Remembering the Past Australia

(Continued...)

Meanwhile the Inspector-General had been moved to greater activity, and inspectors and superintendents in the force stationed in other districts were ordered out in pursuit. Mr. Superintendent Morrissett with six troopers went from Bathurst, Captain Battye and some of his men started from Yass, and all converged to the common centre, which had been made the chief point of interest to every individual in the colony. As soon as the Government had received particulars of the robbery, they caused the following notice to be published:–

MAIL AND ESCORT ROBBERY.

£1000 REWARD AND PARDON TO AN ACCOMPLICE.

Whereas it has been represented to the Government that on the afternoon of the 15th instant the Gold Escort from the Lachlan was attacked on the road between Forbes and Orange by a band of armed men, said to be ten in number, and described as dressed in red shirts, red caps, with their faces blackened, who fired on and wounded the police forming the guard, opened the Mail Bags and Letters and carried off a large amount of Gold Dust and Money: Notice is hereby given that a Reward of £100 will be paid by Government for such information as shall lead to the Apprehension and Conviction, within six months from this date of each of the guilty parties; and a Pardon will also be granted to any accomplice in the above outrage who shall first give such information.

CHARLES COWPER.

Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 17th June, 1862.

Shortly after starting. Sir Frederick had divided his party, placing Sergeant Sanderson (now superintendent of the force at Bathurst) at the head of four men and a black tracker, and leading the other division himself. The sergeant was quite up to his work, and from his intimate knowledge of the district and of the men in it who were suspected of being bushrangers or friends of bushrangers, he was able to shape a course that promised to be more effective than that pursued by his superior officer. Proceeding to the river he camped with his men until daylight appeared and then instituted a search for tracks on either side for a distance of about 20 miles along the river's course. Not finding tracks he was satisfied that the escort robbers had not yet crossed the river, and he at once pushed on through the bush toward the Weddin Mountains, a locality which he knew was resorted to by the district banditti as a safe refuge.

Early on Thursday morning the pursuers reached Wheogo, and as they were now in a district where bushrangers were thought more of than the police, they became even more cautious and watchful. As they reached Ben Hall's house, the black tracker saw a horseman coming down a ridge of the mountain, and immediately pointed him out to the sergeant.

But as the tracker saw the horseman, the horseman saw the tracker. The former turned upon his tracks, and in haste sped back by the way he came. This decided the sergeant, who at once gave the order to gallop, and away went the party, the blackfellow leading, to the spot where the horseman had first been seen. The latter had by this time disappeared from sight, but the tracks of his horse remained, and were followed by the police with the utmost eagerness; for his behaviour clearly indicated that he was either a bushranger or a "bush telegraph", or scout; and if the latter, his trail would certainly lead to those on whose service he was engaged. It was a keen chase and a long one, and, to the joy of the pursuers, proved partially successful. They did not catch the robbers, certainly, but at least compelled them to abandon a large portion of the stolen gold.

For miles the police pressed forward, feeling the inefficiency of their steeds, which had already done good work, for this new task, and dreading that they would "knock-up" before the bushrangers had been warned. Right up the high mountain they pressed for about four miles, at one time nearly losing the track on the edge of a deep creek. They had traced the horse to the very edge; here the tracks suddenly disappeared, and the pursuers came to a stand, thinking that the man must have jumped into the creek. Close search on the other side, however, showed that the horse must have cleared the creek at a bound, for there his tracks were again taken up; the chase was resumed with redoubled vigour, and followed until the tracks led the party to a camp, which had evidently just been abandoned in a great hurry. The fire was still smouldering; there was some tea in a "billy" ready made and nicely warm, and bread and beef just set out for the meal, not to mention empty gin and wine bottles; while various articles of bedding"—not spring mattresses and feather pillows, but blankets and a rug—were scattered about just as the sleepers had thrown them off before preparing the meal which had been so rudely disturbed. Here also was found an envelope bearing the Burrowa postmark, and a pair of gold scales. This showed the sergeant clearly that he was on the right track, and that at this spot the stolen gold held been divided. Near the camp were marks showing where horses had been tied up to trees.

It was not difficult for Charlie, the tracker, to pick up the trail and lead his party in further pursuit, for the police did not waste time in partaking of the meal so kindly left in readiness. Five horses had started from the camp on the opposite side, and were found to be making for some dense pine scrub on the west of the Weddin Mountains. The trail was an easy one to follow, being so freshly made and consisting of the impress of twenty hoofs; and Charlie had no need to steady his pace in order that he might not override it. It was a case of full speed now, and the well-ridden troop horses were called upon to do heavier duty than usually fell to their lot; for the country was very rough and not pleasant even for easy pacing.

