s 
 

 OLD TALES 
 
 A YOUNG COUNTEY. 
 
OLD TALES 
 
 A YOUNG COUNTBY. 
 
 BY 
 
 MARCUS CLARKE, 
 
 Secretary to the Trustees of the Public Library, Museums. 6°r., Melbourne. 
 
 gUlbOlU'lU : 
 
 MASON, FIRTH, & M'CUTCHEON. GENERAL I'RINTKK: 
 5J & 53 Flini)ERs Lane wk-: 
 
TO 
 
 T H E TRUSTEES 
 
 'lublrc $ib?atg, puscums, # lattcwal 6aUctp o( Victoria, 
 
 this little work is inscribed, 
 
 BY THEIR OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 wte*J775l\ 
 

 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Settlement of Sydney ..... 1 
 
 George Barrington, Pickpocket and Historian . 8 
 
 William Buckley, the "Wild White Man 1 ' . . 19 
 
 A Leaf from an Old Newspaper . . . 31 
 
 The Rum-Puncheon Revolution . . . .38 
 
 The Rule of the Bushranger .... 53 
 
 The Adventures of Captain Jorgentson . . .66 
 
 Governor Ralph Darling's Iron Collar . . 10G 
 
 The Settler in Tasmania Fifty Years Ago . .117 
 
 The Seizure of the ''Cyprus" .... 133 
 
 The Last of Macquarie Harbour . . . .141 
 
 Tjie South Australian Bubble . . . . 157 
 
 An Australian Crusoe . . . . .167 
 
 The First Queensland Explorer . . . 185 
 
 John Mitchel's Escape from Van Diemen's Land . W6 
 
 ERRATUM. 
 
 t'fiiro ■"-, line 18 — f < >r '• jrr«i n <1 f a 1h or,"' road '"falbci 
 
OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 THE SETTLEMENT OF SYDNEY. 
 
 At daylight on the 13th May, L787, His Majesty's ship 
 
 "Sirius" made signal to sail to a little Heel that had 1 n 
 
 lying off the Mother Bank since the lGth of March. This 
 little fleet was destined to carry Governor Phillip to take 
 formal possession of Botany Bay, a place recommended to 
 the Government as suitable for a convict station. 
 
 The fleet was not a large one. It consisted of His 
 Majesty's ships "Sirius,"' "Supply," and '"Hyena'' (the 
 latter only acting as convoy for a certain distance), three 
 victualling ships with two years' stores and provisions for 
 the settlement, and six transports with troops and convicts. 
 The major-commandant and his staff were on board the 
 " Sirius," and the transports carried about 200 officers and 
 soldiers, together with 775 convicts, consisting of olio men. 
 192 women, and 18 children. The list of the military force, 
 as given by Captain Watkin French, of the Marines (from 
 whose account of the expedition the minuter details of thi> 
 paper are derived), is worth noting — 4 captains, 12 suhal 
 terns, 24 sergeants and corporals, 8 drummers, and 100 
 private marines; and he adds that the majority of tin- 
 prisoners were mechanics and husbandmen specially selec 
 by order of the Government. Having got through the 
 Needles with a "fresh leading breeze," the convicts began to 
 repine at their lot; but on the morning of tin- 20th, g*-ttiny 
 their irons knocked off by order of tin- commandant, and 
 sending a few messages to England by the " Hyena, ' which 
 parted company that afternoon, matters began to assume a 
 more cheerful aspect. 
 
 Let us glance for a moment at the state of affairs in 
 Europe. It was seven years after the Gordon riots and (In- 
 burning of Newgate. American independence had In en 
 already declared, and the blood shed at Bunker's Hill had 
 caused the tree of liberty to blossom and bud. Admiral 
 
 D 
 
2 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Kempenfelt and the " Royal George" had gone down at 
 Spithead. William Pitt was 29 years old, and had been 
 Premier of England for four years. The steam-engine had 
 supplanted the hand-loom in the cotton mills for nearly three 
 years. Poor Peg Nicholson had just stabbed at George III., 
 and Edmund Burke had thrown the first stone at Warren 
 Hastings. Washington was on the eve of his presidency, 
 and the Convocation of Notables was waiting to be con- 
 voked. It was the age of mail coaches, knee-breeches, frogs, 
 Frenchmen, taxation, and wooden shoes. England was yet 
 bleeding from her struggle with her colonies, and the 
 thundercloud of revolution hung over France. Napoleon 
 had just got his commission us sub-lieutenant, and the 
 Bastille had not yet fallen. 
 
 After touching at Teneriffe on the 3rd June — where a 
 
 convict made a desperate attempt to escape by seizing a boat 
 
 in the night and rowing off to a small cove, from which he 
 
 intended to "cross to the Great Canaries'" — and at Rio de 
 
 Janeiro on the 7th August, the fleet cast anchor in Table 
 
 Bay on the 13th of October, and found the harbour crowded 
 
 with shipping. At the Cape they remained until the 12th 
 
 of November, and took on board 2 bulls, 7 cows, 3 horses, 
 
 -44 sheep, 32 hogs, besides goats and poultry, for the purpose 
 
 of stocking the settlement. A few officers also purchased 
 
 live stock, but found it an inconvenient proceeding, as hay 
 
 cost lGs. the hundredweight. It was also gratifying to the 
 
 expedition to be informed by the master of an American 
 
 ship, 140 days from Boston, on a trading voyage to the East 
 
 Indies, and rescuer of the officers and crew of the ' ; Har- 
 
 eourt," wrecked on the Cape de Verde Islands, that " if a 
 
 reception could be secured, emigration would take place to 
 
 New South Wales, not only from the old continent but the 
 
 new one, where the spirit of adventure and thirst for 
 
 novelty were excessive.' 7 
 
 Meeting with contrary winds, Governor Phillip resolved to 
 change his pennant from the " Sirius " to the "Supply," and 
 proceed on his way without waiting for the rest of the fleet. 
 On the 25th, therefore, the separation took place, several 
 sawyers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other mechanics being 
 drafted from various ships into the " Supply," in order that 
 His Excellency might get a few buildings run up by the 
 time the fleet should arrive. The fleet itself was put into 
 two divisions, the first, consisting of three transports, under 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF SYDNEY. [\ 
 
 the command of Lieutenant Bird ; and the second, comprising 
 the victuallers and remaining transports, was left in charge 
 of Captain Hunter, of the " Sirius." Sailing in tins order 
 then, on the 7th January. 1788, the expedition sighted the 
 shore of New South Wales, but the westerly wind dying 
 away, the little squadron was compelled to hold oil' the shore, 
 and did not get sight of it again until the 10th, and on the 
 morning of the 20th— a dull, heavy, and cloudy day tie- 
 last division cast anchor in the harbour, and was welcomed 
 by the already-arrived "Supply" and her illustrious passen- 
 ger. The voyage had taken exactly :>o weeks, and out of 
 II- marines His Majesty had lost hut one. making up for 
 it, however, by the death of 24 out of the 700 convicts. 
 
 The stay in the bay was not of long duration. The 
 Governor and Lieutenant-Governor (Mr. Robert li<»s) 
 started to explore the country the next morning, and getting 
 into an opening called by Captain Cook "Port Jackson," 
 were so struck with the advantages of the place that it was 
 determined instantly to remove thither. On setting sail the 
 next morning, however, a great alarm spread through the 
 fleet: two large ships were seen standing in for the mouth of 
 the bay! All sorts of rumours were afloat. It was the 
 vanguard of a Dutch fleet come to dispossess them. It was 
 an armed vessel of war, and her consort. It was a store- 
 ship from England. Governor Phillip, however, stayed the 
 panic by making public announcement that the strange sail 
 were French ships under the command of M. de La Perrouse. 
 The next morning the two nations saluted each other as they 
 passed with flags flying in the solitary bay. After a few 
 hours run to Port Jackson, during which time the party 
 admired the luxuriant prospect of its shores, among which 
 many of the "Indians" were frequently seen, they anchored 
 in a snug cove, and on the next day commenced to disem- 
 bark. 
 
 Setting vigorously to work to cut down the trees, set up 
 the tents, and mark out the dimensions of their future home, 
 the expedition passed away some weeks pleasantly enough. 
 The Governor fixed his residence on the eastern side of a 
 small rivulet at the head of the cove, with a large body of 
 convicts encamped near him; and on the western side were 
 stationed the remaining body of prisoners, with guards postal 
 over them night and day. The pressure of business -that 
 is to say, the making of huts and daubing «>f wattles pre 
 
 !', 2 
 
4 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 vented the immediate reading of the commissions, but on 
 the 7 tli of February the colony was taken possession of in 
 due form. On that day the officers of the guard took post 
 in the Marine battalion, which was drawn up and marched 
 off the parade, with colours flying and music playing, to an 
 adjoining ground which had been cleared for the occasion, 
 and upon which the convicts were assembled. The judge- 
 advocate, David Collins, Esq., then read His Majesty's com- 
 mission, which appointed His Excellency Arthur Phillip, 
 Esq., Governor and Captain-General in and over the ter 
 ritory of New South Wales and its dependencies. Upon 
 this His Excellency made a judicious speech to the convicts, 
 assuring them of his desire to treat them fairly and 
 kindly, and read an Act of Parliament for the establishment 
 of laws, and patents for holding civil and criminal courts. 
 Three volleys were fired by the troops, who then marched 
 back to their parade and were reviewed by His Excellency, 
 the day's proceedings winding up by a "cold collation" in 
 His Excellency's newly-erected tent, and the " drinking 
 of many loyal and public toasts." We can imagine the 
 happy little picnic party in the cool of the evening drinking 
 prosperity to Port Jackson, with the '•Indians" handy in 
 the adjoining bush, and about 1200 square feet of cleared 
 land round about them, all unwitting of goldfields, Batlmrst 
 rushes, separation of Victoria, land acts, universal suffrage, 
 and the like. 
 
 The extent of the Governor's authority by this commission 
 is defined to reach from 4o° 39' south to lat. 10° 37' south; 
 and commencing again at the 135° of longitude east of 
 Greenwich, it proceeds in an easterly direction, and includes 
 all islands within the limits of the specified latitudes in the 
 Pacific Ocean.''" As far as regarded his authority over his 
 governed subjects, he was absolute; he had no council; he 
 could imprison at will, and pardon at will. 
 
 He was soon called upon to exercise his power. Four 
 days after the conciliatory speech, three convicts were 
 brought to trial. One was convicted of striking a marine 
 with a cooper's adze, and received 150 lashes for his pains. 
 Another, for theft, was marooned on an adjoining island, 
 and kept there on bread and water for a week; while a 
 third, sentenced to receive 50 lashes, was pardoned by the 
 
 Captain French says 43° 4i)'; Flanagan, 43° 29' 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OK SYDNEY. fj 
 
 grace of the Governor. On tlie 28th of February ;i " muti- 
 nous plot" was discovered among the convicts, who IkkI 
 planned to steal the provisions and take to the bush. Kour 
 were arraigned, three sentenced to death, and the fourth to 
 be flogged. Only one, however, was executed -the ring- 
 leader, Thomas Barrett, "an old and desperate offender, who 
 died with a hardy spirit." He was swung off the limb of 
 a big tree, near which were assembled the whole body of 
 convicts, guarded by the battalion of marines. 
 
 The constitution of the court by which these fellows were 
 tried was rather peculiar. The number of members, includ- 
 ing the judge-advocate, was limited to seven, who are 
 expressly ordered to be officers of either army or navy. The 
 court being met in military fashion — armed — the judge 
 advocate swears in the members in the manner adopted 
 towards jurymen, and is afterwards sworn in himself in the 
 same manner. The crime is then put to the prisoner and 
 the prosecution is left entirely to the person at whose suit 
 he is tried. The witnesses are all examined on oath, and 
 the decision is directed to be given according to the laws of 
 England, "or as nearly as may be, allowing for the circum- 
 stances and situation of the settlement," by a majority of 
 votes. In capital cases, however, five out of the seven 
 members must concur to make a verdict. During the 
 sitting of the court, the court-house was surrounded by a 
 guard under arms, and admission granted to any one who 
 might choose to enter it. 
 
 On the loth February Lieutenant Bull sailed for Norfolk 
 Island, a place concerning which the " Ministry *' had heard 
 great reports, and took with him Lieutenant King as com- 
 mandant, a surgeon, a midshipman, a weaver, two marines, 
 and sixteen convicts, of whom six were women. Events 
 went on quietly enough. The natives, or " Indians"' as they 
 seem to have been called, were friendly, and viewed with 
 astonishment the white skins and shaven chins of the new 
 comers. Governor Phillip seems to have protected them 
 from insult, and they in return behaved with some civility, 
 though occasionally asserting their freedom by knocking m 
 the skull of some 'aggressive convict. They were ;> poor set 
 of creatures going entirely naked, sleeping m a sort ot 
 coffin of bark, eating roots and refusing rum: but when 
 roused they could be dangerous. Their weapons were 
 stone hatchets, wooden swords, spears, and clubs. The 
 
OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 dingo, that pest of the early squatters, was quite domes- 
 ticated in those days. Governor Phillip had one given 
 to him as a present by a friendly native, and thought 
 it something like a fox. With the aspect and appear- 
 ance of the colony the settlers seemed more than satisfied, 
 but they complained bitterly at first of the bad grain 
 of the wood. Snakes were plentiful, and the emu and 
 kangaroo alarmed the female convicts greatly. The soil 
 seemed well adapted for agriculture, and the vegetables 
 planted by the garrison grew very successfully. The notion 
 of " mines," which it would appear had possessed the brain 
 of some wild dreamer in England, was speedily laughed to 
 scorn, although Governor Phillip observed a "prodigious 
 chain of mountains," running north and south, at a distance 
 of some 60 miles inland, which he thought might be worth 
 exploring. 
 
 In the middle of March the French departed on the pro- 
 secution of their voyage. Their ships — under the command 
 of M. de La Perrouse— had sailed from France on the 1st 
 August, 1785, and as all the world knows, were not destined 
 to get back again. While at Botany Bay the abbe Bece- 
 veur, naturalist attached to the expedition, died, and was 
 buried on the north shore, with a plate of copper attached 
 to a tree above his grave. 
 
 On the 20th March the " Supply" returned from Norfolk 
 Island, having safely landed Lieutenant King. Lieutenant 
 Bull reported that the Norfolk pines were very large, but 
 regretted much that he could not find any New Zealand 
 flax, arguing badly for the future commercial prosperity of 
 the colony from that circumstance. 
 
 Winter now coming on, the erection of barracks was set 
 about with great vigour, and the privates of each company 
 undertook to build for themselves two wooden houses, 68 
 feet in length and 23 feet in breadth, but were compelled to 
 abandon the undertaking and proceed on a more limited 
 scale. The plan of the town, moreover, was drawn out, and 
 it being agreed that "to proceed on a narrow conlined scale 
 in a country of the extensive 1 limits we possess would be 
 unpardonable, extent of empire commanding grandeur of 
 design," the principal street was laid down 200 feet in 
 breadth, and the rest in corresponding proportion. Possessed 
 with the same admirable notions, His Excellency undertook 
 an expedition into the interior. His party consisted of 
 
THE SETTLEMENT OF SYDNEY. 7 
 
 eleven persons, but at the end of four days, provisions gn> w 
 ing scarce, it was deemed prudent to return. 
 
 Now the troubles began. Fresh meat began to fail. The 
 ''Supply" went to Howe's Island (discovered on her formei 
 trip) to look for turtle, but found none. Fish became 
 scarce. It was not thought prudent to kill the live stock 
 bought at so great an expense at the Cape, and the settle 
 ment was compelled to live almost entirely on salt provi 
 sions. As a natural consequence, scurvy broke out: vege 
 tables were scarce, and the garrison fell sick. It drew mai 
 the time for the departure of the ships for Europe, and 
 earnest representations were made concerning the supply of 
 fresh meat. But there was a hopeful spirit abroad. 
 
 On the anniversary of the King's birthday all the offieei-s 
 dined with the Governor, and among other toasts drunk 
 was that of "Prosperity of Sydney Cove, in Cumberland 
 County." At daylight the ships fired 21 guns each, which 
 was repeated at noon, and answered by three volleys from 
 the battalion of marines. Each prisoner received an allow- 
 ance of grog, and — glorious day — ''every non-commissioned 
 officer and private soldier had the honour of drinking II is 
 Majesty's health in a pint of porter, served out at the tlag 
 staff." Three days' holiday were given to every convict on 
 the island, and four felons who had been marooned in irons 
 were allowed to rejoin their comrades. This indulgence, 
 however, was followed by ill effects. A prisoner named 
 Samuel Peyton, twenty years of age, broke open an officer's 
 marquee, with intent to commit robbery, for which offence 
 he was tried and hung, together with another man. named 
 Corbett, who had attempted to escape. 
 
 On the 14th ©f July, 1788, the ships, with the exception 
 of the "Sirius" and the "Supply," which had gone to Nor 
 folk Island, sailed for England, to report to the British 
 Government that the colony of Port Jackson had been 
 successfully established. 
 
 Looking back — while a boy yells latest Sydney telegrams 
 under my window — from the new story of 1871 to this old 
 story of 1788, it seems worth the retelling. 
 
 *3 
 
GEOBGE BAEEINGTON, 
 
 f ichpocket m\h 'gnstonan. 
 
 Most people have heard of George Barrington,the pickpocket. 
 His name has become notorious — I had almost written famous 
 — for gentlemanly larceny. Bulwer has dished up an imita- 
 tion of him in Paul Clifford, and Lever has introduced him 
 bodily into The 'Donoghue. I read once a highly-spiced 
 romance called by his name, and purporting to be an account 
 of his doings, in that oracle of nurserymaids the London 
 Journal, and I came very near to seeing a sensation drama 
 in five acts, of which he was the intelligent hero. I have 
 heard his name mentioned with almost as much admiration 
 as that of Jack Sheppard by pipe-smoking " old hands," 
 yarning while the sheep were camped ; and I have seen a 
 picture of him- — Claude Duval dashed with Almaviva — pre- 
 siding at a banquet as the Prince of Prigs. That he ivas the 
 prince of prigs in the age of the first gentleman in Europe, 
 there can be no doubt. He robbed with grace, and broke 
 the eighth commandment with an air. He was not such a 
 grand speculator as Price, otherwise Old Patch ; he did not 
 ride so dashingly as Claude Duval ; he had not the more solid 
 qualities of M. Vidocq, nor the enterprising financial ability 
 of Sir John Dean Paul; but he was, in his way, as smart a 
 fellow as any of them. He lived merrily all his life, and 
 having been transported, made the best of his altered circum- 
 stances, took the goods the gods provided him, became 
 superintendent of convicts at Parramatta, wrote a history of 
 his adopted country, and died in the odour of respectability. 
 It is on account of his latter exploit in the way of author- 
 ship that I have elected to tell the true story of his life in 
 these pages. Strangely enough, however, though Messrs. 
 Sherwood, Neily, and Jones, of 5 Newgate-street, London, 
 published, in the year 1810, in two volumes quarto, a 
 History of New South, Wales, by George Barrington, super- 
 intendent of convicts, the literary fame of its author was not 
 
GEORGE BARRINGTON, PICKPOCKET AND HISTORIAN'. "J 
 
 much enhanced. His speeches, at Lis trials, were excellent 
 but his writing is execrable. The History is a very slip- 
 slop piece of work; and is, moreover, according to Dr. Liny 
 untrustworthy.* As a thief, Mr. Barrington was not above 
 suspicion. As an author, he is beneath contempt. One 
 would have thought that so ingenious a stealer of other 
 men's property could not but have succeeded in literature; 
 but, strange to say, he neglected the advantages afforded by 
 his early training, and consequently has not achieved literary 
 distinction. 
 
 George Barrington was born in the year 17of) at May- 
 nooth, in Kildare. His real name was Waldron, and his 
 parents seem to have occupied the position of respectable 
 cottagers. They were themselves in straitened circumstances, 
 and their son would have grown up without education had 
 not his precocious talents attracted the attention of a bene- 
 volent clergyman, who placed the lad at school in Dublin. 
 He was liberally supplied with money by his patron, who 
 announced his intention of starting him in life. At sixteen 
 years of age. hoAvever, he quarrelled with another lad, and 
 stabbed him with a penknife. For this, Waldron was 
 severely flogged, and smarting as much from wounded vanity 
 as from loss of cuticje, he determined to run away. The 
 same night he packed up his clothes, stole twelve guineas 
 from his master, and a gold repeater from his master's sister, 
 and scaling the school wall, set out in the middle of the 
 night to seek his fortune. Such as it was, he soon found it. 
 Putting up the next evening at a small inn in the town of 
 Drogheda, he heard that a company of strolling players 
 were to perform that night, and, boy-like, went to see them. 
 
 The manager of this company was a man named Price. 
 He was of gentlemanly exterior, of reputed good family, and 
 agreeable figure, but having been detected in the commission 
 of some fraud, was outlawed to Ireland. Price fell in with 
 the boy, took a fancy to him, heard his story, and enrolled 
 him as a member of his company. Burning with theatrical 
 ambition, Barrington— as he now called himself essayed 
 the part of Jaffier in Venice Preserved, and made a hit. He 
 had a speaking eye, a good figure, a handsome fact', some 
 
 * Mr. West says that Barrington did not write the history at all. hut 
 that the booksellers pirated Colonel Collins" Xnr Smith Wales, and 
 affixed the pickpocket name as an attraction. \\ est s '/Minima, vol. 
 ii., p. 145. 
 
10 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 talent, and a prodigious memory. The last two qualities 
 gave him success in his new role ; the first. three gained him 
 the heart of the Belvidera of the night. This was a young 
 girl of respectable connections and some education, who had 
 been seduced and deserted by a lieutenant of marines, and 
 thrown upon her own resources for a livelihood. She 
 appears, however, to have been more sinned against than 
 sinning, and to have in some degree merited the affection 
 which the ardent, impulsive youth showed for her. Into this 
 liaison Barrington, like the young gentleman in the " Dis- 
 owned," fell — or jumped — headlong, and the company secured 
 his services. 
 
 For some time life seemed cheery enough. With love in 
 the person of the lively actress, and fame in the shape of the 
 thumpings of the thick sticks of an Irish audience, Barring- 
 ton was satisfied. But soon there came a change. At Lon- 
 donderry, Manager Price announced that he was in diffi- 
 culties. Barrington's stolen watch had long ago disappeared, 
 and the twelve guineas had quickly melted in the sun of 
 Belvidera's smiles. The " company" — poor devils — had not 
 a sou amongst them. In this dilemma Mr. Price suggested 
 pocket-picking, and Barrington — with Belvidera in tears — 
 consented. What with pocket-picking and play-acting the 
 winter of 1771 passed pleasantly enough, but falling sick of 
 a fever, Barrington was left behind by the ungrateful Price, 
 and came near dying. Belvidera, however, refused to desert 
 her lover, and nursed him to a recovery. A few weeks 
 after, the poor faithful wicked little soul — she was only 
 eighteen — was drowned crossing the Boyne. 
 
 Barrington, upon this, set out to look for Price, and found 
 him at Cork, picking pockets. He told him of his loss. 
 
 " Join your fortunes with mine, lad !" says Price over a 
 bowl of punch. " Fools were made for men like us to live 
 upon!" 
 
 The compact was soon made. Barrington took the part 
 of a young gentleman of fashion, and Price that of his tutor. 
 They frequented assemblies, balls, and races, and by the 
 end of the year made .£1000. Emboldened by success, 
 Price became less cautious in his operations, was detected, 
 convicted, and sent to the plantations. His hopeful pupil, 
 turning his head from the card-table, saw the arrest of his 
 friend, and with a plausible excuse, rose, slipped out, and 
 took horse for Dublin. 
 
GEORGE BARRINGTON, PICKPOCKET AND HISTORIAN. 1 1 
 
 At Dublin, he was caught on the racecourse, but, restor- 
 ing the snatched purse to its owner, was permitted to 
 escape. Judging that the story would soon get wind, he 
 wisely started for London. 
 
 Now begins a new phase in his career. He had been the 
 Bohemian, the strolling player, the ban camarado of bully- 
 rooks and swindlers. He would take a new line of action. 
 He would be the gentleman, the gamester, the man of 
 fashion. He sailed in the " Dorset " yacht (which had on 
 board the Duke of Leinster), and there he made the acquaint- 
 ance of a Mr. H. Mr. H. was a pigeon of admirable; feather. 
 Rich, and of good family, he was well worth the plucking. 
 Young, vain, and innocent, he was easy to be plucked. To 
 this young man Barring-ton introduced himself as a man of 
 fortune " travelling for his health." and they soon became 
 firm friends. With the remnant of his Irish booty, Bar- 
 rmgton rivalled his friend in extravagance, and the two 
 seem to have seen the usual round of London dissipation. 
 When Mr. H, wanted money, he drew a cheque on his 
 bankers; when Mr. Barrington's funds were low, he picked 
 a pocket. Meanwhile, the dice-box rattled, and the cards 
 were dealt frequently. E carte was a favourite game of the 
 fashionable Mr. Barrington, and he had a knack of "turning 
 the king " that was both curious and profitable. It was not 
 fated, however, that he should keep his dish all to himself. 
 One night at Ranelagh, while indulging in his usual depre- 
 dations, he was accosted by a stranger. " I know you. ' 
 said this man; "I came over in the yacht with you from 
 Ireland. I saw you pick that gentleman's pocket. You are 
 a scoundrel, sir; and unless you divide, I hand you over t<> 
 the police !" 
 
 The booty was nearly £100 in gold, and some five watches, 
 but the virtuous stranger was firm. They adjourned to ;i 
 tavern, and Barrington divided the spoil. 
 
 The stranger turned out to be a swindler named James, 
 who had been the possessor of £300 a-year; but having 
 ruined himself at the gaming-table, had turned highwayman. 
 A bullet wound received on Finchley Common incapacitated 
 him for his profession, and he then turned parson and pick 
 pocket. With this worthy, Barrington joined his fortunes, 
 and introducing him to poor H. as " Captain" James, the two 
 rooked him without mercy. 
 
 The "Thatched House" and the "Devil's Tavern" at 
 
12 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Temple Bar were the favourite resorts of the two friends, 
 and they soon became famous for their easy bearing and 
 gentlemanly address. Cautious and cool, Barrington mixed 
 in the best society, and picked its aristocratic pockets with- 
 out detection. The noblemen of his acquaintance bewailed 
 their losses to him, and he cheered them with his sympathy, 
 or roused them with his wit. The memory which enabled 
 him to play Jaffier at twelve hours' notice stood him in 
 stead in his new part of gentleman of quality. He read 
 largely, and remembered what he read. His natural talents 
 were great, his impudence unbounded, his nerve admirable; 
 lie was Barry Lyndon varnished; he wanted but a touch of 
 genius to become Vautrin. 
 
 In the summer of 1775 he visited the " waters" in com- 
 pany with other dandies, and at Brighton — then called 
 Brightelmstone, and only in the bud of its Georgian blossom 
 — he fell in with Lord Ancaster and Sir Alexander Leith, 
 and was entertained by them with much gravity. During 
 this time he still continued his partnership wi:Ii James, who 
 acted as jackal to the more noble beast of prey, and found 
 out his game for him. Moreover, in his late profession of 
 high toby man, Mr. James had become acquainted with 
 that useful creature, a "fence," or receiver of stolen goods, 
 who purchased the commodities which the firm had for sale, 
 and asked no questions. It is just probable that Barrington 
 imagined that his partner — jackal as he Avas — retained the 
 lion's share of the booty, for in the beginning of the next 
 spring I find him employing a Mr. Lowe as his chancellor 
 of the exchequer. 
 
 Lowe had been a livery-stable keeper, landlord of a sport- 
 ing public-house, and usurer. His last speculation, while it 
 enriched him considerably, enlarged his circle of acquaint- 
 ance. He took a respectable house in Bloomsbury, lived 
 like a man of easy fortune, and '"'put away'' large quantities 
 of stolen goods. To him Barrington linked his fortunes. 
 James, at first disgusted, and then indignant, appears to 
 have accepted the inevitable, and retired into private life. 
 Like the wicked marquise of the old, or the B^cky Sharpe of 
 the modern Balzac, he "sought the consolations of religion." 
 He retired to a monastery, and left all his earnings to the 
 Church. Lowe, by the way, was not so fortunate. He was 
 tried for firing a hospital at Kentish Town, of which he was 
 treasurer, and poisoned himself in prison in 1771). 
 
GEORGE BARRINGTON, PICKPOCKET AND HISTORIAN. 1 '.I 
 
 In conjunction with this worthy man Barrington rapidly 
 rose to eminence. He went to Court on the Queen's birth 
 day, and in addition to innumerable snuff-boxes and purses, 
 cut off the collar of an Order of the Garter, and sold the 
 diamonds to a Dutch Jew who came over from Holland each 
 year to purchase stolen jewels. Encouraged by his success, 
 he next attempted to steal Prince Orloff's diamond snuff- 
 box, at Covent-garden Theatre. This box was of gold, 
 thickly studded with brilliants, and was presented to the 
 illustrious Russian by the Empress Catherine. It was sup- 
 posed to be worth £30,000. Barrington seated himself next 
 the Prince and secured the box, but the Russian caught him 
 by the collar, and handed him over to the police. Being 
 brought before Sir John Fielding, the wily prisoner set forth 
 a sad case with such semblance of truth that the good-natured 
 Prince declined to press the charge, and he escaped with a 
 caution. This exposure,, however, ruined his social reputation, 
 and being turned out of his old haunts he was compelled to 
 hunt smaller game. In 1777 he was detected picking the 
 pocket of a trull at Drury-lane Theatre, and was sentenced 
 to three years' hard labour in the hulks. Here his behaviour 
 was so good that he was released after twelve months, and 
 six months after his liberation was again detected picking 
 pockets at St. Sepulchre's Church, and sentenced for five 
 years. The "hulks" of those days was a terrible place. 
 Men and women were crowded together. Oaths, dirt, drink, 
 and the cat embroidered the prison garments. Prisoners 
 were treated like beasts, and behaved like beasts. The lash 
 cut the manhood out of them. Here Barrington seems to 
 have suffered severely in mind and body. He tried to escape 
 twice and to stab himself once, but was unsuccessful in all 
 three efforts. His misery, however, attracted the attention 
 of a wealthy associate of former days, who, exerting his in- 
 fluence with the Government, succeeded in getting Barring- 
 ton's release, on condition that he should exile himself, as 
 his old patron, manager Price, had done, to Ireland. Here 
 he resumed his old occupation, until Dublin was too hot to 
 hold him; and then taking Scotland by the way, returned to 
 England. 
 
 His star shone brighter now than ever. He stole £G00 
 at Chester, £1000 at" York, and 500 guineas at Bath. He 
 was the chat of the coffee-houses, the scandal of the wells. 
 His person was well known. He was the hero of a hundred 
 
14 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 stories. He achieved a reputation for gallantry. Fine 
 ladies were in love with him, or professed to be. He was 
 reported to have robbed the King's coach, and to have in- 
 trigued with a royal duchess. He was captured once or 
 twice, but always escaped. He had plenty of money, and 
 turnkeys — in those days, at all events — were not angels. 
 He jumped from one disguise to another with the nimble- 
 ness of a harlequin. Now he was here, now there. One 
 day he would be a quack doctor at Bath, the next a respect- 
 able bagman at Gloucester. He kept an E.O. table at the 
 races on Monday, and on Tuesday borrowed ,£20 as a 
 Methodist missionary desirous of turning heathen souls to 
 God. Even when arrested, his wit and manners saved him 
 from the ready rope. Being seized at Newcastle, he was 
 sent in irons to Newgate, but pleaded so successfully with 
 his friends, that they raised 100 guineas for him, and spend- 
 ing it in feeing an astute counsel, he escaped again through 
 some legal quibble. 
 
 At last he was caught and held tight. 
 
 A Mr. Henry Hare Townsend having entered a nag for 
 the Enfield races, had gone down to see how fortune would 
 turn. He had his watch and seals with him, in his waist- 
 coat pocket. As he was leading his horse down the course, 
 he was jostled by a person in light-coloured clothes, from 
 whom he demanded, with an oath, what he wanted, but got 
 no reply. A few moments after a Mr. Blades — a sporting 
 friend of his — came up, and asked him if he had not been 
 robbed. Clapping his hand to his pocket, he discovered the 
 loss of his watch, and instantly suspected the awkward 
 gentleman in buff. This was Barrington. Seeing him the 
 other side of the course, Townsend and Blades went round 
 
 and seized him, Townsend saying, "You d d rascal, 
 
 you've got my watch!" They took him into a booth, and 
 there several witnesses of credibility swore that they saw 
 him drop the stolen property. On Wednesday morning, 
 loth September, 1790. he was tried and convicted. 
 
 Barrington made an able defence, commenting on the 
 unfavourable opinion which the jury entertained of him, and 
 the facts that no one saw him take the watch, nor could 
 absolutely swear that he dropped it. Referring to his 
 expectation of a death sentence, lie said that he should bear 
 it with fortitude, as he was innocent and maligned, but that 
 if time were given him to repent, he would do so without 
 
GEORGE BARRINGTON, PICKPOCKET AND HISTORIAN. 1 . r > 
 
 delay. The jury, impressed by his eloquence, sentenced him 
 to seven years' transportation. They could have hung him 
 if they chose. On Wednesday, the 22nd of September, the; 
 Recorder pronounced sentence on him, and the accomplished 
 scoundrel took leave of him in the following neat and appro- 
 priate speech, to which Mr. Owen Suffolk,"''' late of this 
 colony, could perhaps alone supply a parallel : — 
 
 " My Lord — I have a great deal to say in extenuation of 
 the crime for which I now stand convicted at this bar; but 
 upon consideration, I will not arrest the attention of the 
 honourable Court too long. Among the extraordinary vicis- 
 situdes incident to human nature, it is the peculiar and 
 unfortunate lot of some devoted persons to have their best 
 wishes and their most earnest endeavours to deserve the 
 good opinion of the most respectable part of society frus- 
 trated. Whatever they say, or whatever they do, every word 
 and its meaning, every action and its motive, is represented 
 in an unfavourable light, and is distorted from the real 
 intention of the speaker or the actor. That this has been 
 my unhappy fate does not seem to need much confirmation. 
 Every effort to deserve well of mankind, that my heart bore 
 witness to, its rectitude has been frustrated by such measures 
 as these, and consequently rendered abortive. Many of the 
 circumstances of my life, I can, without any violation of the 
 truth, declare to have therefore happened absolutely in spite 
 of myself. The world, my lord, has given me credit for 
 abilities, indeed much greater than I possess, and therefore 
 much more than I deserved; but I had never found any kind 
 hand to foster those abilities. I might ask, where was the 
 generous and powerful hand that was ever stretched forth to 
 rescue George Barrington from infamy ] In an age like this, 
 which in several respects is so justly famed for liberal senti- 
 ments, it was my severe lot that no noble-minded gentleman 
 stepped forward and said — 'Barrington, you are possessed 
 of talents which may be useful to society. I feel for your 
 situation, and as long as you act the part of a good citizen, I 
 will be your protector; you will have time and opportunity 
 to rescue yourself from the obloquy of your former conduct.' 
 
 * A convict who, after many imprisonments, wrote an aeeount of 
 his misdeeds, which under the title of " Days of Crime, and Years of 
 Suffering" was published in the Australasian, the principal weekly 
 family paper in Victoria. The talented author went to England, and 
 is again in jail. 
 
16 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Alas, my lord, George Barrington had never the supreme 
 felicity of having such comfort administered to his wounded 
 spirit. As matters have unfortunately turned out, the die 
 is cast; and as it is, I have resigned to my fate without one 
 murmur of complaint." 
 
