mountains. I looked up, and saw Lawless about 100 yards
above me, and beckoned to him to come to me, which he did. I showed him
the track into the gully. He said, "What shall we do?" I told him we
had better search it. We got off our horses, tied them to a tree, and
walked up the gully. I took one side and Lawless the other. We were not
more than eighty yards apart.
Shortly afterwards I saw Lawless trying to attract my attention; he
beckoned to me to come to him; I did so. When I got near he pointed
downwards, as if there was something beneath the rock he was standing
on. He had his rifle in position to fire at a moment's notice. I could
not understand what he meant or what he had seen. He remained where he
was, and I went round to the front of the rock he was standing on. He
said when he jumped on the rock he felt something move it, and heard a
noise as if some one was running underneath it. I went close up to the
opening, and there I saw a large wombat in the hole. I told him what
was there, and his countenance changed in a moment. When I first came
up to him his eyes were starting out of his head with excitement, and
he said, "I thought we had them at last."
We continued our search, but as usual, there was nothing to be seen. We
got on our horses and rode about the place until about five o'clock,
when we came across a nice paddock, and decided upon turning our horses
into it and camping for the night. We had fixed the different spots
for our hammocks, and were just going to our meal, when one of the
men called me, and pointed out the tracks of fresh horse foot-prints
going into the mountains from the direction of the lowlands. The tracks
appeared to be an hour or two old. We were considering what we should
do, and sat down in the usual manner away from each other with our
rifles beside us, when all of a sudden every man jumped to his feet and
called out, "Look out, sir, they are coming straight for us." I stood
up and saw four men riding towards us as hard as their horses could go.
It was the habit of the Kellys to ride like demons through the country.
My whole party rushed to a brush fence and got behind it; I followed
them, and the men came straight for us. When they were within a few
yards we all jumped up and confronted them. They were not the outlaws,
but were well-known spies of theirs. Directly we stopped them they
began to slang and chaff us. Sergeant Mayes turned upon them in the
most indignant manner, and asked if they knew who they were speaking
to. Mayes asked me if he might arrest them, as he felt sure the outlaws
were close by.
I consented, and told him the better plan would be for him to take
three of our men to the house from whence these men had come, and put
the four sympathizers in it, and allow no person to leave the place
that night. I and the three other men would watch the pass leading
into the mountains. Mayes, Lawless, Faulkner, and O'Loughlin went off,
leaving three men with me. They proceeded towards the house, which
was the same place where the outlaws had their breakfast after riding
through Wangaratta, shortly after the murders.
As the party approached, all the occupants came to the door, evidently
thinking the four strangers were the Kelly gang, and there appeared to
be great rejoicing over the prospect of their calling there, but as
the party got closer, and were recognized as policemen, they all beat
a retreat into the house. Lawless, who was a small man, not at all
unlike Steve Hart in figure and appearance, saw a person walking in the
garden, and directly he caught sight of him the man appeared to vanish
out of his sight. Lawless followed him, and when he got near, the man
called out, "Is that you, Steve?" Lawless replied, "No." He said, "Then
it must be his brother." Lawless replied, "It is neither." The man then
took a good look at Lawless and said, "I beg your pardon, I thought
you were some one else." Lawless said, "Who did you take me for?" He
replied, "Some one we expected to-night." Lawless at once reported
this conversation to Mayes, who sent him to where they had left me,
and Lawless informed me of all that had passed between him and the
stranger. I at once decided to watch the place with my three men. About
a mile from the house there was a good stable, with abundance of feed
in it, which was evidently left there for the outlaws. Mayes had told
the inmates of the house they were not to come out during the night, as
he and his men intended keeping watch over the place, and they might
be mistaken for some one else, and shot. When I reached the house they
appeared to be very happy inside; they kept dancing half the night, and
I believe this was a sign for the outlaws, if they were about, to keep
away.