This broad trail was followed for a long time, till the party entered a dense pine scrub, and the blackfellow called out "Me see him." The pursuers charged after, but the fellows ahead were too quick, and making a short turn through the pines were lost to sight. In following on, however, the police saw a riderless horse, and, thinking this might be some ruse, separated, took what cover they could find, and captured the horse. It turned out to be the bushrangers' pack horse, laden with a costly treasure, some 1200 or 1500 ounces of gold. The gold was in four bags lashed to a trooper's saddle; there were also two carbines strapped to the saddle. From this point the tracks of only four horses were found, and these were followed all round the Weddin till it got dark; then the party made the best of their way to Forbes, where they arrived on the following Saturday, and gave up the recovered treasure to the authorities. Had their horses not been so thoroughly knocked up the trail might have been kept longer; but they did well to secure the gold, as it was evident there were four bushrangers, all mounted on first-class horses; indeed, the horse that was first seen was a splendid animal, and the creek it leaped was some twelve or fifteen feet wide.

This Weddin range was a most secure place for hiding, and had been so used some 23 or 24 years before, when Scotchey and Witton were out. It was said that there was a cave somewhere there which these men made use of; and as the situation commanded the main roads to the diggings both at Burrangong and the Lachlan, it was suggested that a police station should be formed there.

Pottinger and his men continued the search in an opposite direction for some 200 miles, not having heard of Sanderson's success. The tracks of five riders and two pack horses led towards the Riverina district; and from a point there Pottinger reported that he was still in pursuit, believing that the robbers had made for Victoria, and had escaped across the border on fresh horses; but as he had a black tracker with him he felt sure that he would soon catch them. About 70 miles from Narrandera, Messrs. Clements, Cropper, and other residents of the Lachlan district, who had volunteered for duty in assisting to track the robbers, abandoned the chase, leaving Pottinger and two others only to continue it.

That they were on the proper scent was proved to the authorities in Sydney by a piece of news which was circulated through the medium of one of the papers on the goldfields, in the following paragraph:–

Just about this time also the authorities awoke to the necessity of preserving secrecy concerning the movements of gold escorts, and solemnly commanded the sergeants in charge not to communicate to any person the amount of treasure that they were about to convey from the diggings.

On July 7th, after being three weeks on the hunt, Sir Frederick Pottinger's hopes were raised to the highest pitch by an adventure on the road near Narrandera with a party of travellers. The two gentlemen remaining with him were Mr. Mitchell, who had served as C.P.S. at Forbes, and Detective Lyons. After the other volunteers had departed these three still followed up the tracks, making inquiries on their route at several stations until they reached Hay. Here they came to the conclusion that it was useless to follow that course any further, and resolved to retrace their steps, although they were still tolerably certain that a section of the robbers had crossed the border into Victoria with part of the booty. On Monday, 30th June, therefore, they turned back, and on the following Monday had just left the Merool Station, where they had called for refreshment, when, about half-past one o'clock, and just as they had lost sight of the place, they met three well-dressed young fellows, booted and spurred, with close-fitting breeches, turndown collars, and cabbage-tree hats, all well mounted and leading three horses.

Mr. Mitchell, who first addressed them, asked how far they had come, and was answered that they had left Lambing Flat three days before. As they appeared anxious to push on, Mr. Mitchell returned with them until they met Sir Frederick, who was about 200 yards behind. "By-the-bye," said Sir Frederick, "that's a good horse you are riding; can you show a receipt for him?" "Oh, yes," said the man addressed, "here's a receipt." At the same time he let go the horse he was leading and put his hand into his waistcoat pocket, as though searching for the receipt; but all the while he kept edging his horse round to get on the other side of his interlocutor, and followed up the packhorse, which was heading off the road. Suddenly he seized the halter of the pack horse, put spurs to his own horse, and galloped off into the bush at top speed. Sir Frederick, who had observed the whole movement with suspicion, signalled to Mr. Mitchell, and they simultaneously drew their revolvers and called upon the two men remaining to stand, declaring that if they moved an inch they would send a bullet into them.

The two stood still, and Detective Lyons rode up and at once secured them with handcuffs. On one of the prisoners, who gave his name as Charles Darcey, or Dacey, the sum of £2 15s was found; on the other, who called himself Henry Turner, £153, in which there were no notes of the Commercial Bank. Upon the horse which Turner was leading a small sack was found, which contained no less than 213 ounces of gold.

The police had made a "haul", even if the men could not be proved escort robbers; and in much jubilation Sir Frederick took the prisoners back to the station which he had just left and sent word of what had happened to Deniliquin, Wagga Wagga, and Sydney.