 Being shipped off to his new home, Mr. Barrington not 
 only conducted himself with propriety, but did the State some 
 service. A mutiny broke out on board the convict-ship. 
 The convicts attempted to seize the vessel and take her to 
 America, " where," says Barrington in his account of the 
 voyage, " they expected to not only attain their liberty, but 
 receive a tract of land from Congress." The plot was laid 
 with some ingenuity, and on an occasion when the captain 
 and officers were below examining the stowage of the wine, 
 the mutineers attempted to get possession of the ship; but 
 Barrington, snatching up a handspike, kept the hatchway 
 until the officers came to his assistance. The two ring- 
 leaders were hung at the yard-arm that very afternoon, and 
 the others severely flogged. This service caused the gentle- 
 manly convict to receive some attention. He had the run of 
 the store-room on board, and was recommended to Governor 
 Phillip as soon as the ship anchored at Sydney. 
 
 The Governor received him with kindness, appointed him 
 superintendent of convicts, and in November, 1792, he 
 entered upon that office by virtue of one of the first warrants 
 of emancipation granted in the colony. 
 
 From this time Mr. Barrington seems to have conducted 
 himself with propriety, and to have given up the follies of 
 his youth. It is possible, indeed, that police Avere more 
 plentiful than purses in the land of his adoption. However, 
 he made an admirable superintendent of convicts, and would 
 address his petty officers in tones which yet faintly smacked 
 of the Phoenix and llanelagh. At the expiration of his 
 sentence he was but 44 years old, but he settled in Parra- 
 matta, and lived to a good old age, though I cannot find the 
 precise date of his death. The author of a little book called 
 Australian Discover;/ and Colonisation, published 1850, says 
 that at that time the interesting thief was still remembered 
 by some of the early residents as a very gentlemanly old 
 man, scrupulously neat in dress and courteous in deportment. 
 In addition to his " history," which he dedicated with 
 characteristic impudence to " His Gracious Majesty," Bar- 
 rington was the reputed author of the celebrated prologue to 
 
GEORGE BARRINGTON - , PICKPOCKET AND HISTORIAN. 17 
 
 the "Revenge," spoken on the lGtli January, 1790, at the 
 first dramatic performance given in the colony, and which 
 from the neatness of the couplet — 
 
 •• True patriots we, for be it understood. 
 We left our country for our country's good" — 
 
 has been often quoted. There is more reason, however, to 
 suppose that some officer of literary ability and cultivated 
 tastes was the author. No convict would have written 
 such a cutting satire upon colonial society and his own 
 pretensions to respectability. Moreover, the neatness of 
 the prologue is in striking contrast to the slovenliness of 
 the history. It is impossible to imagine that the same 
 hand wrote both. 
 
 •^a- 
 
WILLIAM BUCKLEY, 
 
 %ty "Mm Hb tie pan." 
 
 Every country can claim for itself a Robinson Crusoe of 
 home manufacture. He of Australia is William Buckley. 
 As the majority of reading Australians are aware, Vic- 
 toria — or, as it was originally called, Port Phillip — was 
 twice colonised: first, by Lieutenant-Governor Collins, 
 and, secondly, by Batman and Fawkner. The first was 
 a forced, the second a voluntary colonisation. Governor 
 Collins came in 1803, with convicts. Batman and Fawkner 
 came in 1835 with freemen. Buckley belonged to the 
 first expedition, and, the only white man who remained in 
 the country, he lived long enough to see the second. He 
 was one of the convicts brought out by Governor Collins, and 
 succeeded in escaping to the bush and maintaining himself 
 there for thirty -two years. His "picture in little" has been 
 often painted, but as perhaps few persons are familiar with the 
 details of his life and adventures, this sketch [compiled from 
 an account of his wanderings written by himself'] may not 
 prove unacceptable. 
 
 "William Buckley was born in 1780 at Macclesfield, in 
 Cheshire. His parents were poor folk, who cultivated young 
 William upon a little oatmeal. He had two brothers and a 
 sister, but at sixteen years of age he left them, and never saw 
 them more. Apprenticed to a bricklayer, he scorned the hod, 
 and longed, like Norval, to "follow to the field some warlike 
 lord." His father objected, but the Norval parallel still 
 holding good, " Heaven soon granted what his sire denied." 
 A sergeant in the Cheshire militia, assisted by ten guineas 
 bounty, proved too much for parental advice, and William 
 enlisted. He was at that time a prize for any recruiting 
 sergeant. His height was gigantic, his strength excessive, 
 and his brain-power feeble. He made a capital soldier. Getting 
 into the King's Own [4th Foot] he was sent to Holland, and 
 
WILLIAM BUCKLEY, THE ''WILD WHITE MAN." 19 
 
 fought there, receiving a wound in the hand. On his return 
 to England he obtained leave of absence, and indulged in 
 " riotous habits." His Dutch experiences did not appear to 
 have been of an improving kind. Possibly the army swore 
 as terribly in Flanders in the days of Buckley as it' did in 
 those of Captain Tobias Shandy. However, be that as it 
 may, Buckley would seem to have borne rather a bad charac- 
 ter, and being, as he neatly puts it, " implicated in an offence 
 that rendered me liable to punishment," to wit, receiving 
 stolen property, was tried at Chatham, found guilty, and 
 sentenced to the hulks. After six months' work at the 
 fortifications of Woolwich, he was ordered on board the 
 "Calcutta," bound for Australia; and from this date; his 
 story, as far as we are concerned with it, may be said to 
 commence. 
 
 Lieutenant- Colonel Collins, of the Royal Marines (who 
 had previously been Judge-Advocate to the colony of New 
 South Wales at its establishment by Governor Phillip), had 
 been compensated for loss of legitimate promotion by the 
 governorship of the projected colony of Van Diemen's Land 
 He was placed in command of the ships " Calcutta" and 
 "Ocean," with instructions to form a convict settlement on 
 the south-east coast of New Holland, and on the 27th April, 
 1803, left England for that purpose. A journal kept by 
 the Rev. R. Knopwood, chaplain on board the "Calcutta," 
 gives us some particulars of the adventure. 
 
 After a somewhat stormy voyage the expedition sighted 
 Port Phillip Heads at 5 a.m. on the 9th October, and moored 
 in the bay. After some prospecting of the adjoining land, 
 it was resolved to go higher up the bay, and eventually near 
 Point Lonsdale a site was fixed on for the new city, and the 
 stores were disembarked. On the 25th of October, at 8 a.m., 
 the British flag was hoisted; and it being the King's birth- 
 day into the bargain, some waste ol powder was occasioned. 
 The convicts were then divided into gangs, and put to work ; 
 and after a skirmish or two with the blacks, the colonists 
 began to shake themselves down. Our hero Buckley was 
 by this time in a position of some importance, and Mr. 
 Knopwood records that on the 2nd November a complaint 
 was made to him by the future Crusoe that " one Robert 
 Cannady had defrauded Buckley, the ' Governor's servant,' 
 of a waistcoat." Hearing the case in his capacity of magis- 
 trate, the worthy chaplain upheld Buckley's cause, and 
 
 c2 
 
20 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 ordered the waistcoat to be given up. Notwithstanding his 
 apparently comfortable condition, Buckley was discontented. 
 He complained that the rope's-end was a little too freely 
 administered, and that the work was too hard. A magazine 
 and store-house were the first public buildings erected, and 
 upon these Buckley — in virtue, I suppose, of his early lessons 
 under the Cheshire bricklayer — was employed. He had been 
 brickmaking or bricklaying for about three months when he 
 resolved to attempt his escape. Such attempts were frequent. 
 
 There seems to have been some wild notion abroad that 
 California was situated on the other side of the continent, 
 and that Sydney was within easy walking distance. The 
 prisoners were not very closely watched ; some of them were 
 employed at some distance from the barracks, and escape was 
 not difficult; but the character of the surrounding country 
 made any projected stroll to China or California a serious 
 matter, and in the majority of cases the poor ignorant fellows 
 returned with gaunt frames and hungry faces, begging to be 
 Hogged and fed. The Bev. Knopwood's journal is full of 
 attempted escapes, but he usually records one of two results 
 — a return or a death. The soldiers shot at any escaping 
 convict, and if they missed him. the settlement would con- 
 tent itself with the surety proved by sad experience, that in 
 a few days he would return to the camp, or his dead body 
 would be brought in by some exploring party. 
 
 On the 27th of December, one of these "escapes" took 
 place. At 9 p.m. six convicts endeavoured to make their 
 escape, of whom Buckley was one. They were beset by a 
 look-out party, and one man was shot. His name was Charles 
 Shaw. The next night great lires were seen at a distance, 
 and were supposed to be lit by the runaways. On the (>th of 
 January a search was made, the worthy chaplain himself 
 armed and assisting, but without any eifect. The colony 
 became alarmed. The absence of four men in the bush was a 
 bad example. The next day the drums beat to arms, and a 
 select body of marines were sent in pursuit of the fugitives; 
 but though they were tracked for fifty miles, they could not 
 be discovered. Believing that the absconders had died in the 
 bush, the commandant was satisfied, and refrained from 
 further exertions. On the 1 Gth of January, one of the party, 
 named M'Allender, came in and surrendered, giving up a 
 gun which he had stolen. He said that all the others had 
 died or been lost in the bush. This intelligence was for the 
 
WILLIAM BL'CKLEY, TIIK "WILD WIUTK MAN. 21 
 
 colonists satisfactory, and in four days the occurrence was 
 almost forgotten. Indeed, the Governor ami his oiliccrs had 
 something more interesting than convicts* escapades to occupy 
 their minds. 
 
 From the very first landing the people had grumbled at 
 the situation and the climate. It was the height of sum 
 mer. The thermometer averaged 110° in the sun. Fins 
 were frequent: once, indeed, the huts of the olHcers of 
 marines and the marquees themselves were nearly con- 
 sumed. The soil was sandy and uninviting, the surrounding 
 country barren and grim. Water was not too abundant, 
 and as yet no river of any importance had been discovered. 
 Collins had not the wit or the luck to penetrate to the Yarra 
 or to coast to the Barwon, and disgusted with the inhos- 
 pitable soil, he yielded to the entreaties of his officers, and 
 broke up the settlement. The 24th, 25th, and 2Gth of 
 January were spent in re-embarking the convicts, stores, 
 and soldiers, and by daylight of the 30th Port Phillip was 
 deserted. It had been colonised for the space of three months, 
 and during that time one child had been born. "On the 
 5th November," says the chaplain, " Sergeant Thomas's 
 wife was delivered of a boy, the first child of European 
 parents born at Port Phillip." This boy was named Hobart. 
 
 The record of the chaplain's experiences, as far as it is 
 necessary to follow it, ends at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of 
 the day of the desertion. "At 3 p.m.," says he, " I dined 
 with the Governor." Perhaps the conversation at that 
 dinner was not without reference to the fate of Buckley and 
 his companions. I can imagine the good chaplain sighing 
 over his glass, and mentally congratulating the repentant 
 M'Allender upon the good sense which had induced him to 
 return to bondage. There could be no hope for the poor 
 runaways now. Even if, by some wild chance, a hardier 
 absconder succeeded in dragging himself back to camp, eager 
 for the lash and loaf, his tardy penitence must come too late. 
 The hot January sun would glare down now but upon 
 deserted and unfinished buildings, bared spaces of ground, 
 and all the melancholy ruin of abandoned habitations. Con 
 vict M'Allender himself, snugly disposed in the lower deck 
 of the " Ocean," might feel not uninclined to plume his milled 
 feathers at the good fortune which had preserved him from 
 the hideous fate of his unhappy companions. 
 
 Let us see what that fate was. 
 
22 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 On the evening of the 27th of December this had occurred. 
 At sunset, the hour of returning to the sheds, four men — 
 one of whom had possession of a gun obtained from the 
 Governor's garden — sneaked round the partially-finished 
 buildings, and took to the bush. A sentry challenged, and, 
 receiving no reply, fired, and shot the last of the party. The 
 others ran for the best part of four hours, and though pur- 
 sued, were not recaptured. That night they camped on the 
 bank of a creek, and in the morning pushed on again with 
 redoubled vigour. They had some bread and meat, sundry 
 tin pots, the gun before mentioned, and an iron kettle. It 
 was resolved to head for Sydney; and in happy ignorance of 
 intervening dangers, the adventurers set their faces to the 
 wilderness and made straight towards the present site of 
 Melbourne. 
 
 They crossed the Yarra, and reached the Yawang hills on 
 the third day's journey. Here the last particle of the trea- 
 sured bread and meat was consumed, Sydney was distant, 
 and starvation imminent. Buckley, who by virtue of his 
 size and courage had been elected leader of the party, ordered 
 a retreat to the sea coast, where mussels and limpets might 
 keep life in them. With some difficulty they made their way 
 to the beach, and wandered along it for three days, subsist- 
 ing on gum, fish, and limpets. They broiled their poor fare 
 on the embers, having flung away the kettle on the second 
 day's march, as being too heavy to carry. It was found, 
 Buckley says, thirty-two years afterwards, by a ploughing 
 settler. By this time they had made the circuit of the bay, 
 and from their lair could see the " Calcutta" lying at anchor 
 on the opposite side. Maddened by hunger, and desperate 
 with dread of death, the grim philosophy of the lash and 
 loaf overtook them. They lighted fires by night to attract the 
 attention of the settlement, and hoisted their ragged gar- 
 ments on trees by day. Once a boat — probably the one 
 with our armed chaplain — was seen to approach, and a 
 rescue was hailed with a sort of dismal delight; but she 
 returned without seeing their signals, and hope vanished. 
 
 For six days the miserable wretches starved within sight 
 of their prison home, and at last plucked up courage to make 
 a last effort for life. They told Buckley that they had deter- 
 mined to retrace their steps round the bay to the settlement, 
 and urged him to accompany them. The desperate giant 
 refused. He would have liberty at any hazard. Death in 
 
WILLIAM BUCKLEY, THE "WILD WHITE MAN." 23 
 
 the gloomy swamps, the fantastic underwood, or the ban-en 
 sand hills, seemed not so terrible as the death-in-life of the 
 
 convict sheds. They might go if they pleased he would 
 
 remain. They did so, and all but one — M'Allender who 
 carried the now useless gun — met the fate they dreaded. 
 
 Buckley, left to himself, turned his back upon the ships, 
 and doggedly set out in search of Sydney. " How I could 
 have deceived myself into a belief of reaching it," he savs 
 " is astonishing. ... The whole affair was in fact a 
 species of madness." For seven days he travelled, swimmino 
 rivers, fording creeks, and plunging through scrub. His 
 hope was to follow the coast-line until he reached his destina- 
 tion. He lived on shell-fish, gum, and the tops of youn<* 
 plants. On the sixth day the climate grew warmer. This 
 added to his distress, for it increased his thirst. He began 
 to have difficulty in finding food, and coming to two rocks 
 that stood close together, flung himself down between them 
 in despair. The rising tide drove him out of his miserable 
 refuge, and climbing to the top, he slept, and hoped to die. 
 
 The next morning, however, he found something which 
 cheered him. All through the journey the runaways had 
 seen and heard the natives. Buckley had twice swum a 
 creek to escape from them, and at night the forest was glow- 
 wormed with their fires. The dying wretch— he had been 
 without food or water for three days, and was at the last gasp 
 — came upon a smouldering log. The sight gave him new 
 energies. He tore down some berries, roasted and ate them, 
 and searching a little further found a "great supply of shell- 
 fish." At this place he remained for more than a week,* 
 and then coming to a big rock, sheltered by an overhanging 
 cliff, from which a plentiful stream of fresh water continually 
 gushed, he made himself a sort of hut. Here he lived in 
 rude contentment, and feeding on shell-fish and a sort of 
 wild berry,T began to experience the delights of freedom. 
 
 He was soon disturbed. One day three natives appeared, 
 and took possession of his home. They did not seem terri- 
 fied at his appearance, but ate and drank (cray-fish and 
 water) with great gusto. They were dressed in opossum 
 skins, and armed with spears. Buckley, weak with illness 
 and unarmed, made no resistance to their will, and they bore 
 
 * " It may have been two or three,"' he says, " for I seemed hence- 
 forward to have lost all record of time." 
 f Probably the cherry. 
 
24 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 liim off to their huts. That night they watched him, or he 
 would have escaped. In the morning, after a vain attempt- 
 to obtain such remnants of his woollen stockings as time and. 
 the shingle had left him, they went away, and he, frightened 
 at the chance of their return, took to the bush. For some 
 months he wandered about, living the life of a wild man, and 
 subsisting on roots, berries, and shell-fish. The weather set in 
 gloomy .and tempestuous. He was frequently without fire, 
 food, or shelter, and his sleep was broken by terror of the 
 natives. The physical instinct of life-preservation must have 
 been very strong in the man; a less stolid animal would 
 have got rid of its burden long ago. One day, crawling 
 rather than walking through the scrub, he saw a mound of 
 earth with a spear sticking up out of the top of it, and, being 
 in want of a walking-stick, he pulled up the weapon. That 
 spear saved his life. 
 
 Having lain down that night under a tree, at grips with 
 his last enemy, and not expecting to see the light of another 
 morning, he was perceived by two lubras, who brought their 
 husbands in great amazement to see the white man. The 
 husbands — with that intelligence which is the privilege of 
 the male sex — saw the state of the case at a glance. A 
 great warrior had been buried at the mound. Great war- 
 riors, as all the world knows, change into white men after 
 death. Buckley was a white man ; and, moreover, he had in 
 his hand the very spear that had been stuck into the tomb. 
 Nothing could be more satisfactory, and saluting the half- 
 starved convict by the name of Murrangurk, they bore him 
 off to their huts, with much shouting and demonstrations of 
 joy. Luckily for the restored Murrangurk, this joviality 
 soon took the practical form of gum-water and cbrysalids,. 
 upon which he dined heartily. 
 
 After a terrific corroboree, in which the women beat skin 
 drums until they fainted, and the men hacked themselves 
 with knives until they bled, Buckley was duly received into 
 the black bosom of the people, and presented with a nephew. 
 This ready-made relative proved attentive 4 , and Buckley 
 accepted his position with grace, reflecting that if his nephew 
 was not very wise, " there was no chance of his uncle having 
 to pay his tailor's or other bills. A consolation," he adds 
 with some humour, "that many uncles would be glad to 
 possess with equal security." 
 
 The rescued man soon fell in with the customs of his 
 
WILLIAM BUCKLEY, THE "WILD WHIT!; MAN." 
 
 rescuers, and for the next thirty years lived with them as 
 one of themselves, joining in their tights, and taking a 
 prominent part in their councils, lie was married to a 
 charming but faithless woman, who, unmindful of the 
 honour done her, eloped with a young warrior of hoi 
 own race a fortnight after her marriage. \\w justly 
 indignant relatives, however, quickly knocked her on 
 the head, and upheld the sanctity of the marriage! tie. 
 Despite his ill-success in the matrimonial lottery, Buckley 
 appears to have found considerable favour in the eyes of the 
 lubras. He relates with calm satisfaction many interesting 
 intrigues, and pauses frequently in his narrative to heave a 
 tender sigh at the recollection of the many ladies who wen 
 waddied for his sake. He became at last a sort of father of 
 the people, presiding in the council and issuing orders to the 
 senate. The tribe which originally adopted him were almost 
 totally destroyed in battle, and he then found a home among 
 the friends of one of his wives. 
 
 His account of his wanderings is not particularly interest 
 ing. The Australian black is as far removed from Uneas 
 and Chingachook, as Uncas and Chingachook are from 
 reality. Mr. Buckley's friends had no medicine men, no 
 tents, no Great Spirit, no fawnskin clothes, no mocassins, 
 no calumets, and no buffalo. They were simply a set of 
 repulsive, filthy savages, who daubed themselves with mud. 
 and knew no pleasure save that of gorging. I am afraid 
 that Mr. Buckley's narrative shows the beautiful fallacy of 
 the "poetical" native theory. An Australian Borneo would 
 bear his Juliet off with the blow of a club, and Juliet 
 would prepare herself for her bridal by "greasing herself 
 from head to foot with the kidney-fat of her lover's rival." 
 Poor Paris ! 
 
 However, here and there we get amusing hints of primi- 
 tive innocence In happy ignorance of cookery, Mr. 
 Buckley's friends eat " all kinds of beasts, fish, fowl, reptile. 
 and creeping thing." They have no notion of mechanical 
 appliance, and a rude dam that Buckley makes astonishes 
 them greatly. Their arms are spears, clubs, and tlint-headed 
 tomahawks, and they spear their fish and dig out their wom- 
 bats. No genius among them has ever invented a net or ;■ 
 snare. They keep count of time by chalk-marks on tie- arm. 
 They paint themselves for battle or feast. They bury their 
 dead in mounds, or suspend them in trees. They eat tlieii 
 
'2G OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 enemies, having previously grilled them between heated 
 stones. Affectionate wives preserve the knee-joints of their 
 dead husbands as relics, and wear them round their necks, 
 locket-fashion. Deformed children are instantly brained, 
 and the population is kept within reasonable bounds by 
 judicious weeding of an extensive family. A child every 
 two years is considered enough for any reasonable mother, 
 and should she indulge in more, the indignant father cracks 
 its skull against the nearest tree. Nothing is new, we see, 
 — not even Social Science. Cannibalism is a luxury, not an 
 ordinary practice; but Buckley mentions a tribe called the 
 Pallidurgbarraiis, who eat human flesh whenever they get a 
 chance, and employ human kidney fat, not as a charmed 
 unguent for the increase of their valour, but as a sort of Dun- 
 dee marmalade, viz., " an excellent substitute for butter at 
 breakfast." These gentlemen are the colour of " light cop- 
 per, their bodies having tremendously large and protruding 
 bellies." They ate so many natives at last that war was 
 declared, and some inglorious Pelissier drove a few hundred 
 of them into a cave, and setting lire to the surrounding bush, 
 suffocated them with great success. 
 
 When a girl is born she is instantly promised in marriage, 
 and from that time neither she herself nor her mother must 
 speak to the intended son-in-law, nor the son-in-law to them. 
 Marriage is quite a la mode with these people. The nearest 
 approach, however, that they make to civilisation is in 
 popular theology. They believe that the earth is supported 
 on props, which are in charge of an old man, who lives at 
 the most remote corner of the earth. Occasionally this old 
 man sends a message to say, that unless he gets a supply of 
 tomahawks and rope wherewith to cut and tie more props, the 
 earth will " go by the run, and all hands will be smothered." 
 One of these messages arrived while Buckley was there, and 
 he says that intense excitement prevailed, and tomahawks 
 galore were sent on to the " old man." " Who this knowing 
 old juggling thief is," says Buckley, " I could never make 
 out. However, it is only one of the same sort of robberies 
 which are practised in the other countries of what are called 
 Christendom." Popular theology is accustomed to cry out 
 for " more props." 
 
 At last, after thirty-two years of savage life, Buckley met 
 two natives, one of whom carried a flag over his shoulders. 
 He had long given up all hope of meeting with white men ; 
 
WILLIAM BUCKLEY, THE "WILD WHITE MAN." 27 
 
 he bad forgotten his language and almost his name, hut the 
 sight of the nag gave him a strange shock. The natives 
 told him that they had seen a vessel at anchor in Port 
 Phillip Bay, near the Indented Heads, and, all hands having 
 left her on a boat expedition up the river, they had climbed 
 on board and helped themselves. They proposed to Buckley 
 to go back with them and help to decoy the people on shore, 
 when they would kill them and seize the cargo. Now for 
 the first time the hope of escape from the hideous liberty lie 
 had sought arose. He pretended to fall in with their views, 
 and going down to the sea-shore, made every effort to 
 privately attract the attention of the new comers. But he 
 had forgotten the English tongue, and could only make 
 hoarse and unintelligible noises. Twice a boat approached 
 him, and twice, hearing his frantic gibberish and seeing his 
 savage costume, the sailors laughed and pulled off. 
 
 While watching the vessel, the natives told him that some 
 years before another vessel had anchored in the same place, 
 and two white men were brought ashore by four or five 
 others, who tied them to trees and shot them, leaving their 
 bodies bound. There were many such mysteries of the sea 
 in those times. 
 
 In a few days more the vessel departed, and poor Buckley 
 going to the spot where he had last seen her crew land, 
 found a white man's grave — -grim answer to his hopes and 
 prayers. A few months after this he found a boat stranded 
 on the shore, and learned that two sailors had been saved 
 and well-treated by the natives, who wished to bring them 
 to him, but that the castaways, suspicious and ill at ease, 
 had gone off in the direction of the Yarra. There they 
 were savagely murdered. A vessel would seem to have 
 been wrecked somewhere on the coast, for barrels were 
 found. One of these contained what Buckley, who found it, 
 supposed to be beer or wine; but the flavour appeared 
 "horribly offensive" to him, and he staved the cask. 
 
 At last his "good time" arrived. One day two young 
 natives met him, and waving coloured handkerchiefs, in- 
 formed him that three white and six black men had been 
 landed from a ship which had gone away again, and that 
 they had erected two tents. The natives suggested murder 
 and robbery, and told Buckley that they were in search of 
 another tribe in order to fall upon the white men more 
 effectually. Alarmed by this intelligence, Buckley started 
 
28 OLD TALKS OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 for the white camp, and reaching it the next day, sat down 
 at some little distance and made signs to his countrymen. 
 His strange colour, his wild garb, and his gigantic height 
 appeared to alarm them, but they spoke kindly to him. 
 Buckley could neither understand nor reply. At last one 
 man offered him some bread, "calling it by its name," and 
 as he did so, Buckley says, "a cloud appeared to pass from 
 over my brain, and I repeated that and other English words* 
 after him." They took him to their tents, and gave him 
 biscuit, tea, and meat. He showed them the initials W. B. 
 on one of his arms, and they regarded him as a shipwrecked- 
 seaman. Little by little he recovered the use of his tongue, 
 and could speak with them. They told him that the vessel, 
 which had landed them would be back from Launceston in 
 a few days with more people and a fresh supply of tools ; 
 that they were about to settle in the country, and had 
 already bought land of the native chiefs. "This," says 
 Buckley, " I knew could not have been, because, unlike 
 other savage communities or people, they have no chiefs 
 claiming or possessing superior right over the soil, theirs 
 being only as heads of families." 
 
 The natives now began to assemble in great numbers, and 
 announced to Buckley their intention of killing the new 
 settlers, desiring him to aid them, and threatening him that 
 they would sacrifice him with the weaker party if ho refused. 
 Buckley was a little frightened at this, but succeeded in 
 persuading his old friends to wait until the return of the 
 ship, when, he said, the amount of plunder would be increased. 
 The ship not returning as soon as was expected, the natives 
 began to grow impatient, and then Buckley, throwing oil all 
 disguise, openly sided with the white men, and, arming 
 himself with a gun, vowed he would shoot through the head 
 the first man who flung a spear. This threat, and a 
 promise of unlimited presents, kept them quiet, and at last 
 the vessel arrived. 
 
 She brought Batman, Wedge, and their party, and having 
 landed the stores, returned next day to Van Dienien's Land 
 with an account of Buckley, and a solicitation from Mr. 
 Wedge for a free pardon for him. He was installed in the 
 meantime as interpreter, and guide to the expedition. When 
 the vessel returned, Batman wont on board, and fired off his 
 gun as a signal to Buckley that his pardon had arrived. The 
 next day he received that document, signed by Colonel 
 
WILLIAM BUCKLEY, THE "WILD WHITE MAN/' 29 
 
 Arthur, dated 25th August, 1835, exactly thirty-two years 
 from the date of his lauding from the ship "Calcutta."* 
 
 By this vessel instructions were brought to the directors 
 of the company to proceed to the right bank of the Yarra, 
 and in three days the site of Melbourne was marked out. 
 The next vessel brought Mr. Gellibrand and a number of 
 settlers, to whom Buckley was engaged as interpreter, at a 
 salary of £50 a-year and rations, lie accompanied them in 
 an exploring expedition, and on his return built the chimney 
 of Mr. Batman's house, on Batman's Hill the - first habita- 
 tion regularly formed at Port Phillip." 
 
 The tide of immigration now poured into the new settle- 
 juient, and Melbourne became a township. Captain Lonsdale 
 (of Buckley's old regiment) came over with a detachment of 
 the 1th to assume the command of the colony, and made 
 Buckley his personal attendant. He was now in clover, 
 was well-dressed, well-fed, and a man of no small imp >rtance. 
 He quarrelled with a Mr. Fawkner," from Launcestou, ''who 
 had been an old settler, but had no connection with the 
 company." Pie acted as constable, and hunted down and 
 apprehended a black-fellow for killing a shepherd. ( rovernor 
 Bourke with several olhcers of the Xew South Wales Govern- 
 ment visiting the place, Buckley received him at the head of 
 100 natives " ranked in line, and saluting him by putting 
 their hands to their foreheads" as he directed. The Gover- 
 nor was interested in the " wild white man," and asked him 
 many questions about his wild life. Buckley replied with 
 suitable dignity, and ended by accompanying His Excellency 
 into the interior — about as far as Mordialloc — and showing 
 him the lions. On his return he heard of the loss of Mr. 
 Gellibrand and Mr. Hesse, and volunteered to look for 
 them. The loss of these gentlemen threw the settlement 
 into a great state of consternation. They had attempted to 
 ride from Geelong to Melbourne, and had been lost in the 
 bush. It was generally thought that they were murdered 
 by the blacks, and several natives were shot without the 
 slightest reason. All search for the missing men proved 
 unsuccessful, and Buckley returned. An absconder from 
 Van Diemen's Land being apprehended about this time, 
 Buckley was sent in charge of him to Launcestou, and re- 
 
 form Fawkner. J. P., who claimed to be the founder of the c >1< iv 
 He died on the 4th of September. 1869. aged seventy-seven years. 
 
30 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 turned in a steam-vessel, having on board Captain Fyans, 
 who had been appointed resident magistrate at Geelong. 
 
 He now seems to have been discontented with his position, 
 and says "finding that some persons were always throwing 
 difficulties in the way of my interests, and not knowing what 
 might be the result, I determined on resigning office, and on 
 leaving a colony where my services were so little known, 
 and so badly appreciated by the principal authorities." 
 
 On the 28th December,* 1 837, Buckley sailed from Mel- 
 bourne in the " Yarra Yarra," and landed in Hobart Town 
 on the 10 th of January following. Here he was made 
 much of; public-houses were open to him, and strangers 
 stood treat to him. One gentleman took him to the theatre, 
 and " one of the performers came to ask me if I would like 
 to visit the place again, and come upon the stage." Buckley, 
 with that wild desire to go "behind the scenes" which thirty- 
 two years of barbarism had not shaken out of him, said that 
 he would like it much. Next day, however, he discovered 
 the reason of his friend's kindness. He was to be exhibited 
 as the Anglo-Australian giant! "I soon," says he, "gave a 
 denial to any such display, very much to the mortification, 
 as I afterwards understood, of the stage manager, who had 
 publicly notified my appearance." I wonder who was this 
 ingenious dog. He doubtless gauged the public taste accu- 
 rately — Buckley would have been a "good draw." 
 
 Shortly afterwards a Mr. Cutts, one of his old shipmates 
 in the " Calcutta," who had now become a wealthy and 
 respectable settler near Green Ponds, made interest with Sir 
 John Franklin, and Pmckley was appointed assistant-store- 
 keeper at the Hobart Town Immigrants' Home ; and when 
 that establishment was broken up, he was transferred to the 
 Female Nursery as gatekeeper. 
 
 At the Immigrants' Home he "became acquainted with a 
 family, consisting of a respectable mechanic, his wife and 
 daughter," and the mechanic being killed by the natives 
 near the Murray River, Buckley proposed for the widow and 
 was accepted. He was married in March, 1840. 
 
 Ten years afterwards he was paid oil' by the Convict 
 Department, with a pension of .£12 ayear, and on this, and 
 a subscription raised by his friends, he lived until his death, 
 which occurred in February, 1850, when he had attained the 
 age of seventy-six. 
 
A LEAP FROM AN OLD NEWSPAPER. 
 
 On Saturday, the 23rd of September, 1820, the free residents 
 of Hobart Town, on opening the moist folio of the IJubart 
 Town Gazette and Southern Reporter found a startling pro- 
 clamation. 
 
 The Hobart Town Gazette, let us note, Avas the paper 
 authorised by the Government, and assisted by those agree- 
 able evidences of patronage, Government advertisements. 
 It was published " by authority," and printed by Mr. 
 Andrew Bent — the father of the Tasmanian press, who was 
 at that time the leading printer in Hobart Town. Mr. 
 Bent, however, fell out with Governor Arthur, and ventur- 
 ing to attack the Government, was summarily deprived of 
 his office, and eventually ruined. 
 
 In the year 1820, however, Mr. Bent was in good favour, 
 and headed his Gazette with the following notice : — 
 
 " His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor has thought proper 
 to direct that all Public Communications which may appear in 
 the li Hobart Town Gazette" and "Southern Reporter" signed 
 with ant/ 0[ficial Signature, are to be considered as Official 
 Communications made to those 2)ersons to whom they may 
 relate. 
 
 "By command of His Honour, 
 
 " E. Robinson, Secretary." 
 
 The proclamation which greeted the readers of this issue 
 of the 23rd of September, fifty years ago, was nothing less 
 than an announcement of the death of the late "Sovereign 
 Lord, King George III., and accession to the crown of that 
 High and Mighty Prince George, of Wales," and ran to the 
 effect that William Sorrell, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of the 
 settlements of Van Diemen's Land, together with several 
 other distinguished persons, being assisted by the officers, 
 civil and military, the magistrates, clergy, and principal 
 inhabitants of the colony generally, did publish ami proclaim, 
 "with one Voice and consent of Tongue and Heart," the 
 aforesaid High and Mighty Prince, to be "George IV." 
 
:V2 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 defender and rightful liege lord of all sorts of tilings, and 
 Supreme Liege Lord of Van Diemen's Land among the rest. 
 
 The paper in which this piece of news appears is lying 
 before me as I write. It is a broadsheet of the coarsest 
 character, and, with its nourish of Royal Arms at the head 
 of it, looks not unlike a corpulent playbill. The paper is 
 rough in texture and brown in colour, and the imprint is 
 not as clear as it might be. The whole matter is of course 
 surrounded with a deep black border as mourning for poor 
 old George Tertius. 
 
 A glance at its columns will give us a glimpse into a 
 curious condition of society. In the first sheet is the Police 
 Fund of Van Diemen's Land "in account current with John 
 Beamont, Esq., Treasurer," in which are some quaint items. 
 Mr. John Petchey receives £10 for tire-wood supplied to 
 Government-house. Mr. It. \V. Fyett charges £1 for the 
 use of his cart and bullocks. The superintendent of police 
 receives £6 as " a reward for capturing three absentees," 
 also £5 for "apprehending Blackmore, reward advertised" 
 (Blackmore, I presume, being a convict illegally at large). 
 Mrs. Cullen is paid £2 15s. for accommodating persons in 
 attendance on the Lieutenant-Governor at general muster. 
 Nicholas de Courcy claims £1 for tailor's work for the 
 Governor's orderly, and Mr. Lord charges £50 "for a horse 
 supplied to Government." The Government was all in all 
 in those days. 
 
 Immediately after this financial statement comes a para- 
 graph that may perhaps surprise one or two of the inhabit- 
 ants of Hobart Town who think their church has been 
 named in honour of the patron saint of Wales. 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor directs t> hat the new Church of 
 Hobart Town shall be called ' St. David's Church' out of 
 Respect to the memory of the late Colonel David Collins, of 
 the Royal Marines, tinder whose Direction the Settlement was 
 founded in the year 1804, and who died Lieutenant-Governor 
 in the year 1810." 
 