There we remained without covering of any kind until daylight. The
night was bitterly cold, and I, being in the most exposed place, became
nearly frozen. About two o'clock in the morning I had a consultation
with Mayes, and we decided to send a man into Wangaratta to bring out
four additional constables to keep watch, whilst my party tried to
pick up the tracks we had seen the evening before, leading into the
mountains. I sent Faulkner with another man to Wangaratta, at about
four o'clock in the morning; he returned with the four men. On his
arrival, I met him near the house, and directly I approached him he
sheered off from me, and said, "Who are you?" I said, "Don't you know
me?" When he heard my voice, he replied, "Is that you, Mr. Hare? You
are so white with the frost I did not know you." I gave orders to
Sergeant Kelly, who was in charge of the fresh men, to guard the house,
and to allow no person to leave until I communicated with him. I told
him on no account to allow any signals to be put out, especially any
sheet to be thrown over a bush in the garden, this being a well-known
sign of the Kellys as a warning not to approach the house. Sergeant
Kelly afterwards told me, directly the people of the house had finished
breakfast, one of the girls brought out a table-cloth, shook it on the
verandah, and then threw it over a bush in the garden. He removed it at
once.
At daybreak I and my party went to the pass in the mountains, where
we had left all our packs and provisions. We had some breakfast,
and started off immediately to follow the tracks. I had no black
tracker with me, but I had an excellent man named Bellis; he was one
of the special men engaged by the police, who knew the country. He
was a capital bushman, a good shot, a fair tracker, and a thoroughly
trustworthy man. We took our horses with us. Bellis and several of the
men picked up the tracks, whilst the others followed with the horses.
For a mile or so the tracks were very distinct, but after some distance
they appeared to separate, going in different directions. Some of the
men fancied they heard voices ahead, and asked me to allow them to run
over, as they felt certain the outlaws were quite near. I could hear no
voices, but two or three of the men said they did. There was a thick
clump of scrub in the direction where the men thought they heard the
voices, so I beckoned to them to join together, and we rushed towards
the scrub and surrounded it. We searched it thoroughly, but could find
no trace of anybody being there. The men were much excited from want of
sleep, and they appeared hardly to know what they were doing, so I made
them have a rest. Afterwards we went back to pick up the tracks again,
but were unable to do so. We searched the mountains until evening, and
then made back to the spot where we had left our packs.
Next day we started off into the hills. I sent a man from the house
to Senior-constable Kelly, and told him to withdraw his men into the
mountains, so as to keep watch over the house, and to remain as long
as his provisions would last. We searched all the day without finding
any signs of the outlaws. We camped that night at the foot of a steep
mountain, and were starting off next morning when Bellis drew my
attention to what we all thought were the heads of four men looking
over the hill at us. Without a moment's consideration, the whole party
started to get up the hill as fast as they could. It was a difficult
job for the horses, but we urged them on. The only things we could see
were four goats feeding quietly. We looked for traces of men, but could
find none, and so came to the conclusion that we must have mistaken the
goats for four men looking down on us. I myself had grave doubts, and
still think they were men. There was a high point of the mountain in
front of us, which we next proceeded to search.
As my horse was carrying twenty stone, when I got on the top of the
hill I dismounted and walked over to some shelving rocks. There I
found the foot-marks of a man on the green moss, as if done that
morning. I went back to meet my men, and showed the foot-marks to them,
and after we had followed the tracks for some distance we came across a
lot of stones recently moved, the earth being quite fresh. The stones
were up on end, all pointing in one direction, and that was to another
high hill three or four miles off. We lost the tracks in the rocky
ground, so decided to try our luck on the other hill. We kept some
distance apart from each other, making for the steep ground in front of
us. After a most tedious ascent we reached the top, at least four of us
did, and, strange to relate, here we found the stones stuck up on end
just as we had found them on the other hill. We were greatly puzzled
at this, and while we were talking over the matter one of the men saw
a person at the foot of the hill on horse-back, riding along at a good
pace. I sent a man after him to see who he was, and he overtook him as
he was making for the mountain. The man I had sent immediately beckoned
to me to come down, and appeared to be very excited. We all made down
the hill as fast as we could.