On the following morning a start was made with the prisoners towards Forbes, some 150 miles distant. They were very communicative, and did not appear to be much put about by their arrest. Turner said that the man who had bolted carried the firearms, two loaded revolvers, and that they had made him cashier. The march was continued all that day and the next (Wednesday) until about one o'clock, when the party reached Mr. Sprowle's station, on the Levels. Detective Lyons was in advance, conducting the prisoners, both manacled, and with their horses (now even worse than those ridden by their captors) tackled together. Sir Frederick and Mr. Mitchell followed, about ten or a dozen yards in the rear. Suddenly three men on foot, with red skull caps and faces blackened, and armed with double-barrelled guns, emerged from the bush in front of Lyons, and shouting "Bail up, you ——", immediately fired upon him. The shot took effect in the horse's neck; the animal reared and threw Lyons, who was trying to get at his revolver. It then bolted into the bush, Lyons following it, minus his revolver, and under the fire of the rescuers. Simultaneously with this attack four other ruffians wheeled out of ambuscade, with military precision, in front of Pottinger and Mitchell, and fired at them, the leader shouting "I know you, you —— Pottinger; I'll put a pill through you, you ——." Both Pottinger and Mitchell fired in return two or three shots, but the odds against them were too large, for the bushrangers, in addition to being superior in number, had spare arms at their disposal, although they had no horses. The fact that no one was injured is, however, pretty good proof that they were not expert marksmen. Sir Frederick and Mitchell, after each discharge of their revolvers, would wheel and gallop a little distance, receiving fire as they retreated, and then return to fire again. Thus matters went on, when Pottinger and his companion, finding that their ammunition was getting short, began to look out for a clear track away. As the firing from the bushrangers also began to lessen Mitchell proposed to rush upon them; but Sir Frederick demurred, alleging that such a course would perhaps result in the loss of the gold, which he had secured upon his horse. Accordingly they turned and galloped away, leaving the bushrangers masters of the field, and their late prisoners free.

With all haste they returned to the station at which they had camped the previous night, known as "Little George's", some twelve or thirteen miles distant, which they reached in about 40 minutes. Evidently they could ride well if they could not shoot straight—although Mitchell lost his hat and revolver on the road. Here they remained until evening, recruiting and devising plans for the future. Nothing had been heard or seen of Lyons since his run after his horse; so, fearing that he had fallen into the hands of the bushrangers, they returned by moonlight to Sprowle's, taking a different road, and approaching the house from the opposite side. Here they learned that Lyons was safe and sound in wind and limb, and that he had gone out with Mr. Sprowle to search for them, expecting to find their dead bodies in the bush. They waited, therefore, for the absentees, and on their return engaged in mutual congratulations.

They now ascertained that the rescuers had waited near the road for them to come up with their prisoners, after having tied their horses to the garden fence, and cautioned two females, the only occupants of the house at the time, not to venture out lest they might be shot. They had also bailed up two travellers and forced them to lie on their faces until the police arrived. These men declared that each of the bushrangers carried two double-barrelled guns and two revolvers. The horses had broken away when firing commenced, and to this fact, no doubt, Sir Frederick and Mitchell owed their escape; for the bushrangers, knowing that they had the gold, would certainly have followed them and the treasure if horses had been available. Sir Frederick afterwards declared that he had wounded one of the men and that he heard one calling out for horses, saying they would "never be able to take the police without them".

Mr. Sprowle had heard the band swear that Sir Frederick should never take the gold to Forbes; and a carrier who was "stuck up" on the road subsequently, for provisions, by five men, positively declared that one of them was Gardiner, and that it was he who had endeavoured to "put a pill" through the superintendent.

Sir Frederick and his party, of course, realised the necessity of getting away as speedily as possible, for at any moment the bushrangers might return and rescue the gold as easily as they had rescued Darcey and Turner. Accordingly, in the dead of a dark, cold, and rainy night, they quietly sallied forth, and proceeded with Mr. Sprowle as their guide to Beckham's station at Narraburra, reaching it at 3 o'clock next morning.

Here the gold was planted safely, and the party prepared to defend the place against the attack, of which they were in constant dread. As soon as he arrived Sir Frederick despatched a special messenger to Captain Battye, at Lambing Flat, for an escort. The captain could only muster five troopers at the Flat, and immediately telegraphed to head quarters; and having, late at night, succeeded in getting nine men together, despatched them to the station one after another, in order to evade observation on the journey, himself bringing up the rear. A short distance from the township he overtook the troopers, organised them, made all haste to Beckham's, where they arrived on Friday—to the great relief of Sir Frederick and his companion, who had been in hourly dread of losing the gold.