 Great generals have been canonised before now, and strong 
 men lived before Agamemnon and Colonel David Collins. 
 Though to name a church after a colonel of marines does 
 seem rather a liberty with the Calendar. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor orders a "general muster of 
 inhabitants" (civil officers and military alone excepted), on 
 certain days. This proclamation is interesting because of 
 
A LEAF FROM AN OLD NEWSPAPER. 33 
 
 its pleasant tyranny. It commands all " free men " and 
 " free women," together with " male and female prisoners 
 .and ticket-of- leave men," to come together at certain places, 
 at certain dates, for the purpose of being counted, like 
 .sheep ; and further orders that at " all these musters the 
 free women, as well those who came free to this colony as 
 those who are free by absolute or conditional pardon, and by 
 expiration of sentence, are to give in the names and ages of 
 then* children." 
 
 What a strange sight this " muster " must have pre- 
 sented! Any colonial Frith desirous of painting a picture 
 of the sensational school might choose a worse subject than 
 that of " AGeneral Muster in 1820." Let us imagine for a 
 moment the old town, the old-fashioned dresses, the striving 
 of the '• tawdry yellow " of the convict garb with the ' ' dirty 
 red " of His Majesty's uniform, the intermingling of faces, 
 the strong contrasts and curious juxtapositions. There 
 ■seems room for powerful painting in such a picture. 
 
 The "Town Talk" is not very important. An account is 
 given of a procession which took place on Sunday, and was 
 composed of the Lieutenant-Governor, the Deputy Judge- 
 advocate, the officers and magistrates, and principal inhabit- 
 ants of the settlement, all in deep mourning, and it is stated 
 that minute guns, in number corresponding with the years 
 of his late Majesty were tired from Mulgrave Battery. The 
 reporter for the Gazette remarks also that the ceremony left a 
 deep impression of the veneration and respect which were 
 felt towards the lamented sovereign, " an impression," he 
 says, " which w T as much strengthened by the discourse of the 
 Rev. R. Knopwood, M.A., whose allusions to His late 
 Majesty's Public and Private Virtues were most appropriate 
 to the melancholy occasion." " The writer further observed 
 that the memory of the deceased monarch cannot fail to live 
 while Royal Virtue continues to be venerated." 
 
 Le roi est mort ; vice le roil The next paragraph relates 
 how the reading of the Proclamation of the new king was 
 received. The document — which is printed at the head of 
 the paper — was read "in front of Government-house under a 
 Royal salute from Mulgrave Battery, and three volleys from 
 a detachment of the 48th Regiment." 
 
 Commerce goes hand in hand with loyalty. The Southern 
 Reporter is happy to hear that "the new Flour-mill lately 
 erected in Liverpool-street Grinds remarkably well." The 
 
34 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 mill-stones of this remarkable structure are specially men- 
 tioned as being " the first yet used in this settlement the 
 production of Van Diemen's Land." A vaguely-worded but 
 well-meant support of native industries. 
 
 That portion of a paper which Punch called the Hatches, 
 Matches, and Despatches, is not very well filled. One solitary 
 marriage is alone recorded : — 
 
 " Married by special licence by the Rev. R. Knopwood, 
 M.A., on Monday the \lth inst., John Beamont, Esq., Pro- 
 vost Marshal, to Harriett, second daughter of G. W. Evans, 
 Esq., Deputy Survey 'or- General." 
 
 But close upon the heels of the marriage follows an amus- 
 ing exposition of the intentions of a Mr. Fergusson. 
 
 " Mr. Fergusson hereby Begs leave to make known to those 
 who stand Indebted to him his intention of Looking for the 
 same in the next sitting of the Lieutenant-Governor 's Court, 
 and no Favor or Affection ivill be shown." 
 
 Mr. F.'s impartiality is quite touching. Debts appear 
 difficult to collect at this date, for Mrs. Lord, acting as 
 agent to Edward Lord, Esq., acquaints the public that 
 though deeply desirous of " affording them every Facility 
 for discharging their Embarrassments," still she cannot 
 remain wholly unpaid, but is prepared to accept good store- 
 able beef and mutton to the extent in quantity of 250,000 
 lbs. weight, at 6d. per lb., in liquidation of their debts. 
 While making this liberal offer, however, Mrs. Lord feels it 
 a duty belonging to her agency to state, a that if the present 
 opportunity be not embraced by Mr. Lord's creditors, she 
 will not allow the expected Circuit of the Supreme Court 
 to pass without resorting to that and the Lieutenant- Gov ernor's 
 Court as the case may require to Compel Payment of the 
 several obligations." A courteous but a severe lady, Mrs. 
 Lord, evidently, and one who will stand no "nonsense," 
 but have her lawful bond or pound of flesh, as the case 
 may be. 
 
 Here is a curious advertisement : — " Mr. Reiby has the 
 pleasure of informing the public that he has received by the 
 last arrivals the following choice articles, which will be sold 
 at very reduced prices for ready money : — Brass-u'ire seizes, 
 loom-shirting, flannel, writing-paper, quills, wafers, ink-powder, 
 tortoiseshell combs, spices of all sorts, snulf, ball-cotton, threads, 
 ivhite and coloured handkerchiefs, men's common hats, red 
 cotton shirts, Flushing coats, red ca,ps, waistcoats, pea-jackets, 
 
A LEAF FROM AN OLD NEWSPAPER. ."J.") 
 
 drill frocks, trousers and jackets, chip hats, nankeens, knives 
 and forks, crockery ware, cotton socks, best English chintz, best 
 bottled London porter, cedar in plank, tumblers, English pday- 
 ing-cards, gunpowder, white wine in draught and bottle, rum, 
 tea, sugar, Bengal soap, and various other Useful and Valuable 
 articles. Also, a capital One-horse Gig, with harness complete." 
 Rather a miscellaneous collection of Mr. Reiby's ! 
 
 The newspapers of that day contained items which would 
 rather startle a modern Tasmanian. For instance: — 
 
 u One Hundred and, Fifty Pounds Reward. 
 
 "Police-office, Tlobart Town, November 28, 1820. 
 
 " Whereas, Thomas Kenny (No. 73 J, a convict, 5ft. 3%in. 
 high, brown hair, dark-grey eyes, 18 years of age, a blacksmith 
 by trade, was tried in the county of Dublin in 1818, was 
 sentenced to be transported for life, born in the county of West- 
 meath, has a crucifix above the elbow on the right arm, T.K. on 
 the left arm, arrived in Sydney in the ship " Bencoolen" and 
 here in the ship " Admired Cockhurn" charged with wilful 
 murder ; and Thomas Atkinson, &c, and James Letting, dc, 
 and Thomas Lawton, &c., and Joseph Saunders, dc, charged 
 with divers capitcd felonies, broke out of His Majesty's gaol at 
 Ilobart Town on the night of the 27th of November." And 
 so on. 
 
 Beneath this Mr. James Blay puts a 
 
 " Caution to the Public. 
 
 " Whereas several of my One Shilling promissory Notes have 
 been lately altered into Five Shilling Bills; in order to bring 
 the offender or offenders to public justice, I hereby offer a 
 reward of Five Pounds sterling to any person or persons who 
 will be the means of appr el tending them. 
 
 " James Blay." 
 
 A glance at the police reports and trials shows a healthy 
 condition of severity : — 
 
 Daniel Eachan, charged with forging an order for £3, is 
 sentenced to 200 lashes and transportation to Newcastle. 
 James Flinn and John Griffiths, alias Frog, charged witli 
 stealing a pocket-book, value 15s., and attempting to steal a 
 watch, are sentenced to 50 lashes and transportation to 
 Newcastle; and John Anthony, James Taylor, and George 
 Howel, charged with " committing divers felonies," are 
 treated to 100 lashes each and 12 months in the gaol-gang. 
 
 d 2 
 
3G OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Here are specimens of female absconders : — 
 
 " Ann Barter. May. 5ft. \^in.; brown hair, brown 
 eyes; aged 36; servant. Tried at the Old Bailey, April, 
 1822 — life. Native place, St. Sepulchre's. Absconded from 
 the service of Br. Bromley, 17 th February." 
 
 " Janet Ceflude. Brothers. 5ft. kin.; dark hair, dark eyes; 
 aged 26; dressmaker. Tried at Chester, April 5 — life. Native 
 place, Whitehaven."'' 
 
 Constables who permitted convicts to escape were not 
 merely reprimanded or reduced. A sterner punishment was 
 meted out to them, as thus — 
 
 " Thomas Trueman, a Constable, ivas charged with negli- 
 gently suffering two prisoners, who were confined in the County 
 Gaol on charges of a very serious nature, to Escape, which ivas 
 clearly proved by various witnesses, and he ivas sentenced, being 
 a prisoner, to be Bismissed his Office and to receive 100 lashes.' 
 
 Quis custodiet ipse custodes? 
 
 Amongst other duties of constables Avas that of seeing to 
 the safe housing of all ticket-of-leave men by a certain hour, 
 and the ancient institution of curfew, or something very 
 like it, was in force. A notice in the issue of the 23rd 
 November, signed by Mr. Robinson, says — 
 
 " Commencing on Monday next, the Evening Bell will ring 
 at 9 o'clock until further orders." 
 
 Matrimonial matters did not always seem to go happily, 
 even in this primitive condition of things. Gentlemen are 
 constantly advertising their domestic troubles in the Southern 
 Reporter, and scarcely a day passes without some husband 
 being left lamenting by his frail spouse. Ladies seem to 
 have been at a premium. I extract two plaints which are 
 touching in their simple woe : — 
 
 " Caution. 
 " The public are hereby Cautioned against harbouring or 
 concealing or giving credit to my Wife, Mary Steele, she having 
 absconded from her home with sundry Articles amounting to 
 nearly Fifty Founds in property, as I am determined not to 
 pay any Bebts she may contract, and to prosecute any pe?'Son 
 or persons who may harbour or conceal her after this notice. 
 
 " Geo. Steele." 
 
 The second is even more notable — " Whereas, my wife, 
 Margaret Banks, having eloped from her home without any Just 
 Provocation, leaving me with her Eive (sic) Small Children ! 
 
A LEAF FROM AN OLD NEWSPAPER. .'*7 
 
 — This is to give notice that I will not be responsible fur any 
 debts she may contract on my account. 
 
 "Thomas Banks." 
 
 The care with which Mr. Banks distributes his personal 
 pronouns is remarkable. 
 
 "Leading articles" are few and far between in the 
 columns of our journal. Government advertisements, " local 
 news," and lists of " prisoners tried " exhausted the balance 
 of reading matter, which is made up of such items as these 
 — " Indian marriage in high life," " Singular discovery of a 
 murder by dreaming," " New method of seasoning maho- 
 gany," " The honest cook," and " A jest by Mr. Curran." 
 The "jest" is so exquisitely dull that it is worth extract- 
 ing— 
 
 "Mr. Curran, cross-examining a horse-jockey's servant, 
 asked his master's age. ' I never put my hand into his 
 mouth to try,' answered the witness. The laugh was 
 against the counsel '(mark this!)' till he retorted, 'You 
 are perfectly right, friend, for your master is said to be a 
 great bite /'" 
 
 Let me close the Hobart Town Gazette of 1820 with the 
 account of a thunderstorm, during which an intrusive 
 " Electric Fire-ball " entered a "dormant window" in the 
 roof of Government House. This impertinent manifestation 
 of nature descended from floor to floor, knocked doors off 
 their hinges, scattered plates, pulverised panes of glass, 
 walked down the grand staircase, melted the bell-wires, 
 entered His Excellency's office, struck His Excellency's 
 chair [but "providentially His Excellency was at that time 
 absent on his tour through the North- Western Country"], 
 shattered His Excellency's umbrella, and passed through 
 the wall, leaving the house nearly a wreck, and full of a 
 suffocating smell of sulphur. "Most providentially" it so 
 happened that " Mrs. Macquarie and her darling boy" had 
 that morning breakfasted in an apartment which was the 
 only one in the house not visited by this " scourge," and to 
 this cause " may be attributed their almost miraculous 
 escape." 
 
 A distinction between the providential and the almost 
 miraculous is here very delicately marked. 
 
THE BUM-PUNCHEON REVOLUTION. 
 
 The social condition of Sydney in 1807 was somewhat 
 curious. The place being under military discipline, and 
 controlled by military officers, the army was at a premium. 
 The Governor was a sort of proconsul with absolute power, 
 and his officers monopolised all the good things of the colony. 
 Among the principal of these good things was the rum-trade. 
 From the first settlement of New South Wales the unre- 
 strained importation of ardent spirits had prevailed to an 
 alarming extent. Rum poured into the colony in barrels, 
 in hogsheads, in puncheons. Rum flowed like water, and 
 was drunk like wine. Rum was taken morning, noon, and 
 night, was paid as " boot" in exchanges, and received as pay- 
 ment for purchases. Rum at last became a colonial currency. 
 The governor, clergy, and officers civil and military, all 
 bartered rum. The New South Wales Veteran Corps (a 
 regiment of pensioners tempted by promise of privilege to 
 emigrate) was called the " Rum-Puncheon Corps." Mr. 
 Macarthur (the chief actor in the drama about to open) says 
 in his evidence on the trial of Major Johnston, that such 
 barter " was universal. Officers, civil and military, clergy, 
 every description of inhabitants, were under the necessity of 
 paying for the necessaries of life, for every article of con- 
 sumption, in that sort of commodity which the people who 
 had to sell were inclined to take : in many cases you could 
 not get labour performed without it." 
 
 This being the case, one may judge of the disgust that 
 prevailed among the rum-storers when it was reported that 
 a new Governor was to replace Governor King — a bluff 
 sailor, who loved rum — with strict injunctions from the 
 home Government to put down the monopolists. The name 
 of this new Governor was Captain Bligh, a bold and daring, 
 though somewhat pig-headed post-captain, who had gained 
 some notoriety by reason of the famous mutiny of the 
 
THE RUM-PUNCHEON REVOLUTION. 39 
 
 " Bounty." This story is so well known that I will do no 
 more than glance at it. The " Bounty" was sent to collect 
 seeds of the breadfruit tree of the South Sea Islands, for the 
 purpose of planting them in the West Indies. Tired of this 
 botanical exploration, and seduced by the black eyes of the 
 Tahitian damsels, the crew of the " Bounty," led by a lazy 
 old reprobate named John Adams, mutinied, and putting 
 Bligh and his officers adrift in a longboat, gave themselves 
 up to unrestrained licentiousness on one of the lovely islands 
 of the South Pacific. Here they lived for some years, until 
 Adams, worn out by debauchery, achieved patriarchal 
 dignity, and preached the gospel to his numerous family of 
 half-caste children. Although it is more than probable that 
 he never heard of Byron, the old gentleman verified the 
 poet's statement anent " rum and true religion," for he tried 
 the charms of both, and died in the odour of sanctity. His 
 companions, ultimately found, were given the convict settle- 
 ment of Norfolk Island as a residence. They — with Adams 
 at their head — have since been canonised by the Low 
 Church missionary story-books, and the " Mutiny of the 
 1 Bounty' " was for some time the strong point of the Sunday 
 at Home. Bligh displayed much ability in navigating his 
 boat to safety, and as a sort of recompense for the suffer- 
 ings he had endured, was made Governor of New South 
 Wales. His previous history was a good one. He had 
 been for nineteen years a post captain; had fought under 
 Parker, Howe, and Nelson. At Copenhagen he commanded 
 the " Glatton," and was thanked by Nelson publicly on the 
 quarter-deck for his services. He was said to be a tyrant, 
 and to have ill-treated the crew of the " Bounty." It is pos- 
 sible he did so, but it is also possible that they deserved it. 
 
 The expectations of the colonists were realised. Bligh 
 landed in 1806. and forthwith announced his intention of 
 travelling through the colony in order to ascertain the con- 
 dition of its inhabitants. Now, but four months before his 
 arrival, occurred the great March flood of 180G, and the 
 colony was suffering from scarcity of grain. According to 
 Dr. Lang.* maize-meal and coarse flour were sold in Sydney 
 at 2s. 6d. the pound, the two- pound loaf being 4s. Gd., and 
 sometimes 5s., while " whole families on the Hawkesbury 
 had often no bread in their houses for months together." 
 
 Hiztoi'tj of Sew South Walts. 
 
40 OLL TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Bligh riding round, like the King of Yvetot, made personal- 
 inquiries into the condition of each settler, and volunteered 
 to take from each a certain quantity of wheat or produce,, 
 giving in payment orders in advance on the King's stores 
 at Sydney. This arrangement, however beneficial to the 
 settlers, did not accord with the interests of the military 
 and civil importers of rum and tobacco. No settler who 
 could obtain tea, sugar, and woollen stuffs at nearly cost 
 price from the King's stores would sell his crop for the fiery- 
 Jamaica compound of the monopolists, or accept as part 
 payment the usual puncheon of strong waters at the usual 
 high rate of valuation. The merchants of Sydney were 
 most indignant, and their indignation was not decreased by 
 the publication on February the 14th, 1807, of a general 
 order prohibiting the rum -punch eon trade altogether. By 
 this alarming order the monopoly was at once crushed. 
 Bligh prohibited " the exchange of spirits or other liquors 
 as payment for grain, animal food, labour, wearing apparel, 
 or any other commodity whatever." A prisoner convicted 
 of such sale or purchase rendered himself liable to 100 lashes 
 and twelve months' hard labour. A settler, free by servi- 
 tude, pardon, or emancipation, was deprived of all indul- 
 gences from the Crown, fined £20, and imprisoned for three 
 months. Free settlers and masters of ships were fined .£50, 
 and deprived of indulgences from the Crown. This sledge- 
 hammer proclamation at once knocked to shivers the brittle 
 pot of profitable monopoly which had hitherto boiled so 
 briskly, and the merchants and trading members of the New 
 South Wales Corps began to mutter curses against the 
 popular despot of Government-house. 
 
 At last a spark from an unexpected quarter fired the 
 train. In March, 1807, the ship "Dart" arrived in Sydney. 
 Among her cargo were two large stills, one addressed to 
 Captain Abbott, of the New South Wales Corps, and the 
 other to Mr. Macarthur. It seems that Mr. Macarthur was 
 part-owner of the "Dart," and that the agent to whom Cap- 
 tain Abbott had written for the still, thinking that the 
 speculation would be a profitable one, took upon himself to 
 send another to the owner of the vessel. The vapours from 
 these stills, when condensed, proved to be that fiery spirit 
 called Rebellion. 
 
 According to custom, the manifest of the " Dart" was 
 exhibited to the Governor, who, observing the unlucky stilly 
 
THE RUM-PUNCHEON REVOLUTION. 1 I 
 
 ordered them to be both placed in the King's stores, in order 
 that they might be shipped back to England on the first 
 opportunity. It so happened that the coppers of the stills 
 had been tilled with drugs, and the naval officer to whom 
 the execution of the Governor's mandate was entrusted, 
 retained only the heads and worms, allowing the coppers to 
 be placed in Mr. Macarthur's stores. 
 
 Mr. Macarthur, formerly captain and paymaster of the 
 New South Wales Corps, and then a merchant of respect- 
 ability, was not on good terms with the Governor. As 
 might naturally be expected, he sided with the monopolists. 
 Indeed, he was bound to the "opposition" by a threefold 
 band. As an old member of the military corps he possessed 
 all the camaraderie by which a regiment hangs together, 
 and resented the proclamation of the Governor as injurious 
 to the interests of his old companions. As a merchant, with 
 whom the rum-puncheon trade was necessarily a source of 
 income, he saw himself deprived of large and sure profits. 
 As a private gentleman of wealth and station, holding a posi- 
 tion universally admitted to be only inferior to that of the 
 Governor himself, he had imagined himself injured by the 
 action of Bligh with reference to an appeal from the law 
 courts, and refused to visit at Government-house. At this 
 distance of time, and in the absence of anything like satis- 
 factory evidence, it is impossible to decide how far the conduct 
 of Macarthur was dictated by petulance or vanity. Mr. 
 Flanagan, in his History of New South Wales, warmly 
 supports the course he took, and declares that Bligh 's pre- 
 tended affection for the people but veiled his quarter-deck 
 detestation of all interference, and that he tyrannised grossly 
 over Macarthur and his friends; while Dr. Lang contends 
 that Bligh was an honest, rough, and well-meaning man, 
 who opposed himself sturdily to a monstrous system of 
 mercantile robbery. Having due regard to Bligh's former 
 career, I feel inclined to agree with Dr. Lang. 
 
 Macarthur, annoyed at the order of the Governor, was vet 
 to be subjected to another act of oppression. The " Duke of 
 Portland " being about to sail for London, it was discovered 
 that the stills were not on board her, and the Governor 
 ordered them to be shipped forthwith. Macarthur replied 
 that he had nothing to do with Captain Abbott's still, and 
 that he intended to dispose of his own to some ship going 
 to India or China; but that if that should be objected to, 
 
42 OLD TALES OF A YOUXG COUNTRY. 
 
 the head and worm could be disposed of as His Excellency 
 thought fit, and that he would apply the copper to some 
 domestic use. His Excellency but reiterated his former 
 order, and after some complication and correspondence, a 
 Mr. Campbell was sent to " take the stills." The merchant 
 showed him where they were placed, and told him that he 
 might take them at his own risk if he chose. Campbell did 
 choose, and Macarthur prosecuted him instantly for illegal 
 seizure of property, asking in court " if an Englishman in 
 New South Wales was to have his property wrested from 
 him on the mere sign-manual of the Governor?" The 
 rebellion against despotism had begun. 
 
 Now another complication arose. In the month of June, 
 a convict named Hoare had escaped in the " Parramatta" to 
 Tahiti. Macarthur was part-owner of this vessel, and the 
 English inhabitants of Tahiti (that is to say, a few mission- 
 aries who had usurped the lands of the natives under the 
 j^retence of converting them) complained to the Governor. 
 Proceeding were taken against Macarthur by the Governor, 
 and a bond of £900, given by the owners of the "Parramatta" 
 to the Government, declared forfeited. Macarthur appealed 
 to the Governor against this sentence, but without effect, 
 and thereupon refused to pay the fine. In default of pay- 
 ment the vessel was seized, and Macarthur, hearing of the 
 seizure, informed the captain and crew that as they had 
 "abandoned" the vessel, they might expect nothing more 
 from him. By the colonial regulations, no seamen were 
 allowed ashore in Sydney unless under certain conditions, 
 and the men were therefore compelled to make affidavit of 
 their owners' procedure. In consequence of this affidavit, 
 the Judge-advocate sent a summons commanding the appear- 
 ance of Macarthur at court on the following day. 
 
 Unfortunately, Richard Atkins, the Advocate-general, was 
 himself involved in Macarthur's personal quarrels, and an 
 action at law Avas then pending between them. Moreover, 
 Atkins was a man of intemperate habits and profligate 
 character. He is characterised by Dr. Lang as " the 
 broken-down relative of a person in power," and was notori- 
 ously incapable of fulfilling his legal duties. Governor 
 Bligh, indeed, having been desired by the Secretary of State 
 to inform him privately of the characters of individuals 
 holding office, wrote thus of Mr. Atkins: — "He is accus- 
 tomed to inebriety. He lias been the ridicule of the com- 
 
THE RUM-PUNCHEON REVOLUTION. 43 
 
 munity. Sentence of death has been pronounced in mo- 
 ments of intoxication. His determination is weak, and his 
 opinion floating and infirm. His knowledge of the law is 
 insignificant, and subject to private inclination; and confi- 
 dential causes of the Crown, where due secresy is required, 
 he is not to be trusted with." The result of this mingled 
 ignorance and intemperance on the part of Atkins was, that 
 he was obliged to have recourse to a convict named Crosslcy 
 in order to prepare his indictments and aid his wavering 
 judgment. Crossley had originally been an attorney, but 
 was transported for perjury, and having been pardoned by 
 Governor King, was living on his acquired property on the 
 Hawkesbury River. 
 
 As may be easily imagined, the scandal anent Atkins 
 and his friend was considerable, and Macarthur in his 
 quarrel was supported by the majority of the officers under 
 Government. Desirous of pushing matters to a crisis, and, 
 I am afraid, not without a certain malice prepense against 
 his enemy, the Governor, Macarthur replied to the Judge- 
 advocate's summons by a cold and stinging letter, briefly 
 refusing to attend. Upon this, Atkins committed an error. 
 Galled by the contumacy of the wealthy merchant, he deter- 
 mined to put a slight upon him which he would not easily 
 forget. He issued a warrant for his arrest. The execution 
 of this warrant was entrusted to a man named Francis 
 Oakes, who had been a " missionary" to Tahiti, but was 
 now head-constable at Parramatta. Oakes, having thus from 
 a fisher of souls become a fisher of bodies, repaired to 
 Macarthur's residence on the 15th December, 1807, and, 
 ••'after many humble apologies," presented the warrant. 
 Macarthur read it, and — remarking to Oakes that "if he 
 came a second time to enforce it, to come well armed, for he 
 would never submit until his blood was shed"— refused to 
 comply. "I have been already robbed of ten thousand 
 pounds," said he ; " but let them alone, and they will soon 
 make a rope to hang themselves." Poor Oakes then 
 requested that the great man would give him some docu- 
 ment to show that the warrant had been duly executed, and 
 Macarthur wrote the following : — 
 
 i; Parramatta, December 15th, 1807. 
 
 " Mr. Oakes— You will inform the person who sent you here with 
 the warrant you have now shown me, and given me a copy of, that I 
 never will submit to the horrid tyranny that is attempted until I am 
 
44 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 forced ; that I consider it with scorn and contempt, as I do the 
 persons who have directed it to be executed. 
 
 (Signed) " J. MACAETHUR." 
 
 Oakes having obtained this document, posted off to 
 Atkins, and (doubtless chuckling at the speedy humiliation 
 of his superior) recapitulated all that had passed. Atkins, 
 furious with rage, sought the Governor; and Mr. Oakes's 
 deposition having been taken, a warrant was issued for 
 Macarthur's arrest. The next day three constables, armed 
 with cutlasses, apprehended the "monopolist" in the house 
 of Mr. Grimes, the Surveyor-general, and he being brought 
 on the 17th before a bench of magistrates, was duly com- 
 mitted for trial for " high misdemeanours" before a special 
 criminal court to be summoned for the purpose. To the 
 inhabitants this intelligence was as startling as the news of 
 the arrest of the Five Members had been to their ancestors. 
 The despot had accomplished a couj) d'etat. 
 
 Macarthur, however, was liberated on bail, and in the 
 interim between the 17th of December and the 25th of 
 January the greatest excitement prevailed. The ill-feeling 
 between the prisoner and the Judge-advocate was well 
 known and freely commented upon. Macarthur himself 
 was not idle. He enlisted the sympathies of the ]STew^ South 
 "Wales corps, and seems to have informed its officers (who 
 were to try him) that he relied upon their favourable A r er- 
 dict. This reliance was not unfounded. The officers rallied 
 round their old comrade, and it is on record that the night 
 before the trial Macarthur's son and nephew and two of the 
 bailsmen dined at a public mess-dinner of the corps. The 
 colours of the regiment were displayed and the regimental 
 band playing, Mr. Macarthur himself walking up and down 
 the parade and listening to the music. History again sug- 
 gests a distant parallel in the "white cockade" Opera-house 
 dinner of bodyguards at the CEil de Bceuf. 
 
 It is, I am afraid, beyond question that Macarthur, not 
 content with the knowledge that the six jurors would acquit 
 him, to the confusion of the Government party, determined 
 to strike a final blow at his old enemy the Judge-advocate ; 
 nay, it is possible that, strong in his own position, he medi- 
 tated nothing less than the downfall of Governor Bligh him- 
 self. On the 25th of January, 1807, the court was crowded 
 not only with civilians, but with many soldiers of the 
 "Veteran Corps, muttering discontent, and fingering their side- 
 
THE RUM-PUNCHEON REVOLUTION. 45 
 
 arms. It was generally understood that the prisoner had, in 
 a letter addressed to the Governor, protested against the 
 presence of the Judge-advocate; and as it was evident that 
 the Judge-advocate was about to preside, the action of 
 Macarthur was anxiously looked for. The indictment — 
 prepared by Crossley, charging Macarthur with contempt 
 and sedition — was then read, and the six officers having 
 been sworn, Atkins was preparing to take the oath himself, 
 when the prisoner challenged him. The point was argued, 
 and Atkins declaring that by the terms of the patent the 
 court could not be formed without him (which was perfectly 
 true), Captain Kemp replied that the Judge-advocate was 
 nothing more than a juror, and Lieutenant Lawson desired 
 the prisoner to state his objections, calling out, " We will 
 hear him !" 
 
 Amid the greatest confusion, Atkins vacated his seat as 
 president, and Macarthur harangued the court. He stated 
 that he had been brought to trial in ignorance of the 
 charge against him, that he had in vain attempted to obtain 
 from Atkins a copy of the indictment, and that he objected 
 to him on six grounds : — First, that a suit was pending 
 between them. Second, that Atkins cherished a " ran- 
 corous inveteracy against him." Third, that having given 
 evidence to support an accusation against Atkins, he was 
 therefore exposed to his enmity. Fourth, because Atkins 
 had " associated and combined with that well-known dis- 
 membered limb of the law, George Crossley," to accomplish 
 his destruction. Fifth, because Atkins knew that should 
 he fail to procure a conviction he would be prosecuted for 
 false imprisonment. Sixth, because Atkins had already 
 pronounced sentence against him at the bench of magis- 
 trates, and consequently came into court with the intention 
 to convict. This speech contained a quotation of eight 
 "authorities" on the question of challenge, and ended with 
 an ad captandum appeal to the New South Wales corps. 
 
 At the conclusion of the harangue Atkins swore he would 
 commit the speaker for contempt, but Captain Kemp cried, 
 " You ! you commit ! No, sir ; but I will commit you to 
 gaol." The soldiers began to cheer, and Atkins, apprehen- 
 sive of violence, called out that he adjourned the court, but 
 the six refused to listen, and told the people not to disperse, 
 saying, " We are a court. Tell them not to go out." 
 
 The Judge-advocate having left, Macarthurdemanded pro- 
 
4G OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 tection, stating that he had been informed that a force of 
 armed ruffians had been prepared against him, and begging 
 for a military guard. As perhaps had been previously 
 agreed upon, this request was instantly granted. The 
 provost-marshal, however, considering this proceeding a 
 rescue, left the court in search of Atkins and three magis- 
 trates, in order to get a warrant for the apprehension of 
 Macarthur. 
 
 The six, thus left masters of the situation, desired to pro- 
 ceed pro formd, and solemnly then and there concocted 
 a letter to the Governor, requesting that another Judge- 
 advocate might be appointed .in the place of Atkins. At 
 half-past twelve the reply came. The Governor refused. 
 " Willing to wound, but yet afraid to strike," the six sent 
 another letter, reiterating their opinion, and begging further 
 consideration. 
 
 Atkins, however, had not been idle. He, too, sent a 
 memorial to the Governor, giving his version of the story, 
 and complaining that the six had impounded his papers. 
 Upon the receipt of this letter, the Governor, at a quarter- 
 past two, sent his secretary, Mr. Edmund Griffin, to the 
 court-house with a peremptory order to bring away all 
 papers. The six, however, respectfully refused to comply 
 with this command, unless " His Excellency would be 
 pleased to appoint another Judge-advocate." At a quarter 
 to four the Governor played his last card, He sent a letter 
 "finally demanding an answer in writing" as to the inten- 
 tions of the six, and with italics " repeating that they were 
 no court without the Judge-advocate." The six at five p.m. 
 closed the campaign by formally informing His Excellency 
 that they intended to retain the original correspondence, and 
 had adjourned to the following day. 
 
 That evening was one of intense excitement in Sydney. 
 The recalcitrant six were in some tremor as to the result of 
 their proceedings, and one may not unreasonably think that 
 the mess-table talk was not of the brightest. Mr. Macarthur, 
 snatched out of the hands of the fowler, and exultant in his 
 temporary triumph, could not but be alarmed as to the ulti- 
 mate issue of the struggle; Richard Atkins, Esq., and 
 Crossley his companion, were indignant and revengeful, 
 breathing threats and warrants; while His Excellency, 
 Governor Bligh — whose fits of rage were notorious — paced 
 the dining-room of the verandah-cottage called " Govern- 
 
THE RUM-PUNCHEON REVOLUTION. J 7 
 
 ment-house," waiting with furious impatience for the arrival 
 of his allies. The Prussians of this Waterloo wore repre- 
 sented by Major Johnstone, commanding the New South 
 Wales corps; and immediately upon the receipt of the last 
 manifesto of the six, Bligh had sent a despatch commanding 
 his appearance. If the presence of their commander-in-chief 
 did not quell the rebellious officers, Bligh's quarter-deck 
 knowledge was good for nothing. Unluckily, Major John- 
 stone had been thrown out of his chaise some time before 
 and was unable to come. He lived four miles from town, 
 and returned merely a verbal message, regretting his in- 
 ability to comply with His Excellency's order. " He was 
 too ill to come, and too weak to write." This was the coup 
 de grace. It was evident that the major sided with his 
 comrades. Nothing now remained but to try conclusions 
 with Macarthur. 
 
 Early the next morning (January 26) Macarthur was 
 arrested, and lodged in gaol. The court, reassembling, 
 demanded that he should be restored to his former bail, and 
 at ten o'clock addressed another letter to the Governor, 
 asserting that the deposition of the provost-marshal was 
 false, and that the prisoner ought in law to be released. 
 No answer was vouchsafed to this document, and at three 
 p.m. the court adjourned, wondering what His Excellency 
 would do next. They were soon informed. In the course 
 of the afternoon Bligh had decided upon war, and before 
 dinner each of the six received a letter summoning him to 
 Government-house on the morrow to answer for "treason- 
 able practices." It was also rumoured that Major John- 
 stone had received another letter, containing a tacit threat 
 that, unless he appeared to support constituted authority, 
 he would be virtually superseded in his command by Captain 
 Abbott. 
 
 The utmost dismay now prevailed. It was urged that 
 Bligh intended to set aside all forms of law, and ignoring 
 the powers and jurisdiction of the Criminal Court, would 
 seize upon his enemies in virtue of his untempered despotism. 
 The barracks were in a ferment. Officers and men were 
 alike ready for resistance. In the midst of the turmoil, at 
 five p.m., a chaise containing the injured Johnstone drove 
 up to the barracks. Lafayette's white horse could not have 
 produced a greater sensation. The crowd on tin, 1 barracks- 
 steps received him with open arms, and, amid a storm of 
 
48 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 mingled cheers and hisses, demanded whether he was come 
 to ruin or to ve the state. Johnstone, whose action would 
 seem to pom , to a foregone conclusion, vowed that he had 
 no intention of injuring his old companions in arms, and 
 his utterance was received with intense enthusiasm. Pre- 
 sently, the waiting mob outside the gates, eager to know 
 the result of the noisy council within, were gladdened by a 
 visible sign of power. Two merchants, Messrs. Bloxcell 
 and Bayley, appeared nourishing a folded paper, and took 
 the way to the gaol. Major Johnstone, the " Lieutenant- 
 Governor," had signed an order for Macarthur's release, and 
 was ready to back it with the muskets of the regiment 
 under his command. Presently Macarthur appeared amid 
 more cheering, and was conducted by his rescuers to the 
 Council Chamber. For more than an hour the council 
 deliberated, and at last a strange noise was heard in the 
 barrack-yard. The soldiers were getting under arms. It 
 was more than a revolt — it was a revolution. 
 
 At half-past six the drums beat hard and loud, and the 
 regiment, having been formed in the barrack-square, marched 
 down to Government-house, with colours Hying and fixed 
 bayonets. Government-house was a verandahed-cottage in 
 O'Connell-street (in 1852 it was still standing), and was 
 guarded by the usual guard of honour, under Lieutenant 
 Bell. As the regiment approached Bell was heard to order 
 his men to prime and load, and the instant after joined his 
 oomrades. In another moment the house was surrounded. 
 The Bligh dynasty had fallen. Major Johnstone was Go- 
 vernor of New South Wales. 
 
