us that the great military hospital attached to the antient palace of
Tara, was called “_the house of the Sorrowful Soldier_.”
[18] A name of reverence given to fairies.
[19] It was by some supposed that Collyer, the Bush-ranger, was the
same who for several years terrified the people near Dublin by his
robberies; but that is not the fact. Collyer, the Dublin desperado, was
not transported.
[20] A term given by the Bush-rangers to a dreary flat, called
“_Murderer’s Plains_.” The following statement, sworn before A. W. H.
Humphrey, Esq., Justice of Peace in New Norfolk, Van Diemen’s Land,
mentions this; and as the statement shows very strongly the daring
spirit of the Bush-rangers, I copy it.--It is from a daily journal,
called “_The Bengal Hurkaru_.”
“John Yorke being duly sworn, states--about five o’clock in the evening
of November 27, (1816) I fell in with a party of Bush-rangers, about
fourteen men and two women; Michael Howe and Geary were the only two
of the gang I knew personally. I met them on Scantling’s Plains--I was
on horseback; they desired me to stop, which I accordingly did on the
high road--it was Geary that stopped me; he said he wanted to see every
man sworn to abide by the contents of a letter. I observed a thick man
writing, as I suppose, to the Lieutenant-governor. Geary was the man
who administered the oath on a prayer-book, calling each man for that
purpose regularly--they did not inform me the contents of the letter.
Michael Howe and Geary directed me to state when I came home, the whole
I had seen, and to inform Mr. Humphrey, the magistrate, and Mr. Wade,
the chief constable, to take care of themselves, as they were resolved
to take their lives, and to prevent them from keeping stock or grain,
unless there was something done for them--that Mr. Humphrey might rear
what grain he liked, but they would thrash more in one night, than he
could reap in a year. They said they could set the whole country on
fire with one stick. I was detained about three-quarters of an hour,
during which time they charged me to be strict in making known what
they said to me, and what I had seen. On my return from Port Dalrymple,
I called at a hut occupied by Joseph Wright, at Scantling’s Plains;
William Williams, and a youth, were there, who told me the Bush-rangers
had been there a few days before, and forced them to a place called
_Murderer’s Plains_ (which the Bush-rangers called the _Tallow
Chandler’s Shop_), where they made them remain three days, for the
purpose of rendering down a large quantity of beef fat, which Williams
understood was taken from cattle belonging to Stynes and Troy.”[21]
[21] These people lost 150 head of cattle.
[Transcriber’s Note:
Obvious printer errors corrected silently.
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.]