And now the gold was safe. Two troopers were sent on 20 or 30 yards in advance, two sent back to the rear, a native tracker was stationed with two troopers on each flank, from 40 to 50 yards distant. Captain Battye, Sir Frederick, Mr. Mitchell and Detective Lyons rode in the centre, and thus the party proceeded without molestation to Forbes by easy stages, reaching that township on Monday morning.

Meanwhile the bushrangers had entirely disappeared, and jocular people spread the report that they had retired to "recruit and devise plans" for attacking every police station in the colony in turn. It was somewhat mortifying to Lyons to know that the notes (£115), which had been found upon Turner, had disappeared with his horse when he fell off, and that the bushrangers had regained possession of them.

A few days afterwards a man named Darcey was arrested by Trooper Flanagan at Murrumburrah, and the week following a man named Turner was arrested at Yass. Who they really were and what became of them will be seen as the story proceeds.

Meanwhile Sergeant Sanderson had been busy in a locality nearer home, and had arrested three men, named Patrick O'Meally, John O'Meally and—Trotter, at Forbes, on suspicion of being concerned in the robbery; and they were held under remand with the gold, as already described, taken from the men that he had encountered.

Shortly after this a startling wire reached the colony from Melbourne to the effect that Gardiner had been arrested with two other bushrangers at Grant's station, in Victoria, and that one of the bushrangers had been shot; but the falsity of this rumour was made manifest by the report of a somewhat sensational encounter between Gardiner and Sir Frederick Pottinger and Senior-Sergeant Sanderson, near Wheogo. The particulars of this encounter may be given in Sir Frederick's own words, and here is his story:–

On Sunday morning at half-past 3, said he, I apprehended a youth named Walsh at the residence of his brother, at Wheogo; being aware that Frank Gardiner, the bushranger, was enamoured of Mrs. Brown, and believing that he would take advantage of her husband's absence to tender his addresses, I proceeded on Saturday with eight men to the premises; I arrived at 12 p.m., and leaving four of the men in charge I went with Senior-Sergeant Sanderson and Trooper Holster to watch the place; I subsequently sent Sub-Inspector Norton and Trooper Holster to guard the front while Senior-Sergeant Sanderson and I hid ourselves in the bush; we discovered the house dark and silent as though everybody was asleep; after about half an hour we saw a light struck and in a few minutes a woman made her appearance and commenced to collect wood for the purpose of making a fire, but neither Sergeant Sanderson nor I could identify the woman, as we were concealed at a distance of 150 yards from where she was standing, in a thick pine-tree scrub; it might be 20 or 25 minutes after my seeing the woman that I observed a man mounted on a white horse approaching Brown's house at a quiet pace, upon which I called upon Sanderson to fall back, and we did so to our original position; suddenly the noise of horse's hoofs sounded nearer and nearer, when I saw Gardiner cantering leisurely along; I waited until he came within five yards of me, and levelling my carbine at him across his horse's shoulder (the weapon, I swear, being about three yards from his body) I called upon him to stand; I cannot be mistaken, and on my oath I declare that the man was Frank Gardiner; deeming it not advisable to lose a chance I prepared to shoot him, but the cap of my piece missed fire; Gardiner's horse then began to rear and plunge, and before I had time to adjust my gun, he had bolted into the bush; as Gardiner was riding away on the back of the frightened animal. Sergeant Sanderson fired at him, as also did Holster; I called out to those who could hear me to "shoot the wretch." Gardiner, however, made his escape; we then proceeded to Mrs. Brown's house, and having seen her she frankly admitted that Gardiner had been at her place; I saw a bed made upon the sofa, and a four-post bedstead with a bed upon it in which two persons had been reposing; the boy Walsh was in it asleep and he declared that he had heard no noise and did not know what had happened; he had lodgings at his mother's and was not obliged to sleep where he was found; I immediately arrested him; on the table in the kitchen I saw the debris of a supper, a bottle of gin, a flask of powder and a box of revolver caps; some few days ago I received information that Gardiner had been seen, accompanied by a lad answering the appearance of Walsh, near to Mrs. Walsh's residence, and that while a man named Humphreys was stuck-up on the road a youth like Walsh held Gardiner's horse while he perpetrated the robbery; when I came across the bushranger's camp a short time since I picked up a small monkey jacket, only large enough for a boy to wear; Walsh says he is 17 years of age, but I don't think he is more than 15; I may add that the gun missing fire was purely an accident, as Sergeant Condell, when he loaded it, took every precaution to prevent the misadventure.

To be continued

Sources:

1. THE BUSHRANGERS (1915, May 11). The Farmer and Settler (Sydney, NSW : 1906 - 1955), p. 7.
2. THE BUSHRANGERS (1915, May 14). The Farmer and Settler (Sydney, NSW : 1906 - 1955), p. 6.