 The entrance of the revolutionary army was opposed by 
 but one person — and that a woman. Mrs. Putland, the 
 widowed daughter of the Governor, ran down to the gate 
 and endeavoured to dissuade Johnstone from entering, but 
 she was put aside, and a search was made for the Governor. 
 It has been stated that Bligh took refuge under a bed, and 
 was dragged thence in a condition of craven terror ; but this 
 statement is stoutly denied by many persons. It seems, 
 indeed, almost impossible to suppose that a man of Bligh's 
 well-known courage would be guilty of such an act of gross 
 cowardice. All that we know of his past life militates 
 against such a supposition. In times of danger lie had 
 always been found brave to rashness. His very vices were 
 those which spring from an overweening self-confidence, 
 
THE HUM-PUNCHEON REVOLUTION. [*) 
 
 combined with strong personal courage. It is not likely 
 that a captain who had fought his ship so as to merit the 
 thanks of Nelson, and had lived through such a voyage as 
 that which followed upon the mutiny of the " Bounty," 
 would hide beneath a bed to escape from the violence of 
 officers who had dined at his own table. Moreover, there 
 was nothing in the aspect of affairs to warrant such a dis- 
 play of timidity. The " revolution" was after all but a civil 
 matter. There was no infuriated mob waiting to tear him 
 in pieces. No threats of personal violence had been used, 
 and Bligh must have known that his life was never in 
 danger. Apart from the evidence of " character," which is 
 directly opposed to the supposition of rank cowardice, there 
 is not the shadow of motive for such a dastardly act as that 
 with which he is charged, while the story is in itself pre- 
 cisely one of those coarse lies which are so easily invented, 
 and so readily believed by the vuigarer sort, Bligh and his 
 bed is only another version of James II. and his warming- 
 pan. 
 
 What really took place is — as nearly as I can discover — 
 as follows : — 
 
 On entering the house Major Johnstone despatched Lieut. 
 Minchin to summon the Governor to his presence, and 
 calling for pens and paper, composed in Bligh's diningroom 
 a formal letter of dismissal. This letter stated that Bligh 
 " having been charged by the respectable inhabitants of 
 (sic) crimes that render him unfit to exercise supreme 
 authority," it was the painful duty of the writer to require 
 him, " in His Majesty's sacred name," to resign his authority 
 and submit to arrest. This letter was addressed to " Wil- 
 liam Bligh, Esq., F.R.S.," and signed '"George Johnstone, 
 acting Lieutenant-Governor, and Major commanding the 
 New South Wales Corps." 
 
 Bligh, in the meantime, had resolved on his course of 
 action. Seeing that resistance was hopeless, he called to his 
 orderly to saddle his horses, and ran upstairs to put on his 
 uniform. His idea was to escape from the house and get to 
 the region of the Hawkesbury, where he believed that the 
 people, remembering the benefits he had formerly bestowed 
 upon them, would rise in his behalf. While standing on 
 the stairs, waiting for a servant who had gone for his sword, 
 he was surprised by a number of soldiers with fixed bayonets, 
 who made their way upstairs. Conceiving at once that 
 
. r )0 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Johnstone wished to take him prisoner, he stepped back into 
 a bedroom adjoining, and attempted to get from a cupboard 
 some papers which he wished to destroy. In this position 
 he was found by Lieutenant Minchin, who arrested him in 
 the name of the king. 
 
 Minchin brought his prisoner into the drawingroom, 
 " crowded," says Bligh, " with soldiers under arms, many of 
 whom appeared to be intoxicated." The letter written by 
 Johnstone was then brought by Lieutenant Moore, and while 
 Bligh was in the act of reading it, the new Governor 
 appeared in the doorway, surrounded by officers, and ver- 
 bally confirmed the contents of the letter. 
 
 Martial law was then proclaimed, all official papers and 
 letters, together with Bligh's commission as governor, and 
 the "great seal" of the colony, were seized, and Bligh was 
 left with his daughter and another lady, sentries being placed 
 round the house to prevent his escape. Strangely enough, 
 this eventful evening was the 2Gth of January, 1805, the 
 twentieth anniversary of the founding of the colony. 
 
 On the 27th a general order was published, headed with 
 the following Napoleonic fustian : — 
 
 ''Soldiers! your conduct has endeared you to every well- 
 disposed inhabitant in this settlement. Persevere in the 
 same honourable path, and you will establish the. credit of 
 the New South Wales Corps on a basis not to be shaken. 
 God save the king ! " 
 
 By the general order all the officers of the late Govern- 
 ment were deposed, Atkins heading the list. The ring- 
 leaders of the revolution were appointed magistrates, and 
 Mr. Campbell, the Treasurer, was dismissed, with directions 
 to balance his accounts without delay. 
 
 Nor was this all. Three days afterwards, Mr. Fulton, the 
 chaplain, was suspended, and all civil and military officers, 
 and every well-disposed inhabitant, were ordered to join in 
 thanksgiving to Almighty God for His merciful interposi- 
 tion in their favour by relieving them without bloodshed 
 from the awful situation in which they stood before the 
 memorable 2Gth inst. 
 
 On the 2nd of February Mr. Macarthur was tried over 
 again before the same court which had already sat upon his 
 case, Mr. Grimes Acting as Advocate-general in the place of 
 Atkins, and was unanimously acquitted. Ten days afterwards 
 lie was made Colonial Secretary and territorial magistrate. 
 
THE RUM-PUNCHEON REVOLUTION. o 1 
 
 Not satisfied, however, with advancing their friends, the 
 successful revolutionists determined to take vengeance on 
 their enemies. Mr. Lowe, the provost-marshal, who had 
 arrested Macarthur, was imprisoned for nearly three mouths 
 on a charge of perjury, and finally sent for four months to 
 the coal-mines at Newcastle. Atkins was too high to be 
 assailed, but Crossley, the attorney, was sentenced to trans- 
 portation for seven years. 
 
 These arbitrary acts caused some sensation among the 
 free settlers, and the Government went the length of pro- 
 hibiting all public meetings, fearing lest a demonstration 
 might be got up in favour of Bligh. Notwithstanding this, 
 however, a memorial was drawn up, signed by a large 
 number of persons, and forwarded secretly to England. 
 This proceeding was discovered, and the most active mover 
 in the business, Mr. George Suttor, was imprisoned for six 
 months. 
 
 Notwithstanding the enthusiasm with which the rum- 
 puncheoners had hailed the accession of Major Johnstone 
 (bonfires had been blazing in all directions), the disaffected 
 mustered largely, and it was rumoured that a conspiracy was 
 afoot to reinstate Bligh. The illustrious prisoner was the 
 Avhite elephant of the Johnstone Government. He was kept 
 at Government House, and followed by a sentry wherever 
 he went; but upon these rumours gaining ground, was with 
 his daughter placed as a close prisoner in the military 
 barracks. At last it was decided to send him to England, 
 and in March, 1809, he was permitted to go on board the 
 " Porpoise," on the condition that he sailed straight for 
 Great Britain, and did not attempt to land on any part of 
 the Australian coast. Bligh gave his word to this effect; 
 but I am sorry to say that he broke it immediately, and 
 landed at Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land being then u 
 dependency of New South Wales. His coming created con- 
 siderable excitement, and for some time he received the 
 honour due to his rank; but before long an attempt was 
 made to seize him, and he was compelled to lie on and off 
 the coast in the "Porpoise," hoping for despatches from 
 England. 
 
 For nearly nine months the "Porpoise"' beat about the Van 
 Diemen's Land coast, and at last the wished-for succour 
 arrived. On the 25th December Colonel Macquarie arrived 
 in Sydney with orders to reinstate Captain Bligh for twenty- 
 
52 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 four hours, and to then assume the command. Johnstone 
 was to be sent home in strict arrest, and the New South 
 Wales Corps was to be replaced by the 73rd regiment. In 
 January, 1810, Bligh arrived from Adventure Bay, where 
 he had been lying when the news of the arrival came to 
 him, and was received with due honour by Colonel Mac- 
 quarie. The former officers were reinstated, and a special 
 act passed to legalise proceedings taken under the usurped 
 Government. 
 
 On the 12th May Bligh sailed for England, and was fol- 
 lowed by Johnstone and Macarthur, together with a cloud of 
 witnesses of all kinds. The Government — caring but little 
 for its convict colonies — was willing to deal gently with the 
 culprits. Bligh was certainly made rear-admiral, and sent 
 on active service, but Major Johnstone was not prevented 
 from becoming lieutenant-colonel. At length, on the 7th 
 May, 1811, the trial took place. The Court sat at Chelsea, 
 the Right Hon. Charles Maimers-Sutton (grandfather of the 
 present Lord Canterbury), being Judge-advocate General. 
 Colonel Johnstone was found guilty, and cashiered. In pub- 
 lishing this sentence in the general orders the following 
 rider was added : — 
 
 " The Court, in passing a sentence so inadequate to the 
 enormity of the crime of which the prisoner has been found 
 guilty, have apparently been actuated by a consideration of 
 the novel and extraordinary circumstances which by the 
 evidence on the face of the proceedings may have appeared 
 to them to have existed during the administration of Gover- 
 nor Bligh." 
 
 Colonel Johnstone returned to the colony, and died there, 
 universally respected, during the government of Macquarie. 
 Mr. Macarthur, after a compulsory absence of eight years, 
 also returned, and did better than poor Johnstone — he 
 founded a family. 
 
 So ended the rum-puncheon revolution. To us it may 
 seem something like a storm in a teapot, but to the worthy 
 residents of New South Wales in 1807 it was a very 
 terrible hurricane indeed. 
 
 ^ 
 
THE RULE OF THE BUSHRANGER. 
 
 In the year 1820, a writer in the Quarterly, speaking of a 
 book given him to review, says — " It is the greatest literary 
 curiosity that has come before us — the lirst child of the press 
 of a State only fifteen years old. It would of course be 
 reprinted here, but our copy, pene-nos, is a genuine Caxton. 
 This little book would assuredly be the Reynarde Foxe of 
 Australian bibliomaniacs." 
 
 A copy of this wonderful work is now lying before me. 
 It is a ragged and dirty little pamphlet of 30 pages. The 
 paper is old and yellow, the letter-press in some places 
 illegible, and several leaves are missing. It is printed in 
 the year 1818, by Mr. Bent, and is called Michael Howe, the 
 Last and Worst of the Bushrangers. The popularity of the 
 volume is unquestionable. It is quoted by Mr. West in his 
 History of Tasmania, and is extracted bodily into a History 
 of Van Diemens Land by one Syme, who was a settler there 
 in 1846. Mr. Bonwick, writing in 1856, calls Syme the 
 "historian of Howe;" Syme however merely reprinted 
 Bent's pamphlet as an appendix to his own book. The 
 Sydney Gazettes quoted by Went worth and West, Commis- 
 sioner Bigge's Reports, and a pleasant collection of stories 
 called The Military Sketch-book, written by an " Officer of 
 the Line," and published by Colburn in 1827, also contain 
 particulars concerning the bushranger, and have been used 
 by me to supplement the curiosity of the Quarterly Reviewer. 
 
 From the year 1813 — the year in which Colonel Davey 
 arrived as Lieutenant-Governor — to 1825, the colony of 
 Van Diemens Land was overrun with bushrangers. He' 
 severe punishments of lash and chain urged the convicts to 
 escape, the paucity of the military force assisted them in 
 their attempts, and the mountainous nature of the country 
 aided to bafiie efforts at recapture. In those days the "settler" 
 Tjrould till his fields with pistols in his belt, and smoke his 
 
54 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 evening pipe with rifle placed ready to his hand. Bands 
 of escaped convicts ranged the mountains, descending from, 
 their rocky fastnesses to plunder, murder, and ravish. They 
 rode about in gangs, they held councils of war, they posted 
 sentries, and took oaths of secrecy. They attacked the gaol, 
 and liberated their companions; they even issued proclama- 
 tions, and dictated terms to the Governor himself. Indeed, 
 the condition of affairs in Hobart Town was not encouraging 
 to the settler. The convict element was uppermost. Felons 
 were to freemen in the proportion of ten to one. Concu- 
 binage with convict women was customary. The very ships 
 that brought a mingled herd of male and female criminals 
 were the scenes of unbridled license. Each sailor or soldier 
 was permitted to ally himself to a female, and the connection 
 often terminated in a marriage which manumitted the con- 
 vict. " The madams on board," says Macarthur, " occupy 
 the few days which elapse before landing in preparing the 
 most dazzling effect in their descent upon the Australian 
 shore. With rich dresses, bonnets a la mode, ear pen- 
 dants, brooches, long gorgeous shawls and splendid veils, 
 silk stockings, kid gloves, and parasols in hand, dispensing 
 sweet odours from their profusely perfumed forms, they are 
 assigned as servants. The settler expected a servant, but 
 receives a princess." The children of these rakings of the 
 London bagnios were not unworthy of their race. Their 
 paramours vied with each other in villainy and distinction. 
 Blunt Davey himself was not too curious as to the morals of 
 his domestics, and gentlemen in Hobart Town Avitnessed 
 some curious scenes. " Society, as it then existed," says Mr. 
 West, " nourished every species of crime. Tattered promis- 
 sory notes, of small amount and doubtful parentage, fluttered 
 about the colony. . . Plate, stolen by bushrangers and 
 burglars, was melted down and disposed of. . . They 
 burnt the implements of husbandry for the iron, they robbed 
 the gibbet of the chains, they even wrenched the plate from 
 the coffin of an opulent merchant, and stripped him of his 
 shroud." In addition to the cheerful condition of affairs at 
 home, armed bandits, mounted on stolen horses, rode abroad, 
 and defied all attempts of capture. Of these gentry the 
 most noted was Michael Howe. 
 
 In the year 1812, the convict ship "Indefatigable," 
 Captain Cross, arrived at Hobart Town; and among the 
 many poor devils whom she carried was one Michael Howe. 
 
THE RULE OF THE BUSHRANGER. .V) 
 
 a native of Pontefract, transported for seven years, tor 
 robbing a miller on the king's highway. The robber seemed 
 tractable and goodnatnred, though cursed with a most perni- 
 cious love of liberty. He attempted to escape; before the 
 vessel left the docks, jumping overboard, and swimming 
 some distance before he was retaken. On arrival in Van 
 Diemen's Land he was assigned to a Mr. Ingle, a store- 
 keeper, but the life did not appear to suit him. He had 
 been a sailor, had served on board a man-of-war, and owned 
 (according to Mr. West) a small collier. A man of de- 
 termined character and somewhat romantic notions, he 
 resolved to escape and take to the bush. At that time, a 
 scoundrel named Whitehead, with a band of twenty-seven 
 desperadoes, ranged the country; to these worthies Howe 
 made his way, and was received with acclamations by tin 
 troop. 
 
 The first exploit of the gang was to attack New Nor- 
 folk — then a small but flourishing township — and to plunder 
 the inhabitants of all their portable property. From New 
 Norfolk they proceeded to Pittwater, and burnt the wheat- 
 stacks, barns, and out-houses of Mr. Humphrey, the police 
 magistrate, affixing to the gate of the ruined barn a paper, 
 on which was drawn — in the same spirit as the coffin and 
 cross-bones of the Irish rent-receipts— a gun tiring a gigan- 
 tic bullet at the head of a man. Mr. Humphrey appears to 
 have taken his loss quietly, but on the ruffians plundering 
 the house of a Mr. Carlisle, the settlers thought it time 
 to bestir themselves. A neighbour of Carlisle's, a Mr. 
 McCarthy, who owned a schooner, the " Geordy," then lying 
 in the river, determined to make a push for a general 
 capture of the gang. 
 
 Howe, when a servant at Ingle's, had gained the affec- 
 tions of a native girl, and had induced her to accompany 
 him to the bush. This young woman was only seventeen 
 years of age, and is described as being of some considerable 
 personal attractions. She was accustomed to wait upon her 
 lover, and to assist him in his escapes from justice. On the 
 night when Whitehead fired Mr. Humphrey's house. Black 
 Mary and Howe were encamped with some of the gang on 
 heights above the plain. According to tin; girl's statement, 
 the bushranger in high glee filled a "goblet" (probably a 
 pannikin), and as the twilight closed, cried to his comrade 
 Collier, " Collier, we want light! Here's success to the hand 
 
Ob OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 that will give it us !" Practical Mary, eager to please her 
 lord, rose to get a firestick from the embers; but Howe 
 laughed loudly, and seizing her by the arm exclaimed, " Sit 
 down, girl! Whitehead's lighting a match for us!" Pre- 
 sently " a tremendous flame arose from two different points 
 below, which threw a glare over all the plain." " There," 
 cried Howe; " these fires have cost a pretty penny. Here's 
 success to the bushman's tinder-box, and a blazing fire to his 
 enemies !" Mary relates that Howe was kind to her — after 
 the manner of his sex — whenever " things went right with 
 him;" but that if anything " crossed his temper, he was like 
 a tiger." He was very jealous of her, she says; and when 
 Edwards, one of his gang, gave her a shawl which he had 
 stolen from Captain Tonnson, Howe pistolled him on the 
 spot. 
 
 M'Carthy organised a party, consisting of some eleven men, 
 among whom were Carlisle, O'Birne, the master of the schooner, 
 and an old convict of sixty years of age, named Worral. 
 This old man had been one of the mutineers of the Nore, 
 and though he vows in his narrative (given in the Military 
 Sketch-Book) that the only part he took in the proceedings 
 was the writing "in a fair hand" several papers for the 
 mutineers, he was transported for life to Van Diemen's 
 Land. This party, armed to the teeth, and guided by a 
 native, set out upon the track of the bushrangers. By-and- 
 by they heard the report of a musket-shot, and creeping 
 stealthily up behind a huge hollowed log, came upon the 
 bandits pleasantly encamped. The scene as described by 
 Worral must have been a picturesque one. " Some were 
 cooking pieces of mutton; others lolling on the grass, smok- 
 ing and drinking; and a pretty, interesting-looking native 
 girl sat playing with the long and bushy black ringlets of a 
 stout, wicked-looking man seated by her. He had pistols in 
 his belt, wore a fustian jacket, a kangaroo-skin cap and 
 waistcoat, with leather gaiters and dirty velveteen breeches." 
 This was Michael Howe. Whitehead, the leader — "a tall, 
 ill-looking villain" — was asleep on the grass. M'Carthy 
 directed his men to cock their pieces, and called upon the 
 bushrangers to surrender. Instantly the gang were on 
 their feet. But before a shot was fired, Whitehead called a 
 parley. "We don't want to shed blood," said he; "go 
 home." M'Carthy still held firm, and was further expos- 
 tulating, when Howe roared, "Slap at the beggars!" and a 
 
THE RULE OF THE BUSHRANGER. 57 
 
 tearing volley from guns and pistols rattled among the 
 branches. Five of the attacking party fell, and, " keeping 
 up a brisk hedge-firing," they were forced to retreat, leaving 
 one of their number — a man named Murphy — dead on the 
 grass. Mr. Carlisle and O'Birne were mortally wounded : 
 Carlisle died on the road home; O'Birne, who was shot 
 through the jaws, lingered for four days in extreme agony. 
 
 McCarthy knew that his unsuccessful attempt would bring 
 upon him speedy vengeance, and applied for military protec- 
 tion. A detachment of the 73rd Regiment were sent out to 
 scour the country, and M'Carthy's homestead was garrisoned 
 by a party of the 46th. The bushrangers, unwitting of the 
 ambush, attacked the farm, and a sort of siege commenced. 
 The soldiers, however, gained the day, and a shot from 
 Worral mortally wounded Whitehead. The dying man ran 
 back towards his comrades, crying to Howe, " Take my 
 watch — the villains have shot me." The soldiers ran round 
 the house to take their assailants in the rear, and Worral, 
 reloading his piece, observed Howe bend over the corpse of 
 his captain as if to comply with his request. He ran towards 
 him, but when he reached the spot the miscreant had disap- 
 peared, and there lay on the ground the mutilated trunk of 
 Whitehead. In pursuance of an agreement made between 
 them, Howe had hacked off his comrade's head with his 
 clasp-knife, to prevent any person claiming the reward that 
 was offered for it. The gang got clear away to the moun- 
 tains. The body of Whitehead was gibbeted on Hunter's 
 Island, and Howe became the leader of the troop. 
 
 The atrocitv and daring of the scoundrel now almost 
 surpasses belief. His head-quarters we're about fifteen miles 
 west of Oatlands, in a place yet known as " Michael Howe's 
 Marsh/' He instituted there a sort of rude court of justice, 
 and would subject such of his band as displeased him to 
 punishment. Says Mr. West — '-'The tone assumed by this 
 robber was that of an independent chief, and in the manage- 
 ment of his men he attempted the discipline of war. lb' 
 professed the piety of the quarter-deck, and read to them the 
 Scriptures."' His style and title was "Governorof the Ranges, ' 
 and he addressed the King's representative as " Governor of 
 the Town." He punished his men with blows and hard 
 labour if they disobeyed him; and when one day a man 
 named Bowles fired a blank shot over his head in jost, tin- 
 chief tied him hand and foot, and blew his brains out. Ho 
 
58 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 compelled his adherents to take an oath of fidelity upon a 
 (stolen) Bible, and sent insolent messages to the authori- 
 ties. In a journal called the Bengal Hurkaru occurs the fol- 
 lowing: — "John Yorke, being duly sworn, states — About 
 five o'clock in the evening of November 27th (1816), I fell 
 in with a party of bushrangers — 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 
 sto})ped 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 the purpose regularly. They did not 
 inform me of 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 have their lives, and to prevent them 
 keeping stock or grain, unless something was 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 would set the whole country on lire 
 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 bushrangers 
 called the Talloiv-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." 
 
 The poorer settlers were in league with the daring robbers, 
 and were wont to supply them with information. Howe 
 affected to be a sort of Robin Hood — indeed it is probable that 
 the marauder of Sherwood Forest was just such another 
 greasy ruffian. In another hundred years the " light that 
 never was on land or sea, the consecration and the Poet's 
 dream" — the consecration of that lecherous butcher, Henry 
 
THE RULE OF THE BUSHRANGER. .V.I 
 
 the Eighth — the poet's dream of that beer-swelling terma- 
 gant, Virgin Elizabeth — the light that gilds the shameless 
 robberies of the glorious Reformation — may shim: upon 
 Michael Howe in the character of a romantic outlaw. The 
 people certainly admired him; and though a reward of 100 
 guineas and a free passage to England was set upon his head, 
 he was accustomed to visit HobartTown in perfect security. 
 
 Worral — who had set his heart upon seeing England again, 
 and was always on the watch to capture the bandit — came 
 very near taking him on one occasion. The old sailor was 
 buying some powder and shot in the store of one Stevens, 
 when a man "dressed like a gentleman" entered. The 
 moment Worral heard him speak, he recognised the voice of 
 the " fellow who had cut oil the head of Whitehead," and 
 grappled with him. A furious struggle took place, and just 
 as poor Worral thought his 100 guineas and free passage 
 were safe, he received a violent blow on the back of his 
 head, and fell senseless. When he recovered, Stevens the 
 storekeeper was holding a pannikin of ruin to his lips, and 
 Howe had gone. Stevens swore that " a strange man had 
 rushed into the store, and knocked Worral down with a 
 bludgeon." The bethumped old fellow had his suspicions, 
 but like a wise man said nothing, until one day Stevens was 
 detected in " receiving " plunder, and previous to swinging 
 on the Hunter Island gibbet, confessed that he himself had 
 struck the blow — " I wish I'd killed him," he added. 
 
 A regular campaign was now commenced against the free- 
 booters, and one day a party of the 4Gth, among whom as a 
 volunteer was the indefatigable Worral, stumbled upon a hut 
 on the banks of the Shannon. The bushrangers had chosen 
 their camping-ground with an eye to the picturesque. "It was 
 a flat piece of green land, covered with wild flowers, and over- 
 looking the most beautiful country that can be imagined: a 
 precipice in our front, from which we hurled a stone that 
 rolled over half-a-mile of steep hill down to river, all studded 
 with islands and ornamented by the most delightfully dis- 
 played foliage on its banks; plain over plain, and wood over 
 wood, was to be seen for twenty miles distance, and the blue 
 mountains far away gave one the idea of an earthly paradise, 
 yet no human being ever claimed it — none ever trod over 
 this fair country but a few lawless brigands." Remaining in 
 ambush for some time at the spot, they at last perceived 
 four men approaching, of whom one was Howe. The native 
 
60 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 girl before mentioned was with him, clad in a dress of 
 skins, feathers, and white calico. The instinct of the savage 
 detected the trap: she pointed, gesticulated, seized Howe's 
 arm, and ran back. The soldiers dashed out, and allowing 
 the less valuable prey to escape, followed Howe. The bush- 
 ranger, closely followed by the girl, gained the summit of a 
 hill, turned round and fired, but missed, and ran on. For 
 more than a mile the chase continued, the bushranger gain- 
 ing on his pursuers at every stride, when the girl's strength 
 began to fail her, and she lagged behind. Howe pressed 
 and urged her to further exertion. The pursuers set up a 
 great shout at this, and redoubled their efforts. The girl 
 fell, and Howe in vain commanded her to rise. The soldiers 
 were within five hundred yards of him, and gnashing his 
 teeth with rage, the monster drew his remaining pistol, and, 
 taking deliberate aim at the exhausted girl, fired. He then 
 turned, and plunged into a ravine, " where pursuit was 
 hopeless." 
 
 Howe doubtless hoped that his bullet had taken fatal 
 effect, and that Mary would be unable to speak concerning 
 him. He was doubly deceived. The girl was but slightly 
 wounded, and justly incensed at the brutality of her lover. 
 She volunteered to aid her rescuers to track him to his 
 hiding-place. After a march of three hours, the party 
 arrived at some huts on the Shannon bank. These were 
 deserted, but on the opposite side of the river stood Geary 
 — the lieutenant of the gang — with levelled musket. He 
 fired, missed, and made off. The girl now led them to 
 another place, and as they " arrived at a high rock which 
 overhung the waters of the creek," a shot was heard; a 
 wild figure burst out of the bush, and darted past them. 
 The cliff was steep, but two soldiers, dropping down its 
 hinder side, ran round and cut off the outlaw's retreat. 
 
 It was Hillier, the most brutal of the band. He turned 
 and faced them for an instant, and then, seeing their 
 numbers, flung away his empty gun with an oath, and 
 .sprang head-first from the rock into the river. The drop 
 was a hundred feet, and all thought him a dead man. He 
 rose to the surface, however, and swam for the opposite 
 bank. The two soldiers quickly ran to a. narrow ravine 
 formed by the over-hanging rocks, and, daringly leaping it, 
 met him as he landed. He took to the water again, but on 
 reaching tin; middle of the creek, and seeing musket-muzzles 
 
THE RULE OF THE BUSHRANGER. <il 
 
 menacing him on all sides, cried out that he would surrender, 
 and, if they would spare his life, turn approver. The ser- 
 geant who commanded the party would make no terms, 
 vowing to shoot him unless he surrendered instantly. So 
 he came ashore and was bound. 
 
 Now a very horrible discovery was made. Guided by 
 the native girl, they reached a hut, in which lay a body 
 with the head nearly severed from the trunk. "Ay," says 
 Hillier; "that's poor Peter Septon; he often said he'd cut 
 his own throat, and now he's done it completely." " No 
 man ever cut his throat in that manner," cries Worral. 
 " You did it, you villain!" Hillier protested innocence, 
 but a few paces further the party came upon another bleed- 
 ing wretch, with his hand shattered by a bullet, and his 
 throat partially severed. This was Collier, another bandit. 
 "Villain!" cries he to Hillier, "you would have mur- 
 dered me as you murdered Septon." The black girl at this 
 moment, seeing that the murderer was inevitably doomed, 
 says — "Hillier, you killed my sister too !" Hillier, finding 
 it useless to dissemble, confessed. The soldiers brought 
 their prisoners to New Norfolk, making Hillier carry 
 Septon's head tied round his neck. The two men who had 
 escaped with Howe were soon afterwards retaken at Kan- 
 garoo Point, and the four were gibbetted together on Hun- 
 ter's Island, beside the whistling bones of Whitehead. 
 
 Howe was now reduced to despair. The capture of the huts 
 had deprived him of his ammunition and his dogs — the two 
 sources of life in the bush. He resolved to surrender himself, 
 offering, if his life was spared, to assist the Government in 
 capturing the remnant of his own band. Such was the 
 state of the country, and the terror his deeds had inspired, 
 that Governor Sorrell, who had succeeded Davey, accepted the 
 offer made him, and despatched Captain Nairns, of the 46th, 
 as an ambassador to the bushranger. Howe was brought to 
 Hobart Town, and lodged in gaol, from which lie was soon 
 rashly released, and permitted to walk about the city attended 
 only by a single constable. 
 
 In the meantime the robbers received reinforcements of 
 several escaped convicts, for whom large rewards were offered 
 by the Crown; and notwithstanding that Geary was shot in 
 an affray in the Tea-tree Bush, the plundering and burning 
 continued. Twenty men were thought to be at large. They 
 seized the boat which carried provisions between George 
 
02 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Town and Launceston, they sent messages of defiance to the 
 government, and openly offered an asylum to all escaped 
 convicts. Encouraged by these successes, or perhaps weary 
 of civilisation, Howe eluded his guardian constable, and 
 having received arms and provisions, made for his old haunts. 
 This was too much for human patience. The Governor made a 
 personal appeal to the settlers, and troops of volunteers were 
 despatched in all directions. Convicts and freemen took 
 part in these excursions, and such exertions were made that 
 of the twenty only three remained at large, Howe, Watts, and 
 Browne. For these miscreants the following rewards were 
 offered: — For Howe, one hundred guineas and a free pardon; 
 for Watts, eighty guineas and a free pardon; for Browne, fifty 
 guineas and a free pardon. Brown, surrendered, but Howe 
 was not to be taken. 
 
 A convict named Drewe, otherwise called Slambow, was 
 shepherding for a Mr. Williams, and determined to make 
 a push for the reward. This Drewe had, it appears, with 
 the majority of the convict storekeepers, often assisted 
 Howe in his escapes from justice. Falling in with Watts, he 
 pointed out the advantages of freedom, and suggested that 
 the two together might easily overcome the brigand. AVatts 
 assented, and proposed to Howe that they should send a 
 message to Hobart Town through Slambow. Howe agreed, 
 and the three met at dawn, at a place called Longbottom, 
 on the banks of the Derwent. Howe ordered Watts to shake 
 the priming from his gun, and did the same himself. Drewe 
 had been advised to leave his gun, and was unarmed. The 
 bushranger then lighted a fire, and busied himself in pre- 
 paring a breakfast for his guest. Watts seized a favourable 
 moment, and, leaping upon him, secured him. Howe wit- 
 nessed the treacherous scoundrels eat their breakfast in 
 silence, busying himself the while with straining at his bonds. 
 After breakfast the captors started in high glee for Hobart 
 Town, Watts going first with the loaded gun, the bound 
 bushranger in the middle, and Drewe bringing up the rear. 
 They had gone about eight miles, and Drewe, eager for the 
 reward, had refused assistance from his master, when Howe, 
 watching a favourable moment, slipped his hands from the 
 loosened cords, drew a concealed knife, and stabbed Watts 
 in the back. Drewe was clambering up a bank, and saw 
 nothing; but, when he reached the top, Howe coolly pre- 
 sented Watts' gun, and shot him dead. Watts cried, "Have 
 
THE RULE OF THE BUSHRANGER. 03 
 
 you shot Slambow?" "Yes," says Howe, "and will shoot 
 you as soon as I can load the piece." Upon this, Watts 
 though bleeding from the wound in his back, made shift 
 to get upon his feet, and ran some two hundred yards. 
 Howe, doubtless fearing an alarm from the shot, did not 
 wait to complete his work, but made off into the bush. 
 Watts got to a settler's house, and, being sent to Sydney, 
 three days after his arrival, died of his wounds. Villain 
 as Howe was, one cannot but admit that his cowardly 
 assailants met with their deserts. 
 
 The double murder, however, caused a proclamation from 
 Government, offering, in addition to the reward and pardon, 
 a free passage to England for any one who should bring in 
 the dreaded bushranger dead or alive. Our old friend 
 Worral determined to make a final effort. Alone in the 
 wilderness, Howe seems to have lived for some time the 
 victim of a despairing conscience. His nature was never 
 without a touch of rude romance, and the recollection of his 
 crimes went far to turn his brain. In his solitary wanderings 
 among the mountains he saw visions. Spirits appeared to 
 him and promised him happiness. The ghosts of his victims 
 arose, and threatened despair. He kept a journal of his 
 dreams — a journal written with blood, on kangaroo skin. 
 It is possible that, in a land of fruits and game, he might 
 have lived a hermit, and died a penitent. But the barren 
 beauty of the bush afforded no sustenance. He was com- 
 pelled to descend from his hut — an eyrie built on the brink 
 of a cataract, and surrounded by some of the sublimest 
 scenery of the Tasmanian mountains — to plunder the farms 
 for food and ammunition. Armed bands, incited by the hope 
 of the reward, lay in wait for him at every turn. Mr. Bon- 
 wick describes the condition of the man in the following 
 picturesque passage: — " Clad in kangaroo skins, and with a 
 long, shaggy, black beard, he had a very Orson-like aspect. 
 Badgered on all sides, he chose a retreat among the mountain 
 fastnesses of the Upper Shannon — a dreary solitude of cloud- 
 land — the rocky home of hermit eagles. On this elevated 
 plateau, contiguous to the almost bottomless lakes from 
 whose crater-formed recesses in ancient days torrents of 
 liquid fire poured forth upon the plains of Tasmania, or rose 
 uplifted basaltic masses, like frowning Wellington, within 
 sight of lofty hills of snow, having the peak of Tenerifl'e to 
 the south, Frenchman's Cap and Byron to the west, Miller's 
 
64 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Bluff to the east, and the serrated crest of the Western tier to 
 the north; entrenched in dense woods, with surrounding 
 forests of dead poles, through whose leafless passages the 
 wind harshly whistled in a storm — thus situated, amidst some 
 of the sublimest scenes of nature, away from suffering and 
 degraded humanity, the lonely bushranger was confronted 
 with his God and his own conscience." 
 
 To capture this hunted outlaw was the task and the for- 
 tune of Worral. He allied himself with a man named 
 Warburton, a kangaroo-hunter and confidant of Howe's, and 
 one Pugh, a soldier of the 48th. The three proceeded to 
 Warburton's hut, situated in a lonely spot on the Shannon 
 Bank; and Worral and Pugh sat down with their guns 
 across their knees, while Warburton went out to seek Howe. 
 At last, the sun striking a tier of the opposite hills showed 
 two figures approaching the hut. An hour passed, and 
 Worral in despair crept cautiously out. The bushranger 
 was standing within a hundred yards of him, talking to the 
 traitor. He drew back, and presently Howe slowly entered 
 the hut, with his gun presented and cocked. He saw the 
 trap at once. "Is that your game'?" he cried, and fired. 
 Pugh knocked up the gun, and, says Worral with almost 
 poetic imagery, " Howe ran off like a wolf." I give the 
 story of the capture in the sailor's own words : — " I fired, 
 but missed ; Pugh then halted and took aim at him, but also 
 missed. I immediately flung away the gun, and ran after 
 Howe; Pugh also pursued; Warburton was a considerable 
 distance away. I ran very fast; so did Howe, and if he had 
 not fallen down an unexpected bank I should not have been 
 fleet enough for him. This fall, however, brought me up 
 with him. He was on his legs, and preparing to climb a 
 broken bank, which would have given him a free run into a 
 wood, when I presented my pistol at him and desired him 
 to stand. He drew forth another, but did not level it at 
 me. We were about fifteen yards from each other, the 
 bank he fell from between us. He stared at me with 
 astonishment, and to tell you the truth I was a little aston- 
 ished at him, for he was covered with patches of kangaroo- 
 skins, and wore a long black beard, a haversack and powder- 
 horn slung across his shoulders. I wore my beard also — as 
 I do now — and a curious pair we looked like. After a 
 moment's pause he cried out, ' Blackbeard against Grey- 
 beard for a million ! ' and fired. I slapped at him, and I 
 
THE RULE OF THE BUSHRANGER. 05 
 
 believe hit him, for he staggered, but rallied again, and was 
 clearing the bank between him and me when Pugh ran up, 
 and with the butt end of his firelock knocked him down 
 again, jumped after him, and battered his brains out, just as 
 he was opening a clasp-knife to defend himself." 
 