This person was a well-known squatter living close by, who had often
aided the police when in want of assistance. He told me that when he
was in the mountains the previous day looking for some sheep, he saw
a tent erected in a retired spot, and it must only recently have been
put there. I asked him if he would take us to it. He said "Certainly."
I collected all my men, and off we started, following our leader.
After riding some four or five miles the tent was pointed out. We
dismounted and surrounded it, and rushed down on it, only to meet with
another disappointment. The tent was quite empty. We searched all
round the place, and found tracks of shod horses where the animals had
been feeding. We retired from the tent and slept that night near the
squatter's homestead, and I dined with him, but slept with my men.
Next morning at daylight we saddled our horses and made back to the
tent we had searched the previous evening. We again crept down,
thinking the occupants, if any, might be asleep; but it was still
empty. Some time afterwards I heard the tent belonged to a party of
men engaged collecting honey, who are known as "bee men." Many of them
were sympathizers of the outlaws, and used to leave horse-feed and
provisions in their tents for them. We continued searching for three or
four days after this, but nothing of any interest transpired.
We were constantly receiving information that the outlaws were likely
to be hiding amongst their friends on the low land below Euroa, where
they were known to have several cousins who did not bear very good
characters. Captain Standish suggested that I should again take a
trip down there. I had made several trips in those parts before, but
some fresh information supplied to us was to the effect that they
were hiding in the flat country. I started off with my party and a
black-fellow called Moses. He was a Queensland man, and a capital
tracker. He had been with me on several occasions before. We searched
about the country, but could hear nothing of the outlaws.
One morning we made an early start to search a place belonging to a
connection of the Kellys. We left our pack-horses behind us, and also
our bedding and provisions, intending to go across country, getting
over the fences the best way we could. After riding two or three hours
we came across a stiff fence, and there was no way of getting over
except to jump it. The men went over it with the greatest ease, but
when I brought my horse up he baulked. I turned him round and put him
at it again, and he made a tremendous spring and got over. Something
gave way in my back, just above my right hip, and the agony I went
through that day was beyond anything I ever experienced.
A most amusing incident occurred on this day. We had received
information that the outlaws were amongst their relations, and during
the day they occupied a very large haystack, near the house of one of
their relatives. I was in great agony when I reached this place; still
the description we had received of the premises was so accurate that
we made straight for the stack, and much to my astonishment found a
chamber or passage leading into it. We all dismounted from our horses,
and I called for a volunteer to creep inside and see what was in it.
Every man begged to be allowed to explore it, and I selected Johnstone.
He disappeared in a moment, but very soon reappeared, coming out a
good deal faster than he went in. He said, "I heard some noise in the
stack, and I came back to tell you to keep a sharp look-out all round."
I started him back, and told him to turn the fellows out, and in he
went again; but he had hardly been away twenty seconds when out he
came again like a flash of lightning. I said, "What is the matter?" He
replied, "Lor, sir, there is an old sow in there with a lot of young
ones, and she _did_ go for me; it was as much as I could do to keep
clear of her." The old pig came out shortly afterwards, and we all had
a good laugh.
We had information about another place further on, but I was unable
to proceed. I lay down in the bush in great pain, and sent the men to
search the locality; and on their return they picked me up, and we
returned to where we had left the camp in the morning, a distance of
about twenty-five miles.
Next morning I was better, and the men got a buggy for me, and I drove
myself into Euroa. I do not to this day know what was the matter with
me, or the cause of the pain I suffered. The party I left behind in
charge of Senior-constable Johnstone remained out for five or six
days, and then returned to Benalla. On my arrival at Benalla I told
Captain Standish that the hardships I had gone through had affected my
constitution, and I was not fit to go out with the search party again,
and I wished him to relieve me, as I had then been camping out for
eight or nine months. He promised to do so, and ordered the inspecting
superintendent to come up and take over charge of the business. I got a
week's leave, and remained quietly at Benalla.