 Such was the end of Michael How r e. His captors cut oli' 
 his head and brought it to Hobart Town, terrifying poor 
 Dr. Ross, who, proceeding up-country a newly-arrived immi- 
 grant, met the ghastly procession. The reward w r as divided 
 amongst them; the settlers subscribed nearly double the 
 amount, and old Worral was " sent home free, with the 
 thanks of the Governor and the public." 
 
 'Vfc! 
 
THE 
 
 ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON 
 
 In Boss's Van Diemeris Land Annual for 1835 appears the 
 first part of a " Shred of Autobiography, containing various 
 anecdotes, personal and historical, connected with these colo- 
 nies." This autobiography is anonymous, and was written by 
 a manumitted convict. The second part appeared in the 
 Annual for 1838, after Dr. Ross's death. The writer's name 
 was Jorgenson, and the story of his life reads more like a 
 romance than a record of fact. He was a seaman, explorer, 
 traveller, adventurer, gambler, spy, man of letters, man of 
 fortune, political prisoner, dispensing chemist, and King of 
 Iceland, and was transported for illegally pawning the pro- 
 perty of a lodginghouse-keeper in Tottenham Court road. 
 
 His " autobiography" is written in a vain and egotistical 
 strain, with much affectation of classical knowledge, and is 
 rambling and disconnected. It occupies 195 closely-printed 
 pages of the Annual, and readers who prefer their informa- 
 tion at first hand cannot do better than procure the volumes, 
 and read for themselves. My apology to the shade of the 
 author must be that, as the publication in which his lucubra- 
 tions appeared is long since out of print, and copies are 
 extremely rare, it is just possible that such a course of 
 action would — on the part of a few thousand readers — be 
 absolutely impossible. I propose, however, to stick as closely 
 to the narrative as I can, and to give Jorgenson's own 
 language wherever practicable. This " old tale," therefore 
 — to appropriate a jest made concerning a plagiarising writer 
 of colonial notoriety — may be divided into two parts — that 
 which is printed between inverted commas, and that which 
 ought to be. 
 
 " Who so able to write a man's life as the living man 
 himself?" cries Captain Jorgenson. " The age of intellect 
 has merged into the autobiographical. A Homer is no 
 longer wanted to immortalise an Agamemmon. For where 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON'. G7 
 
 sound the trumpet of his own exploits I or who, like myself, 
 would suffer the sad but instructive vicissitudes of his fate 
 to pass by unwept and unrecorded, or as Horace says — illa- 
 crymabiles ? No; having been promised a niche in Ross's 
 Van Diemen's Land Annual — the only sanctuary and safe 
 retreat of great names, the sole Westminster Abbey which 
 these Australian regions can yet boast — I hasten to lill it 
 up before a greater man steps in to occupy the ground." 
 After this peroration — repeated in the second part as a gem 
 too bright to be lost — Captain Jorgenson proceeds to re- 
 count his birth and early adventures. 
 
 He was born in Copenhagen in the year 1780, and was 
 the son of a mathematical-instrument maker. He received 
 a good education, but, though his parents appeared to have 
 been in easy circumstances, and would have started him in 
 business, the boy must needs " go to sea." "When I saw a 
 Dutch Indiaman set sail, with its officers on deck, dressed 
 out in their fine uniforms, my heart burned with envy to be 
 like them." Old Jorgenson, however, did not approve of 
 his son's notions, and, with a view to sicken him of a sea- 
 faring life, bound him apprentice to an English collier, and 
 kept him on board her for four years. He was then eighteen, 
 and, " beginning to think for myself (for we in Denmark are 
 of age at sixteen)," he quitted the collier, and shipped on 
 board the " Fanny," a South Sea whaler, bound with stores 
 to the Cape of Good Hope. At the Cape he made another 
 engagement with Captain Black, of the " Harbinger," 
 bound for Algoa Bay. Black had obtained his appoint- 
 ment for services rendered on board the ".Jane Shore" 
 (prison ship). The prisoners and soldiers concerted a plan 
 of mutiny, and, seizing the vessel, took her to Buenos Ay res. 
 Black escaped the carnage, and, with 180 others (among whom 
 was the famous pickpocket and swindler, Major Sempill, 
 who refused to join the mutineers), was put into an open 
 boat, and after much hardship got to the West Indies. The 
 "Harbinger" had a narrow escape of being taken by ■' 
 French ship of 44 guns (this was in the year 1708), but 
 beat off her enemy and accomplished her voyage without 
 mishap. 
 
 Returning to the Cape, young Jorgenson joined a brig of 
 Go tons. This was the "Nelson," commanded by Lieutenant 
 Grant, and was sent as a tender to the " Investigator," com- 
 manded bv Captain Flinders, on a surveying voyage round 
 
 r2 
 
68 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 the Australian coast. Dr. Bass, originally surgeon of H.M.S 
 "Reliance/' had got clown to Western Port from Sydney 
 in a whale boat, and gave it as his opinion that "some strait' 
 must exist in that latitude. Captain Flinders set out from 
 Sydney to ascertain this point, but, before the result of his 
 expedition was known in England, the "Lady Nelson" was 
 despatched on the same errand. She was built expresslv 
 for the voyage, and was admirably fitted. Jorgenson says 
 she had "a remarkable sliding keel, the invention of Com- 
 missioner Shanks, of the Navy Board, which answered so 
 well that I have often wondered it did not come into more 
 general use." It was composed of three parts or broad 
 planks, fitted into corresponding sockets or openings, which 
 went completely through the vessel, from the deck to the 
 keel. These planks could be let down or drawn up at plea- 
 sure, to a depth of 8ft., according as the vessel went into 
 deep or shallow water, or in sailing against the wind to 
 obviate the leeway. 
 
 Lieutenant Grant received orders to shape his course for 
 the western extremity of what was then believed to be the 
 peninsula of Van Diemen's Land. The first point he made 
 was King's Island (named after Captain King, third governor 
 of New South Wales). From King's Island they went to 
 Sydney, and then returned and completed the survey of Port 
 Phillip, Western Port, Port Dalrymple, and the Derwent. 
 The "strait" was named after the doctor, and Bass's Straits 
 are a sufficiently credible witness that Van Diemen's Land 
 is not part of New Holland. 
 
 On her return to Sydney, the "Lady Nelson" was ordered 
 to accompany Flinders in his expedition to the north; but 
 at the Northumberland Islands she lost "all her cables and 
 anchors on the coral reefs, and was obliged to steer for the 
 main island of the chain," and eventually returned to 
 Sydney. The "Investigator" went on, and circumnavigated 
 the continent. She had on board Messrs. Brown and Kelly, 
 botanists (the latter sent out at the expense of Sir Joseph 
 Banks), M. Bauer, and Westall, the landscape painter. The 
 account of the voyage is well known, as it is written at 
 length in the chronicles of the early explorers, but some 
 particulars given by Jorgenson may find a place here. Having 
 accomplished her task, the " Investigator" was condemned 
 as unsea worthy — a condemnation which Jorgenson disputes 
 — cut down, and sent home under the charge of Captain 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGEXSON. Oil 
 
 Kent, nephew (by marriage) to Hunter, the late Governor 
 of New South Wales. Flinders placed his crew and himself 
 on board the "Porpoise" man-of-war, and was wrecked in 
 Torres Straits, in company with the "Cato" and " Bridge- 
 water," "extra East India ships." The "Bridge water" 
 escaped, and seems to have left her consorts to their fate The 
 crew of the "'Porpoise" got on to the ve<'\\ but all on board 
 the "Cato" were lost except three. Flinders took the intel- 
 ligence to Sydney in the ship's boat, leaving the survivors 
 "building a schooner of the wreck." They were ultimately 
 saved, but the botanical collection of "unknown Australian 
 plants" was lost. Nothing daunted by his mischances, 
 Flinders, being anxious to complete the survey of the conti- 
 nent, and to take the news of his discoveries to England, 
 induced King to place at his disposal the "Cumberland," a 
 small craft of 30 tons burden. Running short of provisions, 
 and relying on his passport, he sailed for the Mauritius, and 
 was detained by the French Government under suspicion of 
 being a " spy/' His charts and papers were never more heard 
 of, and poor Flinders was kept a prisoner for six years. " He 
 was at last liberated," says Jorgenson, "by the peremptory 
 order of Napoleon, and died on the lTth July, 1814, the 
 very day that the 'account of a voyage to Terra Australis' 
 was published." 
 
 Dr. Bass met with even a worse fate. That worthy, having 
 completed his survey of the "strait," returned home, but, 
 being unable to rest quietly, came out again as supercargo 
 and part owner of the brig "Venus," Captain Bishop, in- 
 tending to trade in Sydney and Spanish America. ()\i his 
 arrival at Sydney, Bishop went mad, and Bass, -who. though 
 a surgeon and physician, was a skilful navigator." took 
 command of the ship. He went to Valparaiso and en- 
 deavoured to "force a trade." That is to say, " Either buy 
 my goods or I storm the place." Such amenities of commerce 
 were not unusual in those days. The Spaniards consented, 
 but Bass and his crew being on shore, " relaxing from the 
 fatigues of the voyage," and drinking mm and lime juice, the 
 wily scoundrels seized the " Venus" and cargo, and. captur- 
 ing* Bass and his men after a deperate resistance, -ait them 
 to the fjuicksilver mines, from whence they never returned. 
 I fancy that this little episode in the life of the discoverer of 
 •'•'Bass's Straits" is but little known to the many good folks 
 who sail across them twice a vear. There were some things 
 
70 OLD TALES OF A VOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 done in those days not unworthy of Salvation Yeo and the 
 dogs of Devon. 
 
 Sydney was a tolerably strange place. It was a sort of 
 Sonth Sea city of refuge, and the French war gave a good 
 excuse for gallant gentlemen with more blood than guineas 
 to exchange the one for the other. The Spanish coast was 
 the great place for gold and glory, and many a sly privateer 
 of the " Venus" class sailed from Sydney harbour. Jorgenson 
 mentions two — a " Captain M 'Clarence, of the brig ' Dart.' " 
 who met with death or the mines at Coquimbo; and 
 " Captain Campbell, of the East India brig ' Harrington.' ' 
 Campbell, being in Sydney during the year lis03, got news 
 of the peace of Amiens. Being a calculating, long-headed 
 fellow, he guessed that a rupture would soon take place, and 
 prepared to take advantage of the temporal 1 }' calm. Getting 
 together a crew of desperadoes like himself, he sailed for the 
 Spanish-American coast. Entering the wealthiest ports, he 
 brought his guns to bear upon the town, and, landing, 
 sword in hand, at the head of his men, he plundered, burnt,, 
 and ravished, despoiling " even the churches, and bringing 
 back with him an immense treasure."' On his return to 
 Sydney, however, contrary to his expectation, news of wai 
 had not yet arrived, and, fearful of Governor King's wrath, 
 he buried his plunder in one of the many islands of the 
 straits. His fears were not unfounded. Stern old King — 
 he was an eccentric, homely, honest man — ordered the 
 pirate and his officers into arrest, where they remained foi 
 some time in fear and trembling. But Campbell's shrewd 
 Scot's head had not deceived him. When the English 
 news arrived, it was discovered that war had been already 
 declared with Spain, and " Captain Campbell" having but 
 served his country, was honourably set free. 
 
 It is not absolutely stated that the pirate dug his treasure 
 up again. If he did not. perhaps some lucky fellow may yet 
 stumble upon it. But it is more than probable that a good 
 deal of it found its way into the pockets of Sydney taverners. 
 These gentry must have made large sums. Owing to the 
 frequent failure of supplies from England, provisions wer< 
 very dear. "It was no uncommon tiling," says Jorgenson 
 "to give ten guineas for a gallon of rum. Tobacco was pro- 
 portionately dear, and tea was never under a guinea a pound 
 Money itself sympathised with the general rise. The 
 common penny pieces passed for two pence, and halfpence 
 
THE ADVENTURES OK (ATTAIN .JOIUJENSOX. 
 
 for pence. A large quantity of copper was in eonse<juenc< 
 brought out by the masters of vessels, who thus realised 
 profit of 100 per cent. The colony was ultimately most 
 inconveniently overloaded with copper money. It was woi-se 
 than the days of "Wood's halfpence, which Dean Swift so 
 ably put down; and Governor King, in like manner, was 
 compelled to put his veto on the further introduction of such 
 money, and speedily settled the point by reducing pence and 
 halfpence to the proper value." 
 
 In 1803 the " Lady Nelson " set sail from Sydney with 
 Captain Bowen, R.N., to form a settlement at the Derwent. 
 ''The late Dr. Moimtgarrett and two ladies/' whose names 
 Captain Jorgenson. has still the pleasure to ''enrol among 
 his friends." accompanied the expedition. They were dis 
 embarked on the ''north bank of the Derwent. at Risdon,"" 
 and then went on to Port Phillip, where Collins had 
 endeavoured to form a settlement. During their absence 
 the station at Risdon was abandoned, and the tents pitched 
 on the present site of Hobart Town. Speedily tired 
 of His Majesty's service, erratic Jorgenson now took 
 charge of a small vessel going on a sealing voyage to New 
 Zealand, and then shipped as chief officer of a whaler. 
 They sailed for the Derwent, and our author k ' can boast of 
 having stuck the first whale in that river." From the 
 Derwent they went to New Zealand, and, having cruised foi 
 some time in those seas, bore up for London, having on 
 board two New Zealanders and two Otaheitans, whom 
 Jorgenson introduced to Sir Joseph Banks. Sir Joseph 
 took charge of them, paid their expenses, and placed them 
 under the care of the Rev. Joseph Hardcastle, " in order 
 that by initiating them in the truths of the Christian 
 religion they might be able to confer a similar boon on then 
 own countrymen." The poor fellows died in a twelvemonth. 
 Jorgenson now went back to Copenhagen, which lie found 
 bombarded by the English, and, having seen his friends, was 
 welcomed with great rejoicings. He seems to have become 
 quite a " lion," for next year (1807) we find him in ;< 
 position of some importance. By dint of stories about the 
 Australia* and the Spanish main, he, like Mr. Oxenham. 
 would appear to have tired the hearts of the honest (open 
 hagen burghers. Old Jorgenson and seven other merchant > 
 
 Otherwise Restdown. 
 
72 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 of Copenhagen, "touched with a spirit of reprisal against 
 the English," subscribed to purchase a small vessel, armed 
 with 28 guns, and presented her to the Crown. She was 
 armed, commissioned, and manned by the Government, and 
 our hero placed in command. Now begins a new epoch in 
 his life. 
 
 Our hero's vessel, manned by 83 men, and carrying 28 
 guns, cut through the ice "a month before it was expected 
 that any vessel could get out," and, coming unawares among 
 the English traders, captured several ships. 
 
 Encouraged by this success, and relying on his knowledge 
 of the coast, Jorgenson stood over to England. His 
 courage, however, outran his prudence, and off Flamborough 
 Head lie came plump upon two sloops of war, the "Sappho" 
 and the " Clio." The former, commanded by Captain Long- 
 ford, instantly bore down upon him, and finding that flight 
 was impossible, the Danish privateer determined to put a 
 bold face on it and give battle. Notwithstanding that the 
 "Sappho" had 120 men, he kept her at bay for three- 
 quarters of an hour, making shift to fire 17 broadsides. 
 At last, his powder being spent, and his " masts, rigging, 
 and sails all shot to pieces," lie was compelled to surren- 
 der, and was taken in triumph to Yarmouth. That the 
 action was a pretty severe one, is confirmed by the fact 
 that Longford was made a post-captain for his " services" on 
 the occasion. 
 
 It would appear that Jorgenson had, like a wise man, 
 secured a retreat. When at Copenhagen, the year before, 
 he had "chanced to obtain an interview" with a '■public 
 officer connected with the British Ministry," and this indi- 
 vidual sent for him to London, where Jorgenson delicately 
 hints at an offer of secret service employment. Fairly estab- 
 lished in the city, and introduced to "several of the high 
 official characters of that eventful period," Jorgenson sug- 
 gested a scheme for the relief of Iceland. That island, being 
 in the very midst of the Danish and English combatants, 
 came rather badly off. The inhabitants derived their means 
 of support chiefly from the export trade of wool and fish ; 
 and trade being prohibited, and *' British supplies" cut off 
 by the Danish ships, the place was in a state of famine. 
 The miseries of the islanders had attracted the attention of 
 English merchants, who— -doubtless with a shrewd eye to the 
 main chance — cast about for some daring fellow willing to 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON. 7) 
 
 run the blockade. Jorgenson called upon his old acquaint- 
 ance, Sir Joseph Banks, and represented his own good quali- 
 ties strongly. Permission was obtained from the (iritis)] 
 Government to freight a ship with provisions, and Jorgen- 
 son, taking the command, sailed from Liverpool on the L ,( .»th 
 of December. 
 
 Many predictions were made as to the failure of the expe- 
 dition, the danger being increased by inclement weather and 
 the winter season. Though the vessel was but 350 tons 
 burden, the insurance cost the benevolent speculators 1000 
 guineas, for, says Jorgenson, " the enterprise was considered 
 almost desperate," and it was held "madness to attempt 
 such a voyage, which from the high latitude of the country, 
 must necessarily be made at that season of the year almost 
 in the dark." The bold fellow, however, arrived in safety, 
 and found " the hours of the night brighter than those of 
 the day, owing to the brilliant reflection of the Northern 
 Light." Finding that matters turned out well, he left the 
 provisions in charge of the supercargo, and hastened back to 
 Liverpool, in order to bring out another cargo. 
 
 He speedily loaded two vessels, one with Hour and another 
 with provisions, and started again for the north. During 
 his absence, however, the governor, Count von Tramp, had 
 issued a proclamation prohibiting all communication with 
 the English. It would seem that Count von Tramp did not 
 disdain to trade a little himself, for a Danish vessel was in 
 the habit of running small cargoes of rye, which were sold — 
 as Jorgenson hints, to the advantage of the authorities — at 
 40s. per 200 lbs. 
 
 Here was a dilemma. The two vessels, anchored in the port 
 with their flour and provisions aboard, were ordered to -j;<> 
 away again, full as they came. Jorgenson, like •• Captain 
 Hiram Hudson," in Foul Play, "knew his duty to his 
 employers,*' and vowed he would land his cargo at all hazards. 
 He feigned submission, btit the next day being Sunday, and 
 the '"'people at church" — good souls— he landed with twelve 
 of his men, and. making straight to the governor's residence, 
 stationed six men at the front, and six at the hack, with 
 orders to fire on any one who should interrupt him. Then, 
 with a brace of pistols in his belt, he walked into the ( 'mint's 
 chamber, and informed him that he might consider hims.-lf 
 deposed. The Count, "who was reposing on a sola, made 
 an attempt at resistance, but, as there was no one m the. 
 
ii OLD TALKS OF A YOUNO t'Ol'N'TRY. 
 
 house but the cook, one or two domestics, and "a Danish 
 lady," he was speedily overpowered, carried down to the 
 beach, and placed under hatches in Jorgenson's ship. The 
 new king lost no time in '-securing the iron chest,"' and 
 when the people came out of church they found that a revolu- 
 tion had taken place.* 
 
 "I am not aware/' says Jorgenson,- "unless some more 
 deep-read historian than myself can cite an instance, that any 
 revolution in the annals of nations was ever more adroitly. 
 more harmlessly, or more decisively effected than this. The 
 whole government of the island was changed in a moment, I 
 was well aware of the sentiments of the people before I 
 planned my scheme, and I knew I was safe." 
 
 The next day he issued a proclamation stating that the 
 people, tired of Danish oppression, had called him to the 
 head of the Government. This proclamation seemed to satisfy 
 everybody. The few English on the island imagined that 
 Jorgenson had concerted the plot with the Icelanders, and. 
 the Danes believed he was supported by the English Govern- 
 ment. Having thus secured his position, our hero issued 
 laws, all "of course of a popular description." He relieved 
 the people of half the taxes, ingeniously supplying their 
 place by a duty levied on the " British goods " which he had 
 himself imported. He released all people from debts due to 
 the Crown of Denmark, compelled public defaulters to make 
 up deficiencies from their private estates, and advanced 
 moneys for the benefit of public schools and fisheries. He 
 established trial by jury and " free representative govern- 
 ment," and with true judgment augumented the salaries of 
 the clergy. Some of these gentry had but .£12 a year to 
 live upon, and, as the acute Jorgenson expected, "they were 
 not wanting in gratitude, for they all preached resignation 
 and contentment under the present order of things." Having 
 thus provided for wants temporal and spiritual, he erected a 
 fort of six guns, raised a troop of cavalry, and hoisted the 
 ancient and independent flag of Iceland. 
 
 The inhabitants appeared to enjoy this novel condition ot 
 things, and when the king made a tour of his dominions 
 received him with acclamations. Indeed, it was but prudent 
 
 * An amusing account of this transaction appeared, some year. 1 
 back, in Household Words. It gives more particulars of the seizuri 
 of the Count than I can find space for here. 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JOHOKNSON. 7") 
 
 that they should do so, for one contumacious follow, ,, 
 magistrate or head-man of one of the northern villages, some 
 1.30 miles from lleykavig, refusing to do homage and "sur 
 render the iron chest," the monarch piled brushwood round 
 his frontdoor and tired it, "upon which he immediateh 
 submitted." One advantage in primitive government is — 
 despatch. When at Liverpool, Jorgenson had written to 
 New York requesting that a ship might be sent to Iceland 
 with tobacco, and soon after his return to the capital he had 
 the satisfaction of seeing a vessel enter the harbour " with 
 a valuable cargo from Xew York," which cargo he received 
 in exchange for his (taxed) British manufactures. This 
 commercial enterprise proving so successful, Jorgenson. 
 secure in his own impudence, resolved to visit London and 
 " enter into an amicable treaty with Great Britain in ordei 
 to permit vessels with British licenses to import grain.' 
 and set sail with a fleet of two ships, one the vessel which 
 had brought him from London, and the other a Danish ship 
 belonging to the deposed Yon Tramp. 
 
 Unluckily, the Danish ship caught tire, and, though even 
 effort was made to save her, she burnt to the water's edgi 
 with all her cargo. "The firing of the 1<> guns, with the 
 flames blazing along the shrouds and sails, had," says the 
 king, "a sublimely grand effect upon the water; and whei 
 the hold and cargo took fire — the latter consisting of wool, 
 feathers, oil. tallow, and tar — the effect was truly grand, the 
 copper bottom continuing to float like an immense copper 
 cauldron, long after the shades of night had come on." In- 
 deed, in that latitude and in those seas, one might not have 
 inaptly called to mind the celebrated stovy of the old Viking 
 and his floating funeral-pyre. 
 
 This accident compelled them to return to Iceland foi 
 provisions; and, putting the passengers on board H.M. 
 Talbot, then in harbour, Jorgenson made all haste for Liver 
 pool, which he reached in eight days. Fearing that tin 
 representations of the English captain might do him injury. 
 he hurried up to London, and saw Sir Joseph Banks. That 
 gentleman, however, justly incensed at the extraordinan 
 breach of trust of which his privateer captain had been 
 guilty, refused to have anything to do witii him, and, the 
 "Talbot" having meanwhile got into port, the captain mad.- 
 a statement of the "Iceland affair" to the Government. He 
 said that King Jorgenson had " established a- republican 
 
76 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 government in Iceland, for the purpose of making that 
 island a nest for all the disaffected persons in Europe," and 
 added " that he was highly unqualified to hold the command 
 of a kingdom, because he had been an apprentice on board 
 an English collier, and had served as midshipman in an 
 English ship of war." 
 
 Hearing of this statement, and fearing the consecpiences, 
 the king went into hiding for a week or so, but one day, 
 while dining at the Spread Eagle, in Gracechurch-street, he 
 was arrested and taken before the Lord Mayor, charged 
 with being " an alien to an enemy, at large without the 
 king's license, and with having broken his parole." In vain 
 he pleaded that lie was really acting in the interest of 
 England; the Lord Mayor had no taste for romance, and 
 the poor king was put into Tothill Fields prison, there to 
 console himself by the recollections of other monarchs who 
 had been placed in similar positions. Had Voltaire been 
 alive, lie might have given him a seat at the supper-table 
 in Candide. 
 
 After five weeks in Tothill Eields, where he " met with 
 persons the effect of whose intimacy steeped his future life 
 in misery" — notably Count Dillon, then a political prisoner 
 — he was removed to the hulk appointed for the reception of 
 Danish prisoners, and kept there for nearly twelve months, 
 at the end of which time he was permitted to reside at Reading 
 on his parole. Here he cultivated literary tastes, and wrote a 
 little work, entitled The Copenhagen Expedition Traced to other 
 Causes than the Treaty of Tilsit. I have no doubt he knew 
 as much about the subject as most people. After a ten 
 months' residence at Reading, he received a permission to 
 return to London, and was " soon picked up by my Tothill 
 Fields acquaintance." How he lived at this epoch it is not 
 difficult to conjecture. He says himself, "I was thoroughly 
 initiated into all the horrors and enticements of the gaming- 
 table." He appears to have lived his fair share of life in 
 Bohemia, being now rich, now poor, now strolling in the 
 parks, now lurking in a garret. At last, stripped of every 
 penny, "including a Kith share of a £20,000 prize in the State 
 lottery," he took his passage in a vessel bound for Lisbon. 
 Even here his ill fortune pursued him. Just before the 
 vessel sailed, Bellingham had assassinated Mr. Perceval in 
 the lobby of the House of Commons, ami meddlesome Jor- 
 genson must needs be the first to convey the intelligence to 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN' JORGENSON. 7 7 
 
 the British Consulate. The Consul, however, disbelieved 
 the story, and, as Jorgenson could give no very good accounl 
 of himself, sent him back to England. Determined to go to 
 Spain — doubtless, like Ancient Pistol, with a view to the 
 plunder obtainable at the seat of war — he engaged as a mat. 
 of a merchant vessel, was discharged at Lisbon, passed through 
 the lines, and visited Madrid. Unable to keep from play, 
 however, he was again robbed of his gains, and, selling his 
 clothes, and retaining only a jacket and trousers, entered as 
 seaman in a gunboat which was "going home with the 
 mail." Unluckily, the packet-boat hove in sight, and took 
 the mails, while the gunboat was sent to cruise oil' Cape St. 
 Vincent. 
 
 Here Jorgenson assisted in the capture of several privateers, 
 and gained promotion. On arriving at Gibraltar, he 
 "malingered," and was placed in the hospital, and finally in- 
 valided in the " Dromedary" (afterwards sent as store and 
 prison ship to Van Diemen's Land). Arriving at Ports- 
 mouth in 1813, he was placed on board the " Gladiator," 50 
 guns, stationed as an invalid-hulk. The berthing of the in- 
 valids would not appear to be conducive to their recovery. 
 " Between 700 and 800 persons," says Jorgenson, " were col- 
 lected in this horribly pent-up place, which could not have 
 afforded moderate accommodation for half of them, even had 
 they been in good health. As it was, they were obliged to re- 
 main on deck and below alternately night and day, a most 
 trying vicissitude, which occasioned the death of many." 
 Jorgenson, not liking his position, wrote a letter to the 
 Admiral requesting to be allowed to go ashore. But, this 
 coming to the ears of the captain and the doctor, they were 
 indignant, the doctor vowing that the patient was "sham- 
 ming," and the captain swearing that he would " teach him 
 to apply to the Admiral instead of to him." Upon this 
 Jorgenson reflected — the small vanity of the captain was 
 hurt at his authority being slighted. What would move oik 
 man would move another. Jorgenson wrote to the Admiral 
 apologising for his former letter, and regretting that "lie did 
 not know that the captain was only responsible to tin 
 Lords of the Admiralty and not to him." This touched the 
 Admiral on a sore point. He ordered the captain and the 
 patient both before him, and, to assert his dignity, dismissed 
 Jorgenson and reprimanded the captain. 
 
 Getting back to London, Jorgenson seems to have sub 
 
7<S OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 sisted by writing for patronage, and spying for the Govern- 
 ment. In his leisure moments, he wrote an account of the 
 Icelandic revolution, which he presented to Sir Joseph 
 Banks. He seems to have become quite a " lion " among 
 the curious at this period. His " tempter," as he calls it, 
 overtook him again, and, going up to town, he " launched 
 into extravagance," and soon became little better than a 
 sharper. 
 
 He tells here a curious anecdote. Being one day at a 
 coffee-house in the Strand, he met Count Dillon, whose 
 acquaintance he had made in Tothill Fields prison. Dillon, 
 tl linking him an u enemy of England," began to talk freely; 
 and Jorgenson, always ready to turn an honest penny, did 
 not scruple to draw him out with a view to giving informa- 
 tion to the Government. Dillon told him of a plot then 
 concerted between the Americans and the French, " to send 
 out an armed expedition" to take possession of the Australias. 
 
 This idea originated from the reports given by Boudin, 
 commodore of the " Geographe" and the "Naturaliste," who 
 had visited the colonies in 1801. Jorgenson had met this 
 adventurer in Sydney, but had at that time no suspicions of 
 his intentions. He recalls, however, that, " on the occasion 
 of his making an exploring tour into the interior of New 
 South Wales, I was induced to accompany him, and all his 
 ambition was to advance further than any Englishman had 
 ever been before. We had travelled about 100 miles from 
 Sydney, and had ascended the Hawkesbury a considerable 
 way, some marked tree or remains of a temporary hut giving 
 constant indications that a European had been there at 
 some former period. I had become so impatient at his 
 incessant reasons, thus continually discovered, for penetrat- 
 ing further, with so futile an object as that of returning to 
 Paris and boasting that he had been where no traveller had 
 been before him, that, espying a large white rock projecting 
 from a little eminence, I ran forward, and, standing upon 
 it, called out to him with a show of exultation that that 
 was the point beyond which no white had been. Boudin 
 then marched about 20 paces further, and returned quite 
 satisfied." 
 
 The expedition was to consist of two armed French and 
 American vessels, which, meeting at a certain rendezvous, 
 Avere to sail together into the South Seas, and "participate 
 in the plunder of the colonies." Immediately on hearing 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON. 79 
 
 this, Jorgenson posted to the Colonial Office, and laid his 
 intelligence before "a gentleman high in office." The infor- 
 mation was, however, disregarded, the Government consider- 
 ing it a " wild scheme," and unlikely to be carried into effect 
 " while the whole energies of Europe were drawn to a vortex 
 in the Continental contest." Jorgenson says, moreover, that 
 the "gentleman" remarked that even should the attempt 
 be successful, England would lose little or nothing. " These 
 colonies are not worth keeping," said he, " for they already 
 cost the Government £100,000 a year!" 
 
 The expedition, however, sailed in 1813, but the two 
 French ships, under Count Dillon, were wrecked oil* Cadiz. 
 The Americans proceeded, and captured and burned 17 
 whalers. The deficiency thus created in the London market, 
 sent sperm oil up to an enormous price. Upon this circum- 
 stance, and the indifference of the British Government to 
 the smaller dependencies, Jorgenson remarks — " It is indeed 
 much to be regretted that the navigation, fisheries, and trade 
 of these seas has so long been looked over by the authorities 
 at home. The immense archipelago of the Pacific is studded 
 with islands, and inhabited by millions of friendly-disposed 
 people, ready and anxious to exchange their commodities for 
 British manufactures. The benign influence of the Christian 
 religion, which is rapidly extending itself by the aid of our 
 gospel missionaries, is doing much to raise these people in 
 the scale of civilised society; and although the Americans 
 are hourly taking advantage of our comparative supineness, 
 the approach of an English flag is always, and we trust ever 
 will be, hailed with superior satisfaction. The pearl fishery 
 is said to be more profitable and less hazardous than that of 
 the sperm whale, and the sandalwood and beche-de-la-mer, 
 which are produced so abundantly on the northern coasts of 
 our New Holland, are known to yield the Dutch, through 
 the medium of the Malays, an immense revenue. Nothing 
 surprised Captain Flinders more, in the course of his naviga- 
 tion of these countries, than the immense fleets of Malay 
 proas extensively engaged in this traffic which he met with 
 in the Gulf of Carpentaria." 
 
 Just at this time, the adviser of the Government was 
 arrested and sent to the Fleet for two years, and, when the 
 intelligence of the destruction of the British whaling ships 
 was brought, did not fail to remind His Majesty's Ministers 
 of the service he had rendered. He was supplied with money 
 
80 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 to pay his debts; but so inveterate was his passion for the 
 gaming-table, that, instead of discharging his liabilities, he 
 went to a hazard-table and lost every penny. 
 
 Being now securely locked up, without hope of release, 
 Jorgenson u amused himself" by writing histories, pamphlets, 
 and stories. Sending these, " neatly written in manuscript," 
 to several persons of rank, he made enough money to live 
 upon, and too little to allow him to gamble. He enjoyed the 
 " liberties of the Fleet," and became a sort of " patron," a 
 Danish Dorrit, a "father of his people." This Arcadian life, 
 however, Avas somewhat strangely interrupted. One day he 
 was sent for from the Foreign Office, and "had the pleasure 
 to be engaged on a foreign mission to the seat of war;" in 
 other words, he took service as a " spy." 
 
 Amply supplied with money for his present expenses, and 
 provided with an order to " draw on London" for any funds 
 he might require while travelling, it would appear that 
 Jorgenson at last had fallen on good days. He had a 
 '•'career," such as it was, before him, and could have at once 
 left London and the Fleet Prison with credit. His pro- 
 pensity for gambling was, however, too much for him, and, 
 instead of going to Dover, he went to a " silver-hell," and 
 lost, not only his money, but the very clothes he had provided 
 for his journey. 
 
 Totally destitute of the means of living, and ashamed to 
 apply to " the gentleman in the Foreign Office " who had 
 given him his place, and who naturally concluded that 
 his protege was already in Paris, our poor hero was at 
 his wits' end. But, with a determination and impudence 
 worthy of Lazarillo de Tormes or the more famous Gil Bias 
 of Santillane, Jorgenson resolved to seize his chance of ad- 
 vancement with his naked hands. Repairing to the friend 
 of debtors, vagabonds, thieves, and adventurers — the old- 
 clothes man, that great "dresser" for the Beggar's Opera — 
 he exchanged his only suit for a sailor's jacket and trousers, 
 walked to Gravesend, and embarked on board a transport 
 bound for Ostend. At Ostend he met an officer who 
 knew him, and testified to his identity, and an "order" 
 on the Foreign Office was cashed without difficulty. Of 
 his business on the Continent our friend speaks little, 
 as becomes him. He says vaguely that he was "sent 
 to ascertain what effect the subjugation of Napoleon was 
 likely to have on British Commerce," but, as he arrived 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON. Si 
 
 hi Ghent some weeks before the Battle of Waterloo 
 his explanation is not as satisfactory as it might he, and' 
 though we admire his delicacy, we can but regret his reti- 
 cence. He was at Brussels when the celebrated stampede 
 took place, and may have witnessed Mrs. Crawley's triumph 
 and Jos. Sedley's flight (relictd non hem pananhl—h\x 
 moustache ingloriously left behind). He was a "silent spec- 
 tator of the three days,"' and, wandering over the Held of 
 Waterloo after the battle, may perhaps have seen M. Then- 
 ardier (like Diogenes with his lantern), seeking for a man 
 honest enough to be worth robbing. How the father of 
 Eponine, and the saviour of the Baron Pontmercv would 
 have fraternised with such a comrade ! 
 
 The life of a spy in those days was not an unpleasant one. 
 Jorgenson went to Paris with the stream, and found that 
 '•'the business he had to perform brought him in contact 
 with several celebrated names of that day," and in particular 
 he had " the pleasure to form an acquaintance with a French 
 general, a great favourite of Bonaparte, and now a marshal 
 of France," and, being liberally supplied with money by his 
 employers, enjoyed himself much. Paris at that time was a 
 kaleidoscope of uniforms — Germans, English, French, and 
 Russians, all fraternised and fought. Jorgenson had for six 
 months ample opportunities to study human nature. He 
 could attend the balls of Madame Roni [nee Rooney) ; com- 
 ment on the conduct of Captain Gronow's ferocious duellist; 
 gaze at a distance on Madame Firmiani ; or lend the natural 
 vigour of his arm to the assistance of Arthur O'Leary, Esq., 
 beleagured in the gaming-house of the Palais Royal. This 
 last conjecture is not without foundation. He rushed to the 
 gambling-houses with eagerness, and played with despera- 
 tion. Mr. Blunt (the friend of Mr. Sala) did not beggar 
 himself with greater bonhomie. Notwithstanding that lie 
 was ordered on a special mission to Warsaw, he played until 
 he had nothing to sell but his shirt, and, disposing of that 
 garment for seven francs to a sergeant, he buttoned up his 
 coat, and, leaving Paris by the east gate, set out along the 
 north road on foot. 
 
 It was the month of December, and bitterly cold. Arriv- 
 ing at Joncherie, one hundred and twenty miles from tie- 
 capital, Jorgenson found himself worn out with fatigue and 
 reduced to the last sou of the seven francs. He dan- not 
 draw upon the F. O. until he reached Poland, and knew 
 
 c 
 
£2 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 one on the road. Rendered desperate by circumstances, he 
 did just exactly what little Con Cregan did in Dublin — 
 walked boldly into the best hotel, and ordered the best dinner 
 they could give him. The hotel was a cabaret of mean preten- 
 sions, and the dinner bacon and eggs. Jorgenson turned up 
 his nose with the air of a prince, and determined to make 
 the best of it. As he was very hungry, this was not so 
 difficult. Meanwhile the news of the illustrious stranger in 
 the buttoned-up coat had gone the rounds of the village, 
 and the mayor called to see the stranger's passport. In the 
 course of a lofty conversation with the host, Jorgenson had 
 learned that the mayor was " Bourbonniste," and, in pulling 
 his passport from his pocket, pulled with it a letter from the 
 Duchess d'Angouleme. The mayor picked it up. " Ha ! — 
 oh, a letter! — see!" "From my friend the Duchess 
 d'Angouleme." "Thirty thousand pardons, Monsieur,"" 
 cries the polite mayor, " but we officials have our duties, 
 you know." Jorgenson finished the bacon, and graciously 
 forgave the impertinence of M. le Maire's inquiries. He 
 was an Irishman going to the Holy Land — poor, like many 
 of his countrymen, but of excellent family, like all of them. 
 " Then," cries the mayor, " you must see our Barones> 
 D'Este, who will be most glad to receive any person going 
 on such a mission !" Jorgenson visited the baroness — some 
 pious woman without much brains — and not only talked her 
 into paying his expenses at the inn, but got from her sevend 
 coins to deposit, with her blessing, at the sacred shrine. 
 With this aid, our adventurer contrived to get as far as 
 JLheims, and there resolved to make a bold stroke for 
 fortune. " The politics of this ancient city," says he, " were 
 of a very opposite description from those of my last resting 
 place." The prefect was a zealous Bonapartist, and Jorgen- 
 son, who, like St. Paul, seems to have been " all things to 
 all men," avowed himself a zealous adherent of that banished 
 potentate, and further informed the prefect of a plot formed 
 by the English to rob the commissariat. The plot was not 
 discovered, but the letter procured a personal interview, and 
 the prefect was so charmed with the stranger that he not 
 only gave him a supply of money, but a fine horse, and ;t 
 " billet," which entitled him to a certain sum per mile to 
 defray expenses. Armed with these useful evidences of 
 the prefect's political sentiments, .Jorgenson readied Frank 
 fort in twentv-two davs — not without adventures. At Met/ 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JOROEXSOX. "<:> 
 
 the mayor could not speak French, and refused to assist th<- 
 traveller. ''Though," remarks Jorgenson, with a decree of 
 self-complacency only equalled by that of the bashful 
 Plumper, "I have always found it an up-hill sort of tiling 
 for myself to get over, I have found almost on all occasions. 
 
 both in the old world and the new, that a certain de<n-< t 
 
 ' modest' assurance was a great help to a man in getting 
 through life.' 1 Acting on this notion, lie put the "billet' 
 (written in French) into the surly mayor's hand, ai 
 remarked with a low bow, "You will sec, sir, by that rloci 
 ment with what you are to supply me." The excellent man. 
 rather than admit his inability to read, at once gave the 
 modestly-assured Jorgenson all he wished. Another mavoi 
 however, received a specimen of what Frank Smedlev called 
 " Oaklands' quiet manner/' He refused to do anything and 
 told the bearer of the "billet" that he was "a lazy vaga- 
 bond." Jorgenson, whose Icelandic experiences had taught 
 him to mingle the fortiter in re with the suaviter in modo. 
 promptly knocked him down, seized a horse, and galloped on 
 amid a demonstration of pitchforks from the inhabitants. 
 
 Arrived in Frankfort in a storm of rain, lie began to won 
 der how he should get on, and, meeting an apparently chair 
 able Jew, told him his story. The Jew, however, remark e . 
 that he had taken him for a rich Polish merchant, and. wag- 
 gishly laying a finger along his nose, departed. The recol 
 lection of his good fortune at Joncherie now came upon 
 Jorgenson, and, "entering a good inn," he ordered " a sump 
 tuous meal, and went to bed." In the morning he sent fm 
 the landlord, told him that he had no money, but expect*-.) 
 some in the course of the day, and that if he would permit 
 him to go out he would leave his " waistcoat" as seeuritv. 
 The landlord accepted, and, once more buttoned up. Jorgei 
 son roamed the town in hopes of meeting with a friend 
 But Frankfort was large, and friends were few and \' < 
 between. From the scanning the faces of passers-by, lie a* 
 last took, like Balzac, to studying shop-fronts, and, al« 
 like Balzac, was at last rewarded by a name which "einlxxlin 
 his idea." This name, however, was not Z. Marcas, hi; 4 
 Fraser, and its owner w r as not a cobbler, but a watchniakei 
 In goes Jorgenson. " Good morning. My name is Jorgci 
 son; that chronometer there was made by ray father i: 
 Denmark." The honest Fraser looked. Sure enough itwa- 
 so. A conversation began which ended by the watchmukc: 
 
 g2 
 
84 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 taking the waistcoatless son of his fellow tradesman to the 
 house of Lord Clancarty, the British Minister. Jorgenson 
 sent in his name, "on secret service." The servants stared 
 at his shabby attire. What if he were come to murder His 
 Lordship ! His fate hung in the balance, when a side door 
 opened and "a gentleman attached to the Foreign Office" 
 came out, like Horace's god of the go-cart, and recognised 
 him. All was now put right. He was supplied with money, 
 redeemed his waistcoat, and paid for his dinner. 
 
 Mr. Fraser, who seems to have been a man of intelligence 
 and position, gave him a letter to the secretary of the Duke 
 of Hesse-Darmstadt, and on presenting it Jorgenson had 
 '•'• some interesting conversation with His Highness with 
 regard to what I had seen in these colonies" (Tasmania and 
 New South Wales), and spent some time in admiring the 
 ducal gallery of paintings. When he took his departure the 
 Duke made him a handsome present. Encouraged by these 
 compliments, Jorgenson began to take his proper position, 
 and travelled in a carriage to Berlin, calling on all the cele- 
 brities as he passed. He was mistaken by some for an 
 English milord. At Saxe-Weimar he was introduced to 
 Goethe. " I saw him in the library of the Duke — a magni- 
 ficent collection of books, containing upwards of 700,000 
 volumes. Goethe was a member of the privy council, as 
 well as filling the office of librarian to the Duke, a situation 
 more congenial to his literary habits. Though upwards of 
 seventy, he was full of life and spirits. He wore the dress 
 of a privy councillor, a blue coat with gold facings. He was 
 stout and portly in appearance, rather tall, with hazel eyes, 
 remarkably heavy eyebrows, and dark complexion." 
 
 At Leipsic our adventurer surveyed the battle-field, and, 
 like a premature Childe Harold, moralised there. In Berlin, 
 the British Minister afforded him "every assistance," and 
 there is little doubt that he held a position of some con- 
 fidence as a secret agent. He visited Niebhur and Bernstoff 
 (the latter being Minister of Foreign Affairs), and appears to 
 have been on terms of acquaintanceship with Prince (then 
 Count) Puckler Muskau. He gives an entertaining descrip- 
 tion of the Prince's ascent in a balloon, in company with "a 
 female aeronaut, to whom he presented 500 crowns." He 
 played cards with Marshal Blucher, and had the entree to 
 good society. Unluckily, his passion for gambling again 
 beset him, and ultimately proved his ruin. So enthralled 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN .JOIiCKXsON. S."> 
 
 was he by the gaming-table that lie never set out tor 
 Warsaw at all, but, forming an acquaintance with some 
 
 Poles, "collected from them such information as it was my 
 duty to obtain," and actually wrote several despatches, 
 dated Warsaw, embodying the intelligence thus received. 
 
 At last, in November, 1816, he got as far as Dresden, and 
 there his ruin was completely effected. In two days all his 
 money was swallowed up by a " set of sharpers.' - His false 
 despatches were detected, and, in debt and disgrace, he 
 determined to retrace his steps to London. His creditors 
 pressing him, he was compelled to leave without a passport, 
 and thus had to " dodge'' his way to the seaboard. One 
 instance which he relates will serve as an example of the 
 tricks to which he resorted. One night the gatekeeper at 
 the gate of a small fortified town refused to let him pass. 
 He was cold, hungry, and in despair. The noise of the 
 altercation brought out the gatekeeper's wife. The sex 
 adore three things — charity, mystery, and finery. Jorgen- 
 son beckoned her aside, and, begging her to intercede in his 
 behalf, pulled from his pocket two silk handkerchiefs, gave 
 her one, and avowed himself a smuggler expecting hourly 
 the arrival of his cart from the frontier. The gatekeeper's 
 wife was mortal, and the gatekeeper was uxorious. The 
 smuggler was asked in to supper, passed a pleasant night, 
 and after a hearty breakfast went otit to look after his cart, 
 and " so proceeded on his journey." When he got to Lon- 
 don he was paid for his services, and resolved with the 
 money thus acquired to emigrate to Spanish America, the 
 natural home of adventurers like himself. But, " venturing 
 a small stake" in the hope of adding to the small store he 
 had already with him, he soon lost every penny, and for tin- 
 next three years of his life was engaged in a "continual 
 whirl of misery and disappointment at the gaming-table 
 
 At last, having sunk lower and lower, he seems to have 
 become something little better than a copper-captain, the 
 swashbuckling bully of the gaming-house. In the yen I ^- n 
 he was arrested for pawning certain articles of bed-furniture 
 belonging to his landlady in Tottenham Court mad, ami 
 was sentenced to seven years' transportation. Pending tin- 
 execution of his sentence, he was placed under tin- >ui ic»-i»n 
 of Newgate, Mr. Box, as assistant in the hospital. H'*m he 
 made desperate efforts to get his sentence commuted, ;uid at 
 last succeeded. Permitted, doubtless through the inlhmnce 
 
80 OLD TALES OF A YOUXC COUNTRY. 
 
 of his former employers, to retain bis post as dispenser, for 
 nearly two years, Jorgenson conducted himself with pro- 
 priety; and getting "favourable notice" from the sheriffs, 
 his case was more minutely inquired into, and it being found 
 that the articles for the theft of which lie had been sentenced 
 were pawned in the name of one of his fellow-lodgers, he 
 received his pardon, on condition that he should quit the 
 kingdom within a month from the day of his liberation. 
 Unfortunately, however, having a considerable sum in his 
 pockets, the savings of his " gratuities," he again sought the 
 gaming-table, and in the excitement of play overstayed his 
 leave. At last, being several weeks over his allotted time, he 
 resolved to ship on board a man-of-war, and was on his way to 
 the tender in the river, when he fell in with an old acquaint- 
 ance on Tower Hill, who asked him to dinner. This jolly 
 companion had been Jorgenson's predecessor as " assistant" 
 in Newgate, and, hearing that he had "outstayed his time," 
 brought in the police, and handed his guest over to the law 
 he had outraged. Jorgenson calls this betrayer of social 
 confidence a " scoundrel," and there are few who will not 
 heartily endorse his opinion. He was tried and sentenced 
 to transportation for life, and though three years in his 
 former situation in the hospital — during which time he 
 revised the account of his Continental tour, and wrote a 
 religious work, The Religion of Christ the Religion, of Nature 
 — he was at last sent out to Van Diem en's Land in the 
 "Woodman," which "sailed from Sheerness with 150 
 convicts and a detachment of military, ' with their wives and 
 children, in November, 1825. 
 
 Some of his experiences of Newgate are curious, as 
 examples of convict discipline of that epoch. He says that 
 "cards were often smuggled in," and that ''as there is a 
 standing rule against the admission of any female, unless a 
 prisoner's wife, the majority of prisoners declare themselves 
 married in order to obtain interviews with their former as- 
 sociates." This declaration is, of course, recorded in the 
 books of the gaol, and transmitted in the lists sent to the 
 convict settlement. The trials were conducted with indecent 
 rapidity, and it was a common thing for prisoners to plead 
 guilty " in order to save time." k - I well remember," says 
 Jorgenson, " one day when five men were arraigned at the 
 bar, i he four most guilty of whom, being asked their plea by 
 the court, answered promptly, and witli much teeming contri- 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JOROEXSON. S? 
 
 -■ion, 'Guilty, my Lord,' ami were sentenced to a few montlis' 
 imprisonment, while the fifth, sensible of his comparative 
 innocence, pleaded 'Not guilty,' occupied the time of* the court 
 with his defence for three-quarters of an hour, and was sen- 
 tenced to seven years' transportation." 
 
 Capital punishment was frequent, and apparently but 
 little feared. A man named Madden, under sentence of 
 death, "malingered" for hospital comforts in his last mo- 
 ments. " He had fallen fast asleep one evening, when the 
 sheriff came about eleven o'clock to announce to him the 
 awful news that he was to be hanged next Monday morning. 
 The poor creature, raising himself in his bed, and thinking, 
 I verily believe, more of the respect that was due to the 
 sheriff than of his own dreadful situation, touched respect- 
 fully with his hand a little tuft of hair that stuck out on 
 his brow from under his nightcap, in lieu of his hat, and, 
 bending his head, merely said, 'Very well, gentlemen.' then, 
 laying himself down again, and throwing the blankets over 
 his shoulders, was asleep and actually snoring in live 
 minutes." At the same time, he mentions the case of an 
 old man who was under sentence, and whose wife, being in 
 the most destitute condition, often came to the prison vowing 
 that he had money, and begging him to give her some — " if 
 it was but a single sixpence." The miser refused, and 
 " actually went to the gallows, and was hanged, with nine 
 sovereigns in his trousers pocket." Jorgenson speaks highly 
 of Dr. Box, and cites, in support of his assertion of that 
 gentleman's probity, a story to the effect that a gentleman 
 of good family was condemned to death, and, as by his 
 decease his relatives would lose a valuable lease of certain 
 Crown lands, his two sons offered Box a bribe of £4000 to 
 declare their father insane. Box would not accept the 
 bribe, but pledged himself to secresy, and two " eminent 
 physicians" being less scrupulous, the prisoner escaped. 
 He tells also a very strange story of a clerk in the Transfer 
 Office of the Bank of England, who, being committed for 
 forgery, attempted to escape through the window of a third 
 storey, but fell, and broke his jaw-bone, his hip-bone, and 
 one of his arms. The case was clear, but the accident caused 
 a postponement of tin; trial until the next sessions, and the 
 prisoner, being then brought into court, "carried on a litter 
 and bandaged all round," was again remanded. In the 
 meantime, his friends set vigorously to work, and, by dint 
 
88 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 of high bribery, suborned witnesses, and destroyed vouchers, 
 got an acquittal. 
 
 Jorgenson gives as his opinion that convicts were in great 
 terror of "transportation," and regarded it in many instance- 
 as a punishment worse than death. " I have known," says 
 he, " several who would have looked upon death as less 
 severe than being torn from their old friends and associates. 
 The very remoteness of the scene, and the uncertainty (not- 
 withstanding every representation) of the fate they are to 
 meet with, affects them with a species of horror incon- 
 ceivable to those who have not been similarly situated. . 
 The idea of reforming a person who has been convicted of 
 never so small an offence at home seems never to be enter- 
 tained. . . When in gaol, it is a common boast among 
 themselves, and a spirit of emulation exists among them to 
 show who has committed the most numerous and most 
 daring offences, from which they derive a sort of consequence 
 over each other." 
 
 Previous to his removal on board the " Woodman," he 
 was placed in the " Justitia" hulk, stationed off Woolwich, 
 and did not appear to like his situation. The hulks were 
 hot-beds of infamy and blackguardism. The authority pos- 
 sessed by the officers was often abused, and the most vicious 
 of the criminal class, herded together without proper superin- 
 tendence, committed the most abominable crimes with 
 comparative impunity. Jorgenson speaks bitterly of his 
 sufferings; and, admitting that it is possible that he may 
 exaggerate, one cannot but agree with him when he charac- 
 terises the English galleys of that time as " schools of 
 abominable pollution," and avers that " those who have been 
 discharged from them have over-run England, and every- 
 where spread vice and immorality." On board the prison- 
 ships things were but little better. " Each prisoner was 
 supplied with new clothing of the coarsest description," and 
 each, without exception, had a pair of double-irons placed on 
 his legs. . . Swearing, cursing, wrangling, lamentations, 
 and tears deafened all within hearing, and it appeared as if 
 ten thousand demons had been let loose. . . By daylight 
 or dark, they (the prisoners ) did not scruple to steal all that 
 came in their way, boxes and parcels of tea and sugar were 
 torn from those who possessed any, and in case of resistance 
 life was endangered. . . Those who were most daring 
 and active in these exploits were looked up to with a great 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JOUOEN.SOX. S'.» 
 
 deal of respect by their less hardened fellow convicts. 
 The thieves easily found receivers, as wearing apparel and 
 other things were sold to the soldiers and their wives, and 
 the sailors in the half-deck." The surgeon-superintendent is 
 described as a good-hearted man. as is also Mr. Lean, a 
 lieutenant in the navy, who commanded the vessel. .lorgeu- 
 son's description of the voyage is somewhat minute, but too 
 lengthy to quote here Once fairly in blue water, the irons 
 were knocked off, and the prisoners sent up on deck in 
 gangs. In the tropics four died of fever, and several were 
 placed in hospital. This " fever" — probably " ship fever" — 
 carried off the surgeon himself, and the " Woodman" was 
 obliged to make the Cape, and take another surgeon on 
 board. Fortunately, the disease did not spread in colder 
 latitudes; they arrived safely at Hobart Town on the 
 5th May, 1826; and Jorgenson "remembered sadly/' as he 
 contemplated the rising city, that " twenty-three years 
 before he had assisted in forming Risdon, the first settlement 
 in the island." 
 
 The morning after the "Woodman" arrived in Hobart 
 Town, the usual muster of prisoners took place. 
 
 The convicts in their prison clothes were landed and 
 marched up to the prisoners' barracks, where they were 
 inspected by the Governor, Colonel Arthur, and in due course 
 "assigned" or sentenced to such further imprisonment as 
 their conduct during the voyage had rendered desirable. 
 Jorgenson had "letters of recommendation" from two of the 
 directors of the Van Diemen's Land Company to their 
 principal agent, Mr. Edward Curr. Unluckily, however, 
 our hero had been enthralled by the representations of a Mr. 
 Rolla O'Farrell. "a gentleman of fashionable appearance, 
 who spoke a little French," and had made application to be 
 placed in his office on Government service. This application 
 was granted, and Jorgenson found that he had committed :i 
 great error, the Government pay being small and the work 
 arduous. "A prisoner clerk," he says, "received only Gd. a 
 day and Id. for rations; the former paid quarterly, and the 
 latter every month." 
 
 He had hoped that the Government would have extended 
 some mercy towards him, not only on account of his period 
 of imprisonment in Newgate, but because of his services on 
 board the "Woodman." But he was disappointed. Strange 
 rumours concerning him were alloat. Some said he was a 
 
'JO OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 political pamphleteer, imprisoned for having written against 
 the Government; others, that he had been a political spy, 
 employed against the British Crown. Those reports Jorgen- 
 son stigmatises as "devoid of truth," adding, with some 
 tolerable degree of that modest self-assurance which he 
 alleges is so needful to success in life, that "a system of 
 espionage is of so abominable a character, that no man 
 possessed of the least particle of honour would engage in it." 
 
 At last there was found for him an employment more 
 suited to his ambition than that of copying letters in a 
 Government office. A party having been formed to explore 
 die company's land, and to trace a road from the River 
 Shannon to Circular Head, he was placed in command. It 
 was the early part of September, and the rivers were much 
 swollen with recent heavy rains. Each man had with him 
 six weeks' provisions, slung swagwise on his back (no small 
 weight to carry), and the journey was most laborious. The 
 settlers, however, received them with much kindness, and 
 until their arrival at the Big Lake, north-west of the ford 
 •of the Shannon, they got on well enough. At the River 
 Ouse, which runs parallel with the Big Lake, however, their 
 difficulties commenced. No ford was to be found, and for 
 more than thirty miles Jorgenson followed the course of the 
 stream, searching in vain for a crossing-place. Being now 
 nearly lifty years of age, and in nowise re-invigorated by his 
 travels and dissipations, Jorgenson was becoming knocked 
 up, and meditated a retreat. Reaching, however, a "cataract 
 pouring down between perpendicular and impracticable 
 rocks," the party were brought to a ford by the accident of 
 their dogs pursuing a kangaroo, which "led them through an 
 opening " in the cliffs. They crossed the river some miles 
 further down, but, the provisions being nearly expended, 
 were compelled to fall back to Dr. Ross's farm, situated on 
 the confluence of the Ouse and Shannon. From this place 
 Jorgenson despatched a man to Hobart Town, with letters 
 for Mr. Chit, and himself explored the country round, 
 "armed with a ponderous sword given him by Dr. Ross." 
 
 The messenger having returned after an absence of some, 
 weeks, the adventurers made another more successful attempt 
 to pursue their journey. Retracing their steps they pene- 
 trated to the source of the Derwent, and "ascending the 
 mountains — foot-deep with snow — had hopes of reaching 
 Circular Head, when the desperate nature of the country 
 
THE ADVEXTURKS OK CAPTAIN JORGKNSON. \i [ 
 
 again l)arred their progress. The hills were rifteil with 
 chasms, and gored with cafto?is and ravines. It was impos- 
 sible to go on, and the floods which had risen since their 
 setting forth forbade them to go back. Provisions fell short, 
 and death stared them in the face. In this plight Jorgenson 
 avowed his ability to lead his companions ton stock-hut. and 
 to his astonishment succeeded in doing so. Descending from 
 the hills and keeping between the river-beds, the party found 
 themselves in a country of a different aspect, and traversing 
 some broad cattle-tracks leading down a series of gentle 
 slopes, arrived at the banks of Lake Echo. A distinct view 
 of the Table Mountain on the Clyde now cheered their spirits, 
 and by the afternoon of the next day they reached " a stock- 
 hut," 
 
 The stockmen, observing the tattered clothes, long beards, 
 and portentous firearms of the travellers, took them for bush- 
 rangers; and until Jorgenson produced his maps, compass, 
 journal, and letters from Curr, refused to give them shelter. 
 Bushrangers swarmed at that time in the country districts, 
 and the fear of the good folks was not without warrant. 
 .iorgenson's good fortune — now bringing him in contact with 
 a scholar, and now with a ''shipmate" — protected him until 
 he reached Hobart Town. It was lucky indeed that he had 
 not succeeded in making Circular Head, for the provisions 
 which w T ere to have been buried there Lad missed carriage, 
 and had the explorers reached the Bluff they must all have 
 died of starvation. 
 
 hi the early part of January, 1827, he was again em- 
 ployed by the company on a like service, it was decided to 
 send a party along the western coast of the island from 
 Circular Head to the Shannon. Proceeding to Circular 
 Head, Jorgenson did good service in " talking over" some of 
 the most dissatisfied of the convicts- -a mutiny had just been 
 put down by force of arms — and with three others, includ- 
 ing Mr. Lorymer, one of the company's surveyors, set out 
 from Cape Cameron to Pieman's River. This expedition 
 was a more disastrous one than the first. The coast was 
 barren and flinty. In various resting-places on their weary 
 journev they fell in with wrecks of beached vessels— melan- 
 choly memorials of former visitors. The sand-hills rivalled 
 those of Jutland — ; ' in one place." says Jorgenson, "a moun- 
 tain of sand had been reared which, after ascending with 
 great difficulty, measured on the top seven miles in length." 
 
92 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Timber was scarce — it was even difficult to find a cross-pole 
 for their tent. Climbing at last with immense toil the 
 almost perpendicular banks of Pieman's River, a scene of 
 appalling desolation burst upon them. " It was as though 
 some mighty convulsion had rent the earth asunder, and 
 sported with trees of enormous length and circumference, 
 tearing them up by the roots — trees nearly coeval with cen- 
 turies back." Beyond this wild stretch of mountain land 
 towered the Frenchman's Cap and the Traveller's Guide, the 
 two landmarks of that dreary spot, Macquarie Harbour. 
 Descending the gullies, with the hope of finding a road 
 through what seemed to be a huge plain stretching away to 
 the westwai'd, they found themselves in a desert of six-wire 
 scrub, so dense that they could not cut their way through it 
 quicker than at the rate of 200 yards a-day. This was the 
 " desert"' where so many runaways from " Hell's Gates" 
 settlement had been lost; and Jorgenson, finding that his 
 two best dogs had died from hunger, and that the provisions 
 were reduced to two bags of Hour, determined to retreat to 
 Circular Head. 
 
 Arriving at Cape Camberon, danger thickens upon them. 
 They could not find water. They were nearly swallowed 
 by the quick-sands on the seashore. They made a raft, and 
 poor Loryiner was drowned in attempting to cross the Duck 
 River. Wet, exhausted, and fainting from want of food, 
 the three survivors at last came upon " the tail of a dog-fish, 
 at which the crows and gulls were greedily picking," and 
 saw in this " savoury morsel a new lease of life." Conceal- 
 ing their firearms in the scrub, and flinging away all unne- 
 cessary burden of accoutrements, they pushed on with the 
 energy of desperation, and at last reached Circular Head in 
 safety. Jorgenson lay between life and death for four days, 
 and at last recovered. This was his last expedition on the 
 part of the Van Diemen's Land Company. Arrived at 
 Hobart Town once more, he received his ticket-of-leave, and 
 occupied himself in assisting in editing a colonial newspaper, 
 " being glad," he says, " to employ myself in any way in 
 which I could obtain an honest subsistence." He did not 
 long fill the editorial chair, finding the " proprietor of the 
 paper" not at all to his taste. This worthy man, it appears, 
 " kept him starving," and also, after a fashion which has 
 been found uncongenial to men of letters in every age, 
 " insisted that every one in the house should attend prayers 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON. «i;j 
 
 three times a day, and as these prayers were unusually lon«' 
 and delivered in a tone and dialect extremely disagreeable " 
 Jorgenson was " glad to get rid of the connection." 
 
 A new field for enterprise awaited him. As I have 
 already stated in a previous article, the country at that 
 time (1827-29) was infested with desperadoes, who, escaped 
 from the various prison gangs on the island, had taken 
 to the bush. The most daring robberies were committed 
 in open day, and the authorities set completely at defiance. 
 The day before Jorgenson had reached Dr. Ross's house 
 on the occasion of his first expedition to the Big Lake, 
 the place had been "visited by Dunn,"' a notorious ruffian, 
 whose name yet lives in prison story. This gentleman was 
 a mate of the more infamous wretch Brady, and was the 
 terror of the district. He is reported to have shot down 
 alike aborigines and settlers. Mr. Bonwick, in his JhtsJi- 
 rangers, tells how he cut off the head of a native and tied it 
 round the neck of a rubra as a token of esteem; on this 
 occasion he merely made one of the stockmen tie up the other 
 two, and then fry him some chops. 
 
 He was caught and hung, not long after; and the compiler 
 of the BusJnxingers states that he appeared on the scaffold in 
 "a long white muslin robe, with a huge black cross marked 
 thereon before and behind."' Such monsters as these were 
 numerous, and a formidable gang, consisting of upwards of 
 sixty in different parts of the colony, acted in conceit, in 
 stealing sheep, cattle, and horses. The Government had 
 determined to put down these villains with a strong hand. 
 Up to that time it had been the custom to punish with 
 death all captured runaways, but it was found that such 
 policy did not answer. It was resolved to oiler pardon t<> 
 approvers, and the instant this was done crime began to 
 decrease. When a man had no chance of escape from the 
 gallows whatever he confessed, he not unwisely held his 
 tongue and confessed nothing; but when hope of mercy was 
 held out, many betrayed their associates. As go-betweens 
 of the Crown and the convict, some few daring and trusted 
 agents were employed, and Jorgenson was chosen onr ol 
 these. Given a letter from the Colonial Secretary to Mr. 
 Thomas Anstey, of Anstey Barton, police magistrate in the 
 Oatlands district, he proceeded to that gentleman's house, 
 and was soon installed as constable of tie- held police and 
 ■assistant-constable to the police-magistrate. His duties 
 
I OLD TALKS OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 were arduous. The circumference of the Oatlands district 
 alone is more than loO miles, and "bushrangers harassing 
 the settlers, and the hostile aboriginal tribes committing 
 many murders and depredations, the situation of a constable 
 was not without its difficulties and dangers." Jorgenson 
 was obliged to visit all the farms and stock-huts in the dis- 
 tricts of Oatlands, Clyde, Campbell Town, the great ami 
 little Swan ports, and sometimes the Richmond district, 
 and slept out among such suggestive names as those of 
 " Murderer's Plains," " Murderer's Tier," " Deadman's 
 Point," "Killman's Point," "Hell's Corner," "Four-square 
 Gallows," "Dunn's Look-out," "Brady's Look-out," and the 
 like. 
 
 After two years of this life, during which he several times 
 narrowly escaped death from bullet or starvation, Jorgenson 
 took part in the celebrated war of extermination against the 
 blacks. The aboriginals had for a long time harassed the 
 settlers, reprisals took place, and a mutual distrust was 
 engendered. At this time things had arrived at the pass 
 that natives speared white men wherever they found them, 
 and white men shot down natives wholesale in return. In 
 the year 1827, 121 outrages by natives were committed in 
 the Oatlands district alone, and no less than 28 inquests 
 were held by one coroner on the bodies of people murdered 
 by aboriginals. As an instance of the sort of amusement 
 that had been going on for the previous eight years, Jorgen- 
 son cites an official report made by a settler named Robert 
 Jones, " residing at Pleasant Place, near Poole's Marsh, on 
 the River Jordan, in the district of the Upper Clyde." This 
 report gives so vivid a picture of " squatting" life at that 
 period of Tasmanian history that I proceed to quote it nearly 
 at length. 
 
 "On the evening of the 17th and 18th day of March, iu 
 the year 1819," says Mr. Jones. "I resided- in a stock-hut 
 under a stony sugar-loaf, about two miles to the westward 
 of the Macquarie River, then called the Relief River. There 
 were three inmates, of whom one went out on the Relief 
 Plains to look after the sheep. Towards the evening this 
 man came running to the hut, seemingly in a very exhausted 
 state. He said that the natives were spearing the sheep on 
 the plains, and when they saw him they pursued him until 
 he came in sight of the hut. We seized our firearms, consist 
 ing of two muskets, and went in pursuit, but they were in 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JOKGENSON. 
 
 so bad a state as to be almost useless. After proceeding 
 about 200 yards, we observed several natives Lurking behind 
 the trees. We attempted to get up with them, but thev rai 
 
 up into a high tier, where they were joined by a great number 
 of others. They did not offer to disperse, but on the cont ran . 
 some of the most daring came up to us quivering their spear* 
 and making a hideous noise. We presented our pieces with 
 an idea of frightening them, but they heeded us not: ami 
 what was worse, the man who carried the ammunition had 
 unfortunately lost it. We now commenced our retreat, ii 
 which we found little difficulty, as it was by this time quite 
 dark. 
 
 " The following morning, at dawn of day, I went down <.;. 
 the plains, about a quarter of a mile from the hut; I heard a 
 kind of gibberish, and on looking round I saw a great number 
 going towards the hut. I might have made my escape, foi 
 they seemed to take no notice of me; however, I ran with 
 all speed to the hut, for I guessed it to be their intention t<< 
 set fire to it, which might have been easily accomplished, a- 
 the inmates were still in bed. I succeeded in rousing them, 
 and we prepared ourselves against an attack. They made a 
 most formidable appearance; some were making along ;. 
 valley at the back of the hut with lighted bark in then 
 hands, whilst a far greater number took up a position on 
 the side of the hill, whence they could safely throw spear*, 
 wacldies, and stones at us. They now gave a great shout, 
 and commenced operations, so we were obliged to take 
 shelter under the far end of the hut. They continued ti 
 assail us for a length of time; and finding that our piece* 
 would not go off, they made signs for us to quit the place. 
 Avhich we were unwilling to do. I could perceive, as the\ 
 approached closer, that they were smeared all over with red 
 ochre; and I have since been informed, that when so daubed 
 it is a sure sign of hostile determination. The whole 
 strength of the tribe present could not have been less than 
 200 in number. I observed one of a portly stature, win. 
 appeared to stand six feet in height, lie was smeared :d! 
 over with red ochre, carrying a spear of peculiar make. 
 different to those of the rest, and much longer; he had i i 
 other sort of weapon, and even of that he made no use: 
 stood aloof from the rest and issued his orders with gi < 
 calmness, and was implicitly obeyed. They now formed 
 themselves into a half-moon ring, and attacked us with gre 
 
i)C OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 vigour. We placed ourselves in the best posture of defence 
 that we could. One of our men stood at the door of the 
 hut with a waddy in his hand, while myself and the third 
 man armed ourselves with shovels, and, in a state of 
 desperation almost, attacked the two wings. This made a 
 momentary impression on them, and they retreated up the 
 hill, being closely pursued by us. On a sudden they made 
 a halt, and again commenced darting their spears, waddies, 
 and stones; one of our men received a spear- wound on the 
 shin-bone. We endeavoured to ward off their spears, think- 
 ing they would at last be expended. They now rushed down 
 in a most furious manner, so we were obliged to make our 
 retreat towards the plains, having first secured our fire-arms. 
 We ran down a small valley, with a small rise on each side. 
 I observed a wild cow running with a spear in her, and 
 several kangaroo-dogs were also speared. We were now 
 completely surrounded, and in a very disadvantageous 
 situation. We were obliged to stop; I received three s] tear- 
 wounds at the same moment; one through my right cheek, 
 another through the muscle of my right arm, and a third 
 in my right side. I endeavoured to pull out the spears, 
 but could not succeed, and one of my comrades came to 
 my assistance. This man himself now received a spear 
 wound in the back, whilst the third, who was as much 
 exposed as we were, escaped unhurt. I bled most profusely. 
 We kept snapping our pieces, but to no purpose ; our caps 
 were knocked off several times, our trousers were full of 
 spear-holes, and the blacks now came rushing down within a 
 few yards with uplifted waddies to knock out our brains. 
 We had now been engaged about six or seven hours, and 
 were greatly exhausted; I stood in utter stupefaction, and 
 we gave up all hopes of escape. At that moment a most 
 fortunate accident occurred, which I have ever considered as 
 an act of Providence. One of the pieces, which would not for 
 a length of time go off, now happily did execution, and the 
 chief, the portly man spoken of above, received a ball, which 
 killed him on the spot. The natives gave way on all sides; 
 they endeavoured to make the chief stand on his legs, made a 
 frightful noise, looked up to heaven, and smote their breasts. 
 With the help of my comrades we made towards the plains, 
 but about forty blacks, forming themselves into two divisions, 
 pursued us until wo reached them, when they abandoned 
 further pursuit. A man now came up with a gun in his 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JOIUiENSON. !»7 
 
 hand, who asked us what was the matter. He conducted us 
 to a fire by the river-side, and gave us some warm tea. I 
 became very faint; my comrades disincumbered me of my 
 jacket, and sprinkled me over with cold water. We had 
 now upwards of ten miles to travel before we could obtain 
 any assistance, and we were compelled to course down the 
 river, as I was obliged to lie down very frequently. At 
 length we reached the stock-hut of Mr. Rowland Walpole 
 Loane, where we were received with much kindness; after 
 which, suffering severely from my wounds, I was with ditfi- 
 culty conveyed to Hobart Town. 
 
 "A party afterwards went in quest of the hostile tribe, 
 and found that they had burned the hut down, after having 
 taken out a bag of sugar, sheep-shears, a tomahawk, a hat. 
 and jacket. All these things they had scattered about in 
 every direction." 
 
 This is not the only narrow escape Mr. Jones had from 
 the blacks. In another part of his report he says : — " In 
 November, 1826, I was attacked by a numerous tribe of 
 the aborigines, at my residence at Pleasant Place, in the 
 parish of Rutland, in the county of Monmouth. On a 
 Thursday morning I left my wife and family at home, 
 proceeding myself in search of some sheep, and returned 
 about ten o'clock of the forenoon. I had scarcely entered my 
 dwelling when my little boy came in, saying to his mother 
 that the blacks were about. I seized my musket and went 
 out, and saw two. I pursued them; but when 1 had got 
 half-way up the tier I saw about twenty natives in ambush 
 amongst some wattle-trees. My wife was at the time stand- 
 ing at our door, with a loaded pistol in her hand, and called 
 to me to come down, which I did. The natives followed, 
 swearing at me in good English. They now extended them- 
 selves; and as the trees were at that time standing close to 
 the house, they singly skulked behind them. I was on the 
 alert, for I observed one man on one side, and another one 
 on the other side, with lighted bark in their hands: the 
 women and children were up in the tier. I was much 
 perplexed, fori was obliged constantly to run forwards and 
 backwards. The centre of them worked down when they 
 saw an opportunity. It had been a high Hood the day before, 
 and the water had scarcely left the marshes, so we were 
 hemmed in on all sides — the river behind, and the blacks 
 before us. Mrs. Jones had several times prevented the men 
 
 H 
 
98 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 from coming to the house, by presenting her pistol to them ; 
 which so exasperated them, that he who was taller than the 
 rest, and seemed to be their chief, exclaimed in a great passion, 
 in English — 'As for you, ma-am — as for you, ma-am — I 
 
 will put you in the b y river, ma-am,' and then he cut a 
 
 number of capers. We had then with us a courageous and 
 faithful little girl, who proposed to go upon a scrubby hill, 
 about a mile distant, to tell the sawyers who were at work 
 there the dangers to which we were exposed ; but we would 
 not allow it, fearing she might be speared. Shortly after 
 the girl was missing; it appeared afterwards that she had 
 crawled along the fences, and succeeded in getting up to the 
 sawyers. Guessing that she had proceeded thither, in about 
 half-an-hour after we cooeed, and were speedily answered by 
 the men. The native women on the tier gave out a signal, 
 and the blacks all fled. We pursued them, and I got very 
 close to one, when he stooped under the boughs of a fallen 
 tree, and I could see no more of him. We came up to a spot 
 where we found a fire, with some kangaroo half-roasted, and 
 some dogs which ran away. We then observed the blacks 
 ascending the second tier, and we quitted further pursuit, as 
 it would not have been safe to leave the house and family 
 unprotected. This engagement with the natives lasted about 
 four hours." 
 
 This statement of Mr. Jones gives a very accurate notion 
 of the condition of affairs in the colony. Jorgenson quotes 
 it with expressions of resentment against the aboriginals 
 which need not be repeated here. There can be but little 
 doubt but that there existed faults on both sides. The 
 colonists — rude, hot-tempered, and blood-thirsty, as many of 
 them were — often made unprovoked attacks upon the 
 natives, and the blood shed in these encounters was bitterly 
 avenged on the first opportunity. " The career of the 
 blacks in Van Diemen's Land," says Jorgenson, " has been 
 ever marked with ingratitude towards those who treated 
 them with kindness, and in their attacks on the whites they 
 pursued them with indiscriminate slaughter, not sparing any 
 who had even vindicated their cause and fed them." 
 
 In consequence of repeated outrages of this nature, the 
 Government resolved to bestir itself; but as yet apparently 
 unwilling to commence hostile operations on a " grand scale," 
 contented itself by forming a committee of deliberation, 
 which should take into consideration the whole question. 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGEXSON. 1)9 
 
 The sitting of this committee resulted in the establish- 
 ment of an armed band — a sort of land privateer force — in 
 each district. Mr. Gilbert Robertson, the chief constable of 
 the Richmond district, had in November, 1828, been sent 
 in pursuit of an aggressive tribe, and had captured six of 
 them without injury to his own men. Upon the strength 
 of this exploit the Government engaged him to go in quest 
 of the blacks for twelve months on a salary of £150 per 
 annum, and in case of success he was to receive a grant of 
 2000 acres of land. Robertson does not appear to have been 
 particularly successful, for in the spring of 1629 Mr. Anstey 
 received a commission from Colonel Arthur to undertake the 
 superintendence of all the roving parties. Four bands were 
 thereupon sent out, and the direction of these guerillas was 
 assigned to Jorgenson. Mr. Batman had twelve men under 
 his control; Nicholas, in the Campbell Town district, six; 
 Sherwin, in the Clyde district, and Doran, in the New Nor- 
 folk district, five apiece. The duty of these bands was to 
 range the country, and, while executing vengeance for out- 
 rage committed, to keep the natives within their assigned 
 limits. A bounty of £5 was given for every one of the 
 aborigines taken alive. The settlers roundabout meantime 
 did yeoman service. Mr. George Anstey, "then a mere 
 youth," headed a party of his father's servants, and captured 
 a small tribe; and Mr. Howell, of the Shannon, captured 
 another, and, forwarding them to head-quarters, received a 
 grant of 1000 acres of land. The blacks, however, were bold 
 and united. Arranging their plans of action, they would 
 creep through the country by twos and threes, and suddenly 
 uniting at a given spot, would slaughter women and children, 
 and fire homesteads. The settlers in those days never went 
 out to plough without " placing their firearms against a 
 stump in the field." 
 
 The nature of the country favoured these sudden attacks. 
 Mr. Frankland, the Surveyor-General, in a report prepared 
 for the express purpose of assisting Colonel Arthur in a cam- 
 paign which he was then meditating against the natives, 
 says — "The most lofty mountains rise in basaltic order in 
 all parts of the territory, piercing in their upheaval the more 
 recent formations, and leaving round their bases the various 
 strata of sandstones and fossilliferous rocks. Independent 
 of these great ranges, the whole country is broken into a sea 
 of minor elevations, sometimes extending in long ridges 
 
 ii 2 
 
100 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 called by the colonists ( tiers,' sometimes in unconnected 
 hills." The nature of the ground thus rendered anything 
 like concerted action of a disciplined body almost impossible, 
 and the guerillas dodged the blacks from gully to rock, from 
 hill to plain, silently following their footsteps like Indian 
 warriors on a war-trail. 
 
 The conduct of the scouting parties, however, was so far 
 unsatisfactory that Colonel Arthur determined to put in 
 practice a notion which had been long simmering in his 
 brain — he would draw a cordon round the recalcitrant 
 blacks, and drive them into one comer of the island. The 
 natives, irritated rather than cowed by the constant pursuit 
 of the armed force, had committed some daring reprisals. 
 Watching until their enemies had been betrayed by a false 
 alarm into some fruitless errand, they would in broad day- 
 light sally forth upon the unprotected farms, and massacre 
 the inhabitants. So bold had they grown that in one case — 
 a peculiarly atrocious one — six of them climbed the fence 
 of a settler's house, and entering by the back door killed 
 the housewife and three children, while the father and his 
 servants were at work but fifty yards away in the field, with 
 fire-arms at hand. Popular indignation was excited to the 
 highest pitch; and upon the proposition of Colonel Arthur 
 being mooted, an extraordinary demonstration took place. 
 
 By a Government order issued from the Colonial Secre- 
 tary's Office on the 9th September, 1830, the whole population 
 of the island was called to arms. ' ; The Lieutenant-Governor 
 calls upon every settler, whether residing on his farm or in 
 a town, who is not prevented by some overruling necessity, 
 cheerfully to render his assitance, and place himself under 
 the direction of the police-magistrate of that district in winch 
 his farm is situated, or any other district he may prefer." 
 The whole military force in the colony was to be .stationed 
 at those points where the natives were most likely to be 
 encountered. The north side of the island was placed under 
 the care of Captain Donaldson, of the 57th Regiment. Cap- 
 tain Wellman, of the same corps, commanded from "Koss, 
 north-east of St. Patrick's Head, ami north-west to Auburn 
 and Lake River." The Bothwell district was occupied by 
 Captain Wentworth, of the 63rd, whose cordon extended 
 north-west to the lakes, and south-west to Hamilton town- 
 ship. The Lower Clyde, from Hamilton township, south- 
 east to New Norfolk, was under the charge of Captain 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON. KH 
 
 Vicary, 63rd Regiment. The force at Oossmarsli, and the 
 'borders of the Oatlands, Richmond, and Bothwell districts, 
 was commanded by Captain Mahon, G3rd Regiment. Lieu- 
 tenant Barrow, 63rd, commanded the force in the district of 
 Richmond, "extending north to Jerusalem, north-east to 
 Prosser's Plains, and east to the coast;" and Lieutenant 
 Aubin, of the 63rd, commanded the force in the district 
 of Oyster Bay, extending south to Little Swan Port, 
 north to the head of the Swan River, and west to Eastern 
 Marshes, while the whole body thus employed was placed 
 under the general charge of Major Douglas, 63rd, who 
 was stationed at Oatlands. Volunteers from Hobart Town 
 were urged to join the force in the districts of New Norfolk, 
 the Clyde, or Richmond; and those from Launceston were 
 directed to close in with the police to the westward of 
 Norfolk Plains, or in the country between Ben Lomond 
 and George Town; "while," says the Gazette, " still more 
 desirable service will be given by any parties who will 
 ascend to the parts round the Lakes and Western Bluff, so 
 as to intercept the natives if driven into that part of the 
 country; and any enterprising young men, who may have 
 been accustomed to make excursions in the interior, and to 
 endure the fatigues of the bush, will most beneficially 
 promote the common cause by joining the small military 
 parties at the out-stations, and in making patrol expeditions 
 with them, and the services of all such will be readily 
 accepted by the military officers in command of the several 
 stations." 
 
 The roving parties were to be further increased by every 
 possible method, to which end the Governor desired that 
 ^'all prisoners holding tickets of leave, who are capable of 
 bearing arms, report themselves to the police magistrate of 
 the district in which they reside, in order that they may be 
 enrolled, either in the regular roving parties, or otherwise 
 employed in the public service under the instructions of 
 their respective employers.'' 
 
 This announcement once made, operations were pushed 
 forward with vigour. Colonel Arthur placed himself at the 
 head of the forces; the -peace" of Hobart Town and Laun- 
 ceston was left to the care of the principal inhabitants, who 
 could not attend the line. Captains Wentworth, Mahon, 
 Bayley, Vicarv, Wellmau, Macpherson, and Lieutenants 
 Aubin, Crolv, Pedder, Champ, and Murray, placed them- 
 
102 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 selves at the head of their respective divisions. The whole 
 field police, all ticket-of-leave men, and a multitude of 
 convicts, either in assigned service or otherwise at the 
 disposal of Government, were ordered to join the line; 
 and this immense force, consisting of more than 2000 
 armed men, moved slowly across the island, driving the 
 natives before them. A glance at the map of Tasmania 
 will show the effect of this manoeuvre. The blacks were 
 to be " driven" like deer into the south-east corner of the 
 island, to be forced over that narrow strip of sand known as 
 East Bay Neck, connecting Forestier's Peninsula with the 
 mainland, and then — driven across the second isthmus, " cor- 
 ralled" in what is now the penal settlement of Port Arthur. 
 Nature had made for Colonel Arthur an immense stockyard, 
 with two natural gates. The cordon drawn across County 
 Pembroke was complete from Sorell Town to Spring Bay. 
 Huge fires were lighted at night, and guards posted con- 
 stantly by day. Constantly reinforced, supplied with an 
 ample commissariat, the terrible line closed in as it were 
 inch by inch, and the natives, entrapped in the point of land 
 that runs out between Pittwater and Marion Bay, were com- 
 pelled to retreat towards East Bay Neck — the first gate of 
 the stockyard. From East Bay Neck it Avas proposed to 
 drive them still further south, across the terrible Eagle Hawk 
 Neck — yet seen in dreams by many a manumitted con- 
 vict — down to the last point of dry land, the basalt cliffs at 
 whose jagged base breaks unchecked the fury of the Southern 
 Sea. It was as though the blacks, like rats driven to the 
 utmost extremity of a quay, should be compelled to take to 
 the water. 
 
 Colonel Arthur, however, did not push matters to this 
 extremity. Having closed in upon East Bay Neck, and 
 driven the natives into the stockyard, he broke up his forces 
 and gave the volunteers leave to return to their homes " to 
 prepare for a second series of operations," which ultimately 
 resulted in something very like the complete destruction of 
 the native race. The disarmed convicts, strange to say., 
 returned quietly to their stations, though Jorgenson hints 
 that several promising conspiracies were nipped in the bud, 
 and the Van Diemonians, in a fever of joy, presented a con- 
 gratulatory address to the Governor. It was reported that 
 the natives had broken the cordon, and papers of the day 
 hint that the expedition was a failure. There is no doubt 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON. lO.'i 
 
 that, when we take into consideration the stale of tin- 
 country, the feeling of the population, and the fact that a 
 large body of the vilest scoundrels were entrusted with arms 
 which at any moment they might have turned against tlicii 
 leaders, the undertaking was a brilliant success. But tin- 
 second expedition was even more wonderful than the Hrst, 
 and the story of Mr. Robinson, the " apostle of the blacks,*' 
 who, unarmed and alone, went into the midst of them, and 
 by dint of argument brought whole tribes into submission, 
 is in itself a romance. Jorgenson wanders from his own 
 history to relate some of the exploits of this extraordinary 
 man, but as the history of the final subjugation of the 
 native race and the labours of their missionary is worthy 
 of a place to itself, I will reserve further account of them.* 
 But Jorgenson's adventures were drawing to a close. 
 One afternoon at Anstey Barton, in turning over the leaves 
 of the Gazette just brought by the mail-boy, Jorgenson ob- 
 served his own name. He had obtained his pardon! One 
 would think that this intelligence would have, tilled him 
 with joy; but, if we are to believe his own account, he felt 
 rather miserable than otherwise. He had become used to 
 his chain, and freedom was strange to him. Moreover, he 
 was in a worse plight free than as a bondsman, for he had 
 to keep himself. The roving bands, of which he was leader, 
 were broken up in the spring (1831), and he was left without 
 employment. He received a grant of 100 acres of land, but 
 with a touch of his old extravagance, he "sold it almost 
 immediately," and in all probability gambled away the pro- 
 ceeds. There was no occupation for a swash-buckler like 
 himself; and even had there been some exploring expedition 
 to join, or bushranger to capture, his altered condition had 
 brought with it altered feelings. When a convict. .Jorgen- 
 son wasfearless to desperation: as a freeman he could appre- 
 ciate the value of life :— " Prior to my receiving a pardon 
 I had fearlessly plunged into rapid rivers, up to the armpits, 
 with a knapsack on my back, containing a weight of do lbs. 
 to 70 lbs. When in quest of the blacks, I spent one night at 
 Mr. Kemp's farm at the Cross Marsh; the next morning I 
 proceeded to Mr. George Espie's farm, on the Jordan, to 
 
 * Since the above was written, a full account of the abonu'im- 
 and their extermination has been given by Mr. Domvick in bis Last 
 of the Tasmanians. 
 
104 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 cross the river, as the floods were down. Here, across the 
 Jordan, is a post and rail-fence, where persons may cross, 
 although it is not without danger, the fence trembling from 
 the heavy pressure of the current. I went down, and 
 although I had often crossed when the fence was completely 
 under water, and that there was now a clear rail, I would 
 not venture to cross. Mr. Espie expressed some surprise 
 at my backwardness, as he had formerly seen me cross with- 
 out any apprehension. I replied, ' Yes, Mr. Espie, I was 
 then a prisoner, and life of little matter; but now that I am 
 free, I must take more care of myself.' ' ; 
 
 The month after he got his pardon he took up his abode 
 in Hobart Town, but "was sadly put to it to make both ends 
 meet." He seems to have got married also, and speaks of 
 his wife, "who volunteered to take charge of a dairy farm;" 
 but as Jorgenson knew nothing about farming, and con- 
 founded seedtime with harvest, the pair were speedily 
 discharged. In this dilemma, the king, sailor, spy, courtier, 
 gambler, convict, constable, and explorer, bethought himself 
 of a ninth profession — letters. He had lived in London on 
 his writings: he would try to do the same in Hobart Town. 
 No sooner thought than achieved, and by-and-by our hero 
 calmly publishes "a tolerably large pamphlet on the Funding 
 System," which brought him in more than 100 guineas. This 
 easily-earned money was soon spent, and he was again desti- 
 tute, when fortune, which had buffeted him long, landed him 
 safely at last. A letter from the Danish envoy in London 
 to Lord Glenelg was enclosed by that nobleman to Colonel 
 Arthur, with an intimation that the "mother of J. Jorgenson, 
 a prisoner of the Crown," was dead, and that he had come 
 into a comfortable little fortune. The curtain falls upon him 
 petitioning the Government for a further grant of land, in 
 consideration of his services in 1829-30-31. Here is one of 
 the "testimonials" out of many he gives as having been 
 attached to the document: — 
 
 "There are to certify that memorialist has been well 
 known to me during the last nine years. He was some 
 yeai's under my orders when I was police-magistrate of the 
 Oatlands district, during which period he acted successively 
 as in) assistant-clerk, constable of the field-police, leader of 
 several roving bands in quest of the aborigines, and one of 
 the directors of the Oatland volunteers, in the levy en masse 
 against the aborigines. In all those capacities memorialist 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN JORGENSON. 105 
 
 discharged honestly and fearlessly the arduous duties which 
 were entrusted to him." 
 
 "(Signed) Tuos. Anstey, M.L.C., J.B. 
 
 "Anstey Barton, 10th December, 183(5." 
 
 Whether he ever got his grant or not I do not know, us his 
 story breaks off abruptly: — "I have," says he, " now come 
 to the conclusion of the second part of my autobiography. 
 It is not for me to speculate upon whether T shall ever be 
 able to write a third portion. This must be left to the will 
 of that Being who rules man's destiny. I have had my full 
 share of days ! little is there in this world to care for. 
 The joys of human life are fleeting and transient; they may 
 be likened to two friends meeting each other on a hasty 
 journey, who ask a few questions, and then part, perhaps for 
 ever, leaving nothing behind but a tender regret. Such is it 
 with the joyous hours of our transitory existence. These 
 pages had probably never appeared, had I merely consulted 
 the state of my own feelings ; for I am not, like Jean Jacques 
 Rousseau, fond of thrusting myself on the public with 
 unnecessary confessions: I have been swayed by motives of 
 a higher character. My youthful readers may derive a lesson 
 from the history of my life. All human wisdom is vanity if 
 not regulated by prudence. One error leads to another, and 
 every deviation from the straight path is sure to entangle 
 the strayed sheep in the mazes of a labyrinth." 
 
 Poor strayed sheep! I can fancy worthy Doctor K<>ss, 
 the editor, saying, " Jorgenson, you must have had a strange 
 life of it. Can't you jot down some of those yarns you 
 are always spinning for the Annual?" and see the wily smile 
 with which the "Captain" replies, as he shifts his pipe from 
 one side of his mouth to the other. 
 
 Write romances ! Why, this poor old convict, who has 
 been resting in his nameless grave these twenty years, has 
 lived one beside which the "story of Cambuscan bold," the 
 adventures of Gil Bias, or the doings of that prince of 
 scoundrels, Mr. Barry Lyndon himself, dwindle into insigni- 
 ficance. All the raven-haired, hot-headed, supple-wristed 
 soldiers of fortune that ever diced, drank, duelled, kissed, 
 and escaladed their way through three volumes octavo, 
 never had such an experience. Think over his story, from 
 his birth in Denmark to his death in Van Diemen's Land, 
 and imagine from what he has told us, how much more he 
 has been compelled to leave unrelated. 
 
GOVERNOR RALPH DARLING'S IRON COLLAR, 
 
 At the Sydney Quarter Sessions held on the 8th of Novem- 
 ber, 1826, two soldiers of the 57th Regiment were indicted 
 for stealing calico from the shop of a Jew named Michael 
 Napthali, and sentenced to seven years' transportation. 
 
 The circumstances of the offence were peculiar. In 
 December, 1826, Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Darling- 
 succeeded to the governorship of New South Wales, and 
 was clever enough to become in twelve months the most 
 unpopular personage in the colony. A detailed disquisition 
 upon his character would be out of place here, but a very 
 excellent and brief summary of it is given by Mr. Sidney in 
 his Three Colonies of Australia: — " He was a man of forms 
 and precedents of the true red-tape school — neat, exact, 
 punctual, industrious, arbitrary, spiteful, and commonplace/' 
 Impressed with a marvellous sense of his own importance, 
 and obstinate to desperation, Sir Ralph Darling, brought the 
 severest military discipline to bear upon the social relations 
 of governor and governed. He was Sir Oracle, and if any 
 unhappy dog dared bark when his august lips were open, 
 instant annihilation was the punishment of his temerity. 
 He ruled the convicts with a rod of iron, and surrounded by 
 a tribe of parasites, flatterers, and knaves, stretched the 
 authority lie possessed to the verge of abuse. A violent 
 opposition to Government-house and its belongings had been 
 growing ever since the days of Bligli, and the bureaucratic 
 despotism of the military Governor gave to this o\ (position a 
 weapon which it was not slow to use. The more he was 
 abused, the more arbitrary did the Governor become: and 
 at last he perpetrated an act of tyranny which went near to 
 bracket him in history with Governor Wall. 
 
 The condition of the military forces in the colony was not 
 an enviable one. The privates of the 5 7th Regiment saw 
 around them many wealthy men whom they remembered as 
 
GOVERNOR RALPH DARLING'S [RON COLLAR. 1(1? 
 
 convicts, and startled by the strangely lenient sentences 
 passed by many magistrates, began to murmur at tin- severe 
 punishment and strict discipline meted out to themselves by 
 the Governor's orders. The convict population of Svdne'v 
 was, in 1827, in one of two positions. A prisoner of the 
 Crown was either better or worse treated than his deserts. 
 The cat was used unsparingly. A county magistrate was 
 "permitted to award any number of lashes for insolence, 
 idleness, and other indefinite offences." Men were Hogged 
 until they died, or tortured until they committed suicide to 
 escape the weariness of living. The newly-established settle- 
 ment of Moreton Bay rivalled the infamies of Mactpiarie 
 Harbour, and was only exceeded in terror by that lowest ol 
 deeps, Norfolk Island. But nevertheless the corrupt con- 
 dition of officialdom rendered immunity from punishmenl 
 sufficiently easy to a patient and designing convict. Money 
 could do everything, and instances are not wanting of mur- 
 derers and thieves who succeeded in establishing themselves 
 in snug shops and snugger farms. Convict jurors sat upon 
 convict prisoners, and the hon camaraderie of the chain-gang 
 and the hulks was not invariably forgotten. The military, not 
 always composed of the best materials — viewed with disgust 
 the social success of the men whom they had in former times 
 helped to guard, and a pernicious and dangerous feeling ran 
 current in the garrison that to be a soldier was not always 
 to be better off than a convict. During the residence of the 
 57th Regiment in the colony more suicides took place in it 
 than in any other corps quartered there before or sine* — 
 five men had already committed robberies in order to obtain 
 their discharge, while two had incurably mutilated them- 
 selves for the same purpose. 
 
 Darling was aware of this notion, and unreasonably 
 irritated at what he considered an insult to his own judg- 
 ment, instead of lightening the military yoke, caused it to 
 press the heavier, vowing that he would take dire vengeance 
 on any exponent of the rebellious doctrine. 
 
 Sudds and Thompson were fated to be the martyrs of ;, 
 military reformation. Discontented with their position. 
 and eager for their discharge from a service which the 
 peddling tyranny of the Governor had made worse than 
 penal, the two silly fellows determined to commit an olfeno 
 which should, by rendering them amenable to transportation 
 for five or seven years, secure them their discharge at the 
 
108 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 «end of that time. Thompson, who bore a good character in 
 the regiment, appears to have been drawn into the scheme 
 by the arguments of Sudds, who had a wife in England, and 
 was doubly anxious to escape from the bondage of the 
 Barrack-square. Sudds had been for a long time discon- 
 tented, and was regarded as a " loose fellow" by his officers; 
 that is to say, his discontent took the usual shape of 
 rebellion against constituted authority. The military stock 
 had become too tight for Sudds and Thompson. 
 
 On the evening of the 20th of September, 1826, the two 
 men determined to put their project in execution. They 
 went into the shop of a Jew named Napthali, and asked to 
 see some shirting. Several pieces were shown them, and 
 Sudds, selecting twelve yards of calico, placed the bundle 
 under his arm, and walked out of the shop, remarking that 
 his companion would pay. Thompson chatted with the 
 shopman for a while, and being at last certain that Sudds 
 was beyond pursuit, declined to pay anything, and walked 
 out. The pair having met, bestowed the calico about their 
 persons, and awaited the arrival of the constables. They 
 -did not wait long. As they had anticipated, they were 
 ^oon apprehended, and giving up the calico, laughingly told 
 the officer that they were weary of military service, and had 
 taken this means of quitting it. On the 8 th of November 
 they were tried, and sentenced to seven years' transporta- 
 tion. All had turned out as they had hoped, and Thomp- 
 son on leaving the dock said, with a smile, " I hope your 
 Honour will let me take my firelock. It may be useful to 
 me in the bush !" 
 
 Thus far nothing in the case called for public comment, 
 and, beyond the ordinary newspaper paragraphs concerning 
 " daring conduct," and " robbery in open day," the case of the 
 two men passed unnoticed. But on the 21st of November it 
 began to be rumoured that General Darling intended to make 
 "an example of the two prisoners," and that some extraor- 
 dinary punishment was in store for them. On the 22nd of 
 November a general order was issued, which stated that 
 "The Lieutenant-General, in virtue of the power witli which 
 he is invested as Governor-in-Chief, has thought lit to com- 
 mute (!) the sentence, and to direct that privates Joseph 
 Sudds and Patrick Thompson shall be worked in chains on 
 the public roads for the period of their sentence, after which 
 they will rejoin their corps. The garrison has been assembled 
 
GOVERNOR RALPH DARLIXg's IRON' COLLAR. \()[) 
 
 to witness the degradation of these men from the honour- 
 able station of soldiers to that of felons doomed to labour in 
 chains. It is ordered that the prisoners he immediately 
 stripped of their uniform in the presence of the troops, anil 
 be dressed in felon clothing. That they be put in chains, 
 and delivered in charge to the overseers of the 'chain gam's,' 
 in order to their being removed to the interior, and worked 
 on the mountain roads, being drummed as rogues out of the 
 garrison." 
 
 Now the usual way to " drum a man out of garrison" is 
 to put a rope round his neck, cut off the facings of his uni- 
 form, and place on his back a piece of paper on which is 
 written the name of the offence which the culprit has 
 committed; and it was supposed that such had been the 
 course pursued in regard to Sudds and Thompson. < )n the 
 evening of the 22nd of November (Thursday), however, 
 the officers and soldiers of the garrison began to let fall 
 hints respecting some more imposing ceremony, and it was 
 rumoured that the prisoners had undergone some extraordi- 
 nary punishment which had seriously injured one of them. 
 These rumours gained ground until Monday, the 26th, when 
 it became known that Sudds had died on the previous night. 
 The Opposition papers published an exaggerated account of 
 ironing, chaining, and flogging, and after some bickering 
 between the democratic Australian and the Government 
 paper, an inquiry was held — at which General Darling most 
 indecently presided — and it was given forth that Sudds had 
 died from combined dropsy and bronchitis. Mr. Went 
 worth — a native-born Australian barrister, of some eloquence 
 and intense capacity for hating — would not rest satisfied 
 with this explanation, and little by little the facts of the case 
 leaked out. 
 
 Sudds and Thompson had been loaded with heavier irons 
 than those placed upon the most desperate convicts, and tin 
 ingenious Darling had placed round their necks spiked iron 
 collars attached by another set of chains to the ankle fetters. 
 The projecting spikes prevented the unhappy men from 
 lying down at ease, and the connecting chains were short 
 enough to prevent them from standing upright. Cmler 
 the effects of this treatment Sudds had died. 
 
 Public fury now knew no bounds. Tradesmen put up 
 their shutters as though in mourning for some national 
 calamity. The fiercest denunciations met the Governor on 
 
110 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 all sides, and he was accused of wilful murder. A full 
 investigation of the case was demanded, and granted, but in 
 the meantime Darling's parasites had made away with the 
 irons. At the sitting of the Executive Council lighter ones 
 were substituted. A Captain Robison, however, had, 
 unluckily for himself, found the original irons at the Govern- 
 ment station at Emu Plains, and gave a full description of 
 them. Shortly after this he was sent to Norfolk Island,* 
 and, after many harassing changes, finally cashiered by a 
 court-martial convened by Darling, on a frivolous pretence. 
 Wentworth published in England a series of pamphlets con- 
 taining an account of the whole transaction, and it is from 
 these pamphlets (taken in connection with the Parliamentary 
 papers of the day) that I have attempted to compile an 
 impartial history of the case. 
 
 While awaiting trial, Sudds had complained of illness. 
 On the 8th of November the two prisoners were removed to 
 the gaol. On the 11th, Sudds, being in irons, complained 
 of pains in the bowels, and was admitted as an out-patient 
 of the gaol hospital. A few days after, he was brought into 
 the sick ward, suffering from pains in the head and bowels. 
 The irons were removed, and the following morning his 
 legs, belly, and thighs were greatly swollen. John Thomp- 
 son, the gaol attendant, ordered fomentations of hot water, 
 which removed the pain in the bowels, and the surgeon 
 arriving that afternoon ordered him to be discharged. The 
 next day he was brought back worse than before. " My 
 belly is like a drum," he said. Medicines were given to 
 him, and he remained in the hospital with gaol irons on 
 until the morning of the 22nd. On the 22nd the order 
 arrived for the two prisoners to be sent to the barracks. 
 Wilson, the under-gaoler, and two constables thereupon came 
 for Sudds, and dressed him in his regimentals. Outside the 
 Avard he met Thompson, and the two were sent down to the 
 parade-ground. The day was one of extreme heat, and most 
 oppressive. Sudds was unable to stand, and was supported 
 by a man under each arm while the order was read. 
 Captain Robison, who was present at the ceremony, says of 
 Sudds, "His whole body was much puffed and swollen, 
 particularly his legs and feet." The order having been read, 
 the regimentals were strijmed off the backs of the two men, 
 
 * Of course, not as a prisoner. 
 
GOVERNOR RALPH DARLING'S IRON COLLAR. 1 | 1 
 
 and replaced by the yellow convict clothing, while a set 
 of irons was placed upon each of them. During this ope- 
 ration Sudds Avas obliged to sit upon the grass. " Theso 
 irons," says the editor of the Australian, "were of a pecu- 
 liar kind. The rings from the ankles are made after a 
 peculiar fashion, and are of an uncommon size. In place of 
 having chains attached to them in the common way, they 
 are connected by means of long and slender chains with 
 another ring, which is put round the neck, and serves as a 
 collar. Two thin pieces of iron, each about eight inches 
 long, protrude from the ring collar, in front under the chin, 
 behind under the nape of the neck. This is the position of, 
 the pieces of iron (they are not spikes, not being sharp at" 
 the end) when the chains are put on and adjusted as 
 intended. From this it is evident that the degree of ease or 
 torture experienced by the wearer must depend entirely 
 upon the length of the several chains. He can't lie down 
 on his back or on his belly without twisting round the collar, 
 in order to remove the projecting irons to the side. If the 
 chains be not longer than that part of the body between the 
 ankles and the neck, he never can extend himself at full 
 length, but must remain partly doubled up, and become 
 cramped in the course of a short time; for in turning the 
 collar in order to lie down, the chains wind and form a 
 curvature round the body, thus diminishing in effect their 
 length." The weight of these irons was, according to Captain 
 Robison, between 30 and 40 lbs. 
 
 Having been thus bound, the pair were conducted to the 
 barrack gate, and given over to the constables. Sudds was 
 obliged to lean against the wall, and complained that the 
 basils of the fetters cut his legs. Being placed in the cell 
 the torture commenced. Sudds's neck began to swell, and 
 he found that he could barely breathe. Thompson offered 
 to "turn" the collar for him, but his offer was refused; 
 Sudds said it hurt him if it was stirred. " It would admit 
 nothing between it and the neck but a cotton handkerchief." 
 As for Thompson, he says, at his examination on board the 
 "Phoenix" hulk, "The projecting irons would not allow mo 
 to stretch myself at full length on my back. I could sleep 
 on my back, by contracting my legs; I could not lie on 
 either side without contracting my legs. I could not stand 
 upright with the irons on; the basil of the irons would not 
 slip up mv legs, and the chains were too short to allow me 
 
112 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 to stand upright." This was the "little ease" of the Tower, 
 or the stone cage of the Bastille over again. We can 
 imagine without much difficulty the torture that would be 
 produced by such compulsory contraction of the body. 
 
 That night Sudds was taken so ill that Thompson bor- 
 rowed a candle from Wilson, the under-gaoler, fearing lest 
 his companion should suddenly die. He also gave him some 
 tea which he had purchased. A little after midnight the 
 poor wretch became so bad that Thompson, thinking he was 
 dying, asked a fellow-prisoner to come and look at him. The 
 man looked, and said, " He's not dying, but I do not think 
 he'll live long." Upon this Thompson asked Sudds if he had 
 any friends to whom he would wish to write. Sudds replied 
 that he had a wife and child at Gloucester, and begged 
 Thompson to "get some pious book and read to him," adding, 
 that " they had put him in irons until they killed him." 
 Shortly after this, Thompson, worn out with fatigue, fell 
 asleep, and a man named Moreton, who was in gaol for 
 a murderous assault upon his mother, undertook to sit up 
 with the dying man. At eight o'clock the next morning, 
 Thursday, Sudds was taken to the hospital; his irons 
 were removed when the doctor came round, at twelve 
 o'clock. That day lie ate nothing but a piece of fish. Mr. 
 M'Intyre, the surgeon, said to him, " You have brought your- 
 self into pretty disgrace. You will be a tine figure with those 
 irons, at work." To which he replied, "I will never work in 
 irons." " You would be better out of the world," says 
 M'Intyre; and the poor creature with a groan said, " I wish 
 to God I was." 
 
 His wish was fulfilled on Sunday night. Had he died in 
 the precincts of the gaol, an inquest could have been de- 
 manded, and General Darling, hearing of the precarious con- 
 dition of the prisoner, absolutely ordered him to be removed 
 on Sunday afternoon to the General Hospital, whither lie 
 was taken in a small cart about an hour before he expired. 
 The necessity for an inquest was thus obviated, and Mr. 
 M'Intyre, the assistant-surgeon of the gaol, went down to 
 the hospital to make a post-mortem examination of the body. 
 He found the organs healthy, but " discovered in the throat 
 mucus of a slimy, frothy description. The wind-pipe was 
 rather inclined to a reddish colour." It is tolerably clear 
 that this appearance was caused by inflammation, induced 
 by the tight and heavy collar; but Mr. M'Intyre, who held 
 
GOVERNOR RALPH DARLINGS IKON COLLAR. 1 1 .', 
 
 his post at the Governor's pleasure, obligingly considered it. 
 the effect of bronchitis. 
 
 The Australian newspaper, however, thought otherwise, 
 and said so. Upon this Mr. Alexander M'Leay, Colonial 
 Secretary, at the Governor's request, wrote to the editor and 
 put him in possession of what he was pleased to term the 
 "facts of the case," to wit, that the punishment indicted 
 was, in reality, a mitigation of the original sentence; that 
 Sudds died from dropsy; that the chains weighed exactly 
 13 lbs. 12 ozs., and could be seen at his office. Public fet liny 
 was still rampant, and on the 5th of December Darling 
 brought the case under the consideration of the Executive 
 Council. At this meeting Mr. M'Intyre reiterated his 
 statements about bronchitis, saying, that he had been most 
 particular in his observations, as he knew that " this was a 
 case which the rascally newspapers would take up." ( laptain 
 Dumaresq, acting civil engineer, and son-in-law t.o the 
 .Governor, produced a set of 13-lb. irons, and said they were 
 the ones worn by Sudds. A soldier of the 57th, named 
 Jesse Geer, who was in waiting, was then called in; and the 
 ^Governor remarking that Geer was as nearly as possible of 
 the same size and stature as Sudds, ordered the irons to be 
 put upon him, and called the assembled council to witness 
 how easily they fitted ! 
 
 Everything now seemed explained, and Darling as a last 
 precaution wrote to Earl Batliurst on the 12th, reporting 
 the case and the decision of the council, and adding that 
 " being satisfied from what had occurred that the conduct of 
 the hospital requires investigation, he would immediately 
 appoint a board to ' inquire into the management and 
 system generally,' and report upon the same for his lord- 
 ship's information. 
 
 But tenacious Wentworth still held on to the facts of the 
 case, and was 'presently gratified by a piece of important 
 information. Captain Robison, of the Veteran corps, had 
 seen the original irons which had been placed on Thompson, 
 and had tried them on out of curiosity. To that gentleman, 
 on the 1st of January, docs Wentworth write, requesting a 
 full account of the circumstance, liobison replied on the :',nl, 
 and after giving in his letter the particulars concerning the 
 " drumming out" already quoted, says — " A few monthsatter 
 Sudds's punishment and death (May or. June. 1*27), I was 
 returning from the command of the Rtthurst districi in 
 
 i 
 
114 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 company with Lieutenant Christie, of the Buffs, and we 
 stopped a night at the Government station on Emu Plains. 
 The chains which Private Thompson worked in, as above 
 mentioned, had been left at Emu, and were brought for us. 
 to see. They were of a very unusual description, and the 
 iron collar reminding me of those I had seen on condemned 
 slaves, &c, in South America, I was anxious to examine 
 them, and from this motive was induced to put them on my 
 own person, as did also Lieutenant Christie, of the Buffs. 
 We had but one opinion as to the torture they must have 
 'produced. ... I found it quite impossible whilst I 
 had the collar and irons on me to lie down, except on my 
 back or face, there being two long iron spikes projecting 
 from the iron collar which was riveted round the neck, 
 which put it quite out of my power to turn over to the 
 other side ; independently of which there were two chains 
 on either side extending from the collar and communicating 
 with those on the legs. ... I guessed the weight at 
 about 30 lbs. or 40 lbs., or even upwards." 
 
 Mr. Mackaness, the sheriff, stated also that, calling at 
 Government House with Colonel Mills a few days prior to 
 the punishment of Sudds and Thompson, he saw on the right 
 hand of the hall after entering the door " either one or two 
 sets of irons, having collars and iron spikes projecting from 
 them," which now he has no doubt were the same he after- 
 wards saw upon the men in gaol. Mackaness " took them 
 to be newly-invented man-traps." 
 
 Armed with this fresh information, Wentworth succeeded 
 in getting a sort of Commission to examine Thompson. 
 This Commission, consisting of M'Leay, the Colonial 
 Secretary, W. H. Moore, the acting Attorney-General, and 
 "Wentworth himself, sat on board the "Phoenix," hulk. 
 Thompson, in his examinations, spoke boldly, and, con- 
 fident in popular support, did not hesitate to expatiate 
 upon the cruelties to which he had been subjected. The 
 day before the death of Sudds, Thompson could endure the 
 torture of the collar no longer. On Saturday, the 25th 
 November, he broke the chain, "so as to turn the collar, and 
 lie at ease." The chains remained broken until Monday 
 morning, when Wilson, the under-gaoler, took him to the 
 yard, and had Sudds's irons put on him. It so happened 
 that the chains of these were a little longer than the others, 
 and Thompson, being a smaller man than his companion, 
 
GOVERNOR RALPH DARLING'S IRON COLLAK. 1 1 ."» 
 
 could straighten his body. He remained in tlie gaol until 
 Tuesday, when he was placed in a boat and taken to the 
 prisoners' barracks at Parramatta. On Wednesday lie was 
 taken in a bullock-cart to Penrith gaol, and on Thursday 
 morning conveyed to "No. 1, Iron-chain-gang-partv." on 
 Lapstone-hill, being the first range of the Blue Mountai iis. A i 
 three o'clock the same day he was taken out and set to work 
 with the gang, having the spiked collar that had killed 
 Sudds on his neck the whole time. After eight daws of this 
 work he gave in. It was very hot weather, and the heat of 
 the iron collar became intolerable, "compelling me," he says, 
 "to sit down frequently in order to hold it with my ham Is 
 off my neck." The overseer ordered him to continue work; 
 but he refused, and asked to be taken to gaol, where he 
 could get "'rest from the heat of the sun." To gaol he went 
 accordingly, and on the following morning the collar Mas 
 removed by Mr. M 'Henry, "by order of the Governor." 
 Having had his irons removed, he was sent back to the over- 
 seer, carrying the collar, etc., with him, and on the arrival of 
 the gang at Emu Plains was invested with " the usual irons 
 of the gang." A week after this he refused to work, and 
 being lodged in gaol fell sick of dysentery, and was finally 
 sent on board the hulks. What became of him at last [do 
 not know, and cannot discover. Having played his litt It- 
 part in the drama, he retires. His exit is doubtless noted 
 in the prison records of New South Wales. 
 
 Thus informed, Wentworth wrote to Sir George Murray, 
 the Secretary of State, and forwarded to him a long bill of 
 indictment against the detested Governor. On the Sth July. 
 1828, Mr. Stewart, a member of the British House of ( 'am- 
 nions, rose to move for "papers connected with the case? of 
 Joseph Sudds and Patrick Thompson." Sir. G. Cole lion- 
 testimony to "the excellent and humane character of the ( Jo- 
 vernor of New South Wales," but the motion was agreed to. 
 
 In the meantime " the rascally newspapers" had not been 
 idle. " Miles," a correspondent of the Morning Chronich . at 
 that time edited by Black, took up the cudgels for Mr. 
 Wentworth, and commented severely on the conduct of the 
 Tory Governor of New South Wales. The Tory papers 
 retaliated, and, after some fierce lighting, Darling seems to 
 have received a hint to resign. The facts of the case came 
 out but too clearly, and the motion of Mr. Stewart was fatal. 
 But the struggle lasted four years— long enough to ruin 
 
 i2 
 
116 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Robison, who was bandied from post to pillar, and finally 
 cashiered. On Darling's resignation, in 1831, Robison 
 attempted to obtain redress from the Home Government, 
 but failed. The Whig party still clamoured for vengeance, 
 and " Miles," persistently chronicling all Darling's misdeeds, 
 vowed that unless he was tried for his life, Picton would 
 have been an ill-used hero, and "Wall a murdered man. The 
 crowning stroke was delivered in a letter published in 1832. 
 On Wednesday, the 14th December, 1831, a savage letter 
 from "Miles" in the Chronicle called forth a silly and 
 abusive reply in the John Bull from Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Darling, the brother of Sir Ralph. The writer averred that 
 • : Miles" would not dare to attack the Governor of New 
 South Wales when that much-injured man arrived in 
 London in May. " Miles" waited quietly until June, and 
 then came out with a clear exposition of the whole case, 
 couched in the most bitter language, and gives a little bit of 
 information which goes far to set the question of Governor 
 Darling's veracity at rest. John Head, who was hutkeeper 
 at Emu Plains, deposed upon oath in Sydney, on the 29th 
 July, 1829, that " being at the hut when Thompson arrived, 
 he was desired by Plumley, the overseer of the gang (he not 
 being able to read), to read to him a letter which the said 
 Plumley had received purporting to be signed by Alexander 
 M'Leay, Colonial Secretary, by command of the Governor, 
 and that it directed the said Plumley to take the chains and 
 collar off the said Patrick Thompson, and to convey the 
 same privately to Government-house, and that the said 
 Plumley did accordingly take the chains and put them in a 
 bag, which the deponent Head carried on his back above 
 half a mile to the Government-house at Emu, and delivered 
 them to Mr. James Kinghorn, and it is his opinion that 
 they could not have weighed less than from 30 lbs. to 40 
 lbs." However, there was no " trial for murder." The 
 Government expressed itself fully satisfied with the conduct 
 of Sir Ralph, who was Tory to the backbone. Robison was 
 cashiered, and Mr. Wentworth having got for Governor 
 Major-General Sir Richard Bourke (unquestionably the 
 ablest man that had yet occupied that office), turned his 
 attention to other pursuits. 
 
 Meanwhile, if some official in Sydney Gaol will turn up 
 the records for 182G, lie may solve the mystery of poor 
 Thompson's fate. 
 
THE SETTLEE IN TASMANIA 
 
 lifts I**«5 %W- 
 
 " Now, gentlemen," said the captain, " the boat's all ready 
 for you." 
 
 "We had come to anchor that morning in Sullivan's Cove," 
 says Dr. Ross, writing in 1836 an account of his landing four- 
 teen years before at Hobart Town, " and for the last hour or 
 two had been doing our best, after a long voyage, to make 
 ourselves decent, in order to pay our respects to the Governor." 
 
 Dr. Ross was a gentleman of ability and taste, who had 
 emigrated from England with a view of settling as a farmer 
 in Tasmania — as it was then called, Van Diemen's Land. 
 After many vicissitudes, truthfully recorded in the following 
 narrative, he became editor of a Government paper, and 
 starting the Hobart Town Chronicle and Van Diemens Land 
 Annual, occupied a prominent position in the colony until his 
 death. To his exertions the historians of Tasmania have 
 been largely indebted for the material of their books. His 
 Annual is — apart from the scarce newspapers of the day — 
 the almost only record left of the earlier days of the colony, 
 and his experiences may be read with interest. 
 
 On this memorable morning he seated himself in his well- 
 creased "last new London-made dress coat" in the bows of 
 the boat, eagar to be among the first to call at Government- 
 house. His fellow-passengers were of a motley character, 
 and he describes with some humour the incidents of the 
 landing : — 
 
 "The boat was just shoving off when we were desired to 
 stop (in a stentorian voice, which none of us dared to dis- 
 obey), in order to take on board an emigrant, whom we had 
 all forgotten, and who we wished had also forgotten us, but 
 who now appeared, descending the steps. I do not, to this 
 hour, know how he managed to get down, for both arms 
 were loaded with articles of the heaviest kind. One em- 
 braced a steel mill, on the excellent machinery of which he 
 
 t 
 
118 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 had enlarged almost every day since he had purchased it in 
 Oxford-street. The other held, linked together in a bullock- 
 chain, a huge iron maul, a broad axe, and another very long 
 felling or rather falling one, as it is colonially called, and 
 which it, unfortunately for me, in this instance, too truly 
 proved to be. For in spite of all our cries — ' No room, no 
 room ! ' ' Keep back ! ' ' Wait till next time ! ' &c. — in an 
 instant he had his foot impressed, with all the superincum- 
 bent weight of himself and his iron ware, on the gunwale of 
 the boat, which he at once brought down to the edge of the 
 water, and, with the help of the passenger who sat beside 
 me, and by the sweep of his arm, trying to preserve his 
 equilibrium, deprived me of mine. I was as suddenly pre- 
 cipitated about ten or a dozen feet below the water. 
 Thanks to the aquatic acquirements of my early days, how- 
 ever, I was soon again at the surface, where I swam until I 
 caught the end of a rope, by which I returned on board, 
 with the mortification of having my fine levee coat steeped 
 in salt water, and seeing the rest of the passengers paddling 
 smoothly on shore to get the first blush of the Governor's 
 patronage. The only consolation I had under my cata- 
 strophe was the finding that the whole of the heavy articles 
 which had contributed to it, were now lying snug, four 
 fathoms under water, at the bottom of the Derwent." 
 
 This unlucky accident, however, procured him the pleasure 
 of a private interview with the Governor, Colonel Sorrell, 
 who seemed to be much pleased at the intention of the 
 new-comer to settle in Van Diemen's Land instead of going 
 on to Sydney. He was assured that the colony was in 
 urgent need of settlers like himself, and was promised all the 
 assistance the Government could give. The largest grant 
 that the Governor was at that time empowered to make to 
 any settler was 2560 acres. Unfortunately, in sailing from 
 London the doctor had been induced, in order to accom- 
 modate some other passengers, to take out of the ship a 
 large quantity of goods, and as grants of land were only 
 made in consideration of, and in proportion to, real pro- 
 perty, he could not claim the full allowance. Colonel 
 Sorrell, however, ordered that 1000 acres should be "laid 
 off" for him, with the understanding that he could take it 
 up as soon as the second vessel, containing his property, 
 arrived. This took place six weeks afterwards, but Ross 
 was then "busy with his farm and family in the interior," 
 
THE SETTLER IN TASMANIA FIFTY YEARS AGO. 119 
 
 and was unable to come to town or see after the fulfilment 
 of the promise. This state of things continued until a 
 change of Governors took place, and when Colonel Arthur 
 arrived, Ross came down to enforce his claim. New 
 Governors or Governments are not always eager to confirm 
 the minutes left by their predecessors, and Arthur did not 
 appear to think it necessary to carry out the suggestions of 
 Sorrell in every particular. Poor Ross was informed that 
 " the additions would all come in good time, when he had 
 made the proper improvements on the 1000 acres he had 
 already obtained;" and this decision, he says, took him so 
 much aback that he never since stirred in the matter, and 
 — " I have, in consequence, for a series of years been 
 struggling with every colonial difficulty to maintain a 
 numerous family; I have seen many other settlers, with far 
 less original means, and — I say it without disparagement — 
 with certainly no higher claims, enjoying the advantage of 
 maximum and additional maximum grants, and rapidly 
 accumulating large and independent fortunes." 
 
 Hobart Town in 1822 was not a very cheerful place. 
 The population, including prisoners and military, barely 
 amounted to 3000 souls. The streets were but just marked 
 out, and consisted for the most part of thinly-scattered cot- 
 tages standing in the midst of unfenced allotments, while 
 the roots and stumps of primeval gum-trees tripped up the 
 unwary foot-passenger. Macquarie-street was distinguished 
 by Government House, several stores, and " The Hope and 
 Anchor public-house," St. David's Church (then but just 
 built), and the Macquarie Hotel, a store where Koss ex- 
 pended the first money he laid out in the colony in " the 
 purchase of a razor-strop for two dollars." The streets were 
 knee-deep in mud, and undermined with large holes, int< 
 which the unwary fell headlong. Even in 182-")— tlnv, 
 years later — Dr. Ross states that going home one night he 
 witnessed the sudden plunge of the military band into a 
 mud-hole, and the consequent stoppage of the martial music 
 which they were discoursing. 
 
 The "old market-place," where "Mr. Fergusson's granary 
 stood by itself," was an "impassable mud-hole, periodically 
 overflowed with the tide." The only inns were Mrs. 
 Kearney's, the Derwent, and Macquarie Hotels, and the 
 Ship Inn — the last-named being at this moment of writing 
 the best hotel in Hobart Town— and the remainder of the 
 
120 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 town was principally composed of two-roomed cottages, having 
 a " skillion" behind. The only bridge was the " Cross," in 
 Elizabeth-street, which spanned the " town rivulet," and 
 was calculated as the centre of the city. This bridge was 
 the *" Under the Verandah" of Hobart Town, and many 
 admirable plans for spoiling the Egyptians were there con- 
 cocted. 
 
 " There were assembled, especially towards evening, gen- 
 tlemen of various classes, and from various parts of the 
 world — those who had recently left the pocket-picking 
 purlieus of the great metropolis, and those who had added 
 to that experience a few years' sojourn in these colonies. 
 Numerous bargains, assignments, and assignations were 
 there planned and transacted, which made their appearance 
 on the ensuing morning in dismantled and dilapidated 
 stores, and other symptoms of 'freedom' in a foreign land." 
 
 Mount Wellington over-hung the city in all his primeval 
 and barbarous beauty. The forest of gum-trees reached 
 down to the edge of the town, and " people cut cart-loads 
 and barrow-loads of wood for their fires not a hundred yards 
 from their own doors." 
 
 It so happened that another vessel had arrived in harbour 
 at the same time with that one which had brought Dr. Iioss, 
 and this astonishing and unusual circumstance created a 
 profound sensation. Lodging-house keepers, as rapacious 
 then as now, and as ready to turn an honest penny at some 
 one else's expense, had raised their prices, and Ross found 
 it most difficult to obtain a resting-place for himself and his 
 family. "After a weary search," he succeeded in " hiring a 
 hut of two apartments, in one of the principal streets, at the 
 weekly rent of 4dol., or 20s. currency. 
 
 " Each room had a glazed window, and one of them a fire- 
 place. It had no other floor but the mother earth, nor roof 
 but the gum shingles, nor door but the entrance one. Such 
 a building, at a moderate estimate, I think could have been 
 put up in any part of Middlesex for 40s., or two months' 
 rent. Indeed, when I hired the premises, the proprietor 
 said he would prefer selling it to me right out, and that 1 
 should have it for £20, or not quite a half-year's rent." 
 
 This pleasant and cheap domicile was situated about a. 
 
 * The verandah of the Hall of Commerce, the Melbourne Stock 
 Exchange. 
 
THE SETTLER IX TASMANIA FIFTY YKAKS ACO. l'J I 
 
 quarter of a mile from the town, and Ross set out to find it, 
 carrying his portmanteau in one hand and his little hahv on 
 the opposite arm, while his wife and two little ours walked 
 by his side — surely as forlorn a picture of immigration as 
 could be well imagined. 
 
 Presently, however, a man, decently dressed in blue 
 trousers and jacket, volunteered to carry the portmanteau, 
 and, on arriving at the "hut," demanded payment for his 
 trouble. This good Samaritan was an "assigned servant,'' 
 and eked out his living by this method of charity. Ross 
 gave him "the only English shilling, with its George and 
 Dragon," which had remained in his pocket since lie had 
 paid the boatmen at Cox's Quay. Unluckily, English 
 money was at a discount, and the convict did not like the 
 look of it. 
 
 " He turned it from side to side, between his linger and 
 his thumb; he looked at the dragon, and he looked at the 
 shield with the garter, but neither seemed to please him. 1 
 saw by his countenance that he considered them in bad 
 taste in Van Diemen's Land, and he flatly told me that a 
 pillar dollar of the then oppressed country of Spain was the 
 only coin he approved of: which, as I did not choose to 
 give him, he would make me a compliment of the shilling 
 and. the job together. As my pride at that time was not 
 very high — I blush to avow it— I was mean enough to 
 pocket the affront, and so Ave parted, never to meet again. ' 
 
 By dint of using one box as a table, and another as a bed, 
 the new settler contrived to give the "hut" a homely look , 
 and, getting out his crockery ware, and unpacking his tea 
 and sugar, set to work and made tea for his " poor sick and 
 wearied wife, and little family/' He had brought with him 
 two servants — the seductive "married couple'' of the adver- 
 tisements — but, like many deluded settlers before and since, 
 he found that his importations were worse than useless. 
 The man was a lout, and the wife a ninny, and disgusted 
 Ross was compelled to get rid of them both. 
 
 Being awakened by the cold of the morning air, he got up 
 to stroll around his new premises, and inspected more par 
 ticularly a little inn which was opposite his door. The 
 servant in this place was sweeping out the remains of last 
 night's feast, and stared so hard at the new arrival that 
 Ross went across to look at him. The description he gives- 
 is so characteristic of the time that I extract it bodily : 
 
122 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 ' ; A country settler, whose cart stood before the house, 
 and whose four large oxen I saw grazing in the bush on the 
 hill behind, was turning himself in order to renew his nap, 
 on the long wooden sofa-seat, as it is colonially called, 
 serving as a drinking-bench by day and bed by night, on 
 which he lay half-undressed, and covered only with a 
 kangaroo rug. I then inspected the garden of this hostelry } 
 for though it had been once enclosed with a paling fence, 
 many panels were already gone or lying prostrate on the 
 ground, and, though so young in existence, it was already 
 bearing the appearance of antiquity and decay. A goat 
 was grazing in the farther corner, and no vestiges of horti- 
 culture were apparent, except a sweetbrier bush, a few 
 marigolds in full yellow blossom, and the remains of two 
 cabbage stalks, which had been nibbled by the goat." 
 
 The next week was passed in arranging his furniture, 
 unpacking his household goods, and storing them in the 
 town. He had brought with him a small box of dollars for 
 current expenses, and the conveyance of this box to his 
 house cost him infinite pain. Some half-dozen fellows — 
 " some in the garb of gentlemen, others in grey and yellow" 
 — followed him to his hut, and peered suspiciously round 
 the corner, looking with sharp eyes to see where the specie 
 was stowed. Ross, however, purchased a bull-mastiff of one 
 of the soldiers of the 48th, and hung his " trusty Manton," 
 loaded, on a couple of pegs in his bedroom. 
 
 Having thus provided for home cares, he determined to 
 fix on a locality for his future farm. Getting letters of intro- 
 duction from the Governor, he clubbed with three of his 
 fellow-passengers in the hire of a ticket-of-leave man, who 
 would guide the party to its destination. This gentleman 
 was civil and attentive. He had been a burglar, and 
 informed Ross that his last offence — for the commission of 
 which he was then suffering — was the robbing of the picture 
 gallery of a nobleman in England, and that he had received 
 £-400 as his share in the booty. Winding along the foot of 
 the Wellington range, with the Derwent on their right 
 hand, Ross took the road towards the present township of 
 New Norfolk, and kept his eye open for farmland. He did 
 not see what he desired, but met with something that 
 frightened him instead of pleasing him. Surmounting the 
 hill where is now the cottage of Beauly-lodge, lie was met 
 bv three men, one of whom carried a blue bag on which the 
 
THE SETTLER IN TASMANIA FIFTY YEARS AGO. 123 
 
 stains of blood were very conspicuous. Curiosity induced 
 the party to pause, and the strangers good-naturedly opening 
 the bag, showed them a human head. 
 
 "Taking it by the hair, he held it up to our view, with 
 the greatest exultation imaginable, and for a moment wo 
 thought we had indeed got amongst murderers, pondering 
 between resistance and the chance of succour or escape, 
 when we were agreeably relieved by the information that 
 the bleeding head had belonged two days ago to the body of 
 the notorious bushranger, Michael Howe, for whom, dead or 
 alive, very large rewards had been offered.* He had been 
 caught at a remote solitary hut on the banks of the River 
 Shannon, and in his attempt to break away from the soldiers 
 who apprehended him, had been shot through the back, so 
 that the painful disseverment of the head and trunk, the 
 result of which we now witnessed, had been only a post- 
 mortem operation." 
 
 After a pleasant journey, with numerous pauses at hospit- 
 able settlers' houses, lloss arrived at a beautiful spot on the 
 banks of the Shannon, which he determined to make his 
 future home, and returned to Hobart Town for the purpose 
 of making the necessary arrangements to purchase it. 
 
 He found his family well, but heard that several attempts 
 had been made to carry off the box of dollars. Robberies 
 at that time were absurdly frequent. The police — such as 
 it was — was inefficient, and the thieves numerous. Scarcely 
 a night passed without some robbery being committed. The 
 assigned burglars, thieves, and "burkers" would put their 
 wits together to prey upon their neighbours. Tiny would 
 cut away boards, or pull out a brick from the chimney 
 bottom, and so work a hole large enough to admit their 
 bodies. A foot-passenger walking the streets at night was 
 almost certain to be attacked. 
 
 "It was a very common practice to run up behind a well- 
 dressed person, and whipping oil' his hat, to run away with 
 it. This was called ' unshingling,' or taking oil' a man's 
 roof. To say nothing of the jeopardy in which a watch and 
 other little valuables were placed on such occasions, I have 
 known instances of persons having the very coat taken off 
 their backs, especially if it happened to bo a good one. For 
 my part, I could never discover what use the thieves could 
 
 * Compare this account with that given by Worrail, page 64. 
 
124 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 possibly put these stolen articles to; for in so small a 
 population, not only were the face and person of every 
 individual well-known, but the shape and colour of his coat, 
 and even of his hat, were equally familiar. Unquestionably 
 if I had been so unfortunate as to lose my hat in this way 
 (which I was not), I should have recognised it had I seen it 
 on any man's head in Hobart Town next day. A man 
 much more readily identifies an old friend of this kind, 
 however great the similarity of black hats may be, when 
 encountered in the open air, and in the bright light of day, 
 than he can possibly do in an ante-room by candle-light 
 after the dazzle of a dancing-party. I say this with the 
 more confidence, because one of my fellow-passengers, who 
 had lost his hat in this manner, actually recognised it on the 
 head of a dashing fellow, strutting with gloves and cane in 
 Macquarie-street." The rogue was apprehended and con- 
 victed of the theft, and enjoyed as a reward for his { un- 
 shingling' propensities the pleasure of what is called in these 
 ingenious countries a ' second lagging.' " 
 
 Tired of these city joys, and having obtained his grant, 
 and purchased tools, a plough, and bullocks, our immigrant 
 started up the country to begin his farmer's life. 
 
 The account of the journey " up the country" does not 
 much vary from the accounts which have been given by 
 early sellers in any colony. The same troubles with 
 refractory bullocks, the same camping out in unexpected 
 places, the same astonishment at the beauties of nature as 
 she appears at dusk, and the same raptures concerning the 
 rising sun, which are common to all suddenly transplanted 
 cockneys, characterise our author's description. He is dis- 
 gusted because his men swear at his bullocks, but admits, 
 with grief, that swearing is, after all, a necessary evil. He 
 finds the same difficulty in using an axe that all town-bred 
 gentlemen have found from time immemorial, and his classi- 
 cal allusions to Tityrus, Melibceus, and Horace's Sabine 
 farm, have been made with more or less success by every 
 " settler" of any pretensions to scholarship. But an element 
 enters into Dr. Ross's narrative which is wanting in that of 
 the Canadian backwoodsman, or the Victorian " pioneer of 
 civilisation." In addition to straying bullocks and cursing 
 bullock-drivers, Ross had another experience. His servants 
 were convicts, and their manners and customs were not of 
 the most elegant nature 
 
THE SETTLER IN TASMANIA FIFTY YEARS ACO. 125 
 
 The spot lie selected for his farm was about Ofi miles from 
 Hobart Town, and was situated in the midst of n " howlin" 
 wilderness." To reach it, a pilgrimage had to be made with 
 "assigned servants" as assistant pilgrims. He purchased 
 two carts, made to order, at a cost of ,31 guineas each, and 
 with two bullock-teams and servants to match, set out from 
 the city. The first cart was tilled with ba^ga^e, and in the 
 second sat Mrs. Ross and her family. The patriarch himself 
 sometimes walking, sometimes riding, hovered like the parent 
 bird around this ambulatory nest. The day was oppressively 
 hot, and before the cavalcade had proceeded two miles, Mrs. 
 Ptoss, tired of the jolting and the Hies, determined to walk a 
 little. With the terrible exception of the nursemaid and 
 the baby, the party dismounted, and Ross told the drivers to 
 "proceed slowly." Instantly they cracked their whips, 
 cursed the bullocks, and disappeared over the brow of the 
 hill. " I feel the exertion I made on that occasion," savs 
 Ross, "at the moment I am writing. . . The hill was 
 steep enough and long enough to my conception. No 
 attempt had then been made to cut down the bank in order 
 to lessen the acclivity. It was to my mind as steep a ridge 
 as any Dame Nature ever left upon her fair face. What on 
 earth was to be done? Was I to sit down by the roadside 
 and bemoan my fate, and the still worse uncertain fate of 
 my torn-away infant? No, such a course would have 
 been unworthy of a man born beyond the Tweed — of a 
 man who had had the courage to transport himself. I 
 carried the younger of my two little ones under my right 
 arm, led the other by my left, and how I managed the 
 i Manton' I really cannot tell, but if I remember right it 
 was in several ways. At one time, carried by the side 
 of the younger child, I supported it across my arm: at 
 another, with a portion of the lingers of my right hand, 
 while I led the elder with the others. If the gun was not 
 loaded I unquestionably was, and to all appearance with 
 destruction too. The weight which .Eneas escaped with 
 from the flames of Troy was quite light compared with mine; 
 for after a few steps accomplished in this manner, my 
 anxiety to get to the summit of the hill, from whence 1 
 thought I might at least see the direction the carts were 
 taking, or perhaps discover some stranger, though only an 
 aboriginal, who would run after them, induced me to 
 my eldest born also in niv right arm — and now the difficulty 
 
126 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 of the Manton was greater than ever. It is almost as 
 impracticable for me to recollect how I did it as it was then 
 to carry it. To the best of my memory, I contrived to 
 support it in the loop of my shot-belt, stuffed, as the latter 
 was, as full of heavy shot as it could hold, while I balanced 
 the other end under my arm-pit or my chin. I was pacing- 
 it along all the time, however, as fast as my legs coulcl carry 
 me. I perspired at every pore — my strength was tried to 
 the utmost." 
 
 Surmounting the rise at last, however, he found the drays 
 upset, and the nursemaid in a state of unwonted hilarity. 
 This lady was a convict, and had but one eye. She con- 
 signed all the settlers in the colony to a place which Boss 
 suggestively hints is "warmer than Siberia," This hand- 
 maiden — like a transported Miriam — burst into jubilee. 
 " Free men," she vowed, " had no business in Van Diemen ; s 
 Land. It was not meant for them. It belonged, ay, and 
 should belong, to prisoners only ! It was their country, and 
 their country it should be. Ducks and green peas for ever ! 
 Hurrah !" This sudden outburst somewhat astonished the 
 good doctor, and the behaviour of the nymph was still more 
 astonishing. " As she spoke, her hands followed the direc- 
 tion that her animated eye pointed to in the joyous regions 
 above — she did not certainly wave her hat, because she had 
 not one to wave, and her Dunstable bonnet had just received 
 a new shape from the impression of the cart-wheel under 
 which it had fallen. But she waved her hand in the joy of 
 her heart, and would have sent my then only son and heir 
 to perdition, never to inherit the noble estate on the romantic 
 banks of the Shannon, had not his mother happily caught 
 him by the clothes, . while the rump of my newly-bought 
 gigantic bullock 'Strawberry' saved his little head from 
 dashing on the ground." 
 
 The cause was soon apparent. A bottle of rum which 
 Boss had, "for his stomach's sake," conserved in the bottom 
 of the dray, had been espied by the single eye of his Hobart 
 Town exportation, and she had drunk it silently alone. 
 Ilinc illce lacrimce ! 
 
 There is no need to expatiate upon the "assignment 
 system." Suffice to say, that its main feature was the 
 employment of the abilities of convicts in that groove in 
 which they were best fitted to run. Any free settler who 
 desired a servant could, by complying with certain condi- 
 
THE SETTLER IN TASMANIA FIFTY YEARS A<;0. llT 
 
 tions, hire a well-conducted convict from the supermini 
 dent's office. The master clothed and fed this man. and 
 the man worked without pay for the master. Unluckily, 
 it often happened that, to speak metaphorically, the round 
 man got into the square hole. Cooks were hired as wood- 
 cutters, poachers as cooks. Petty thieves, whose soft hands 
 had touched nothing harder than a handkerchief or a watch- 
 chain, were sent to grub roots and drive bullocks; while the 
 accomplished valet, whose skill in hairdressing was the boast 
 of Portman-square, and whose adroitness in assisting at the 
 compound fracture of the seventh commandment rivalled 
 that of Leporello himself, was too often condemned to hew 
 wood and draw water for the use of some commonplace 
 person, who never had intrigued with another man's wife in 
 the whole course of his plebeian existence. Hobart Town 
 society was composed at that period of but three classes- 
 free settlers, and that male and female creation which are 
 proverbially said to have populated Yorkshire. The ''con- 
 dition of things" was the most primitive in the world. 
 Literature, as might be expected, was at a discount. 
 
 "It will appear strange," interjects Ross, "but it is no 
 less true, the Hobart Town Gazette and Van Diernen's Land 
 General Advertiser, printed once a fortnight on one leaf, 
 sometimes of white, sometimes of coloured paper, as Mr. 
 Bent happened to get it, was at that time the only species of 
 periodical literature which the colony could boast. It con- 
 tained, however, a very full and circumstantial account of 
 the goods for sale in the town, and the various articles that 
 had arrived from England or elsewhere, and afforded me 
 considerable assistance. It detailed the measures of Govern- 
 ment, the appointments of public officers, general notices 
 and regulations, agricultural meetings, and indeed almost 
 everything which a settler required or wished to know. 
 Nevertheless it had no more claim to compete with the 
 newspapers of the present day than Tom Thumb has with 
 Tom Paine. Up to the time I am speaking of. and some 
 years after, there was not a word of slander or defamation 
 put in print in the colony, unless, indeed, the announce 
 ments of the Provost Marshal or Sheriff of thai period, 
 injurious as thev sometimes were to people*s credit, could be 
 called so. The 'free press,' or great fourth estate— the 
 palladium of Englishmen and Van Diemen's Land men too. 
 as it is justly and proudly called— had scarcely come into 
 
128 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 being in the colony, when a fifth, power, ' the abuse of the 
 press,' paramount of all others, such is the rapidity of 
 advancement in new countries, was almost simultaneously 
 created." 
 
 Good Doctor Ross, I may observe, in parenthesis, is a little 
 warm on this point. Governor Arthur having been hand- 
 somely abused by Mr. Melville, took away from that too 
 out-spoken writer the Government printing, and gave it to 
 our author. Ross being Government publisher, and a Scotch- 
 man, had more sense than to risk his position. He "went 
 with the tide," and supported the Government of the day by 
 taking occasion now and then to give poor Melville a sly dig 
 in the editorial ribs. As thus : — 
 
 " By the sanction of one of the slanderous journals with 
 which this literary colony now abounds, you may enter the 
 house of the most retired individual — you may turn his 
 dwelling inside out — you may fill it with anything you like, 
 or strip it to the bare walls— you may backbite himself, his 
 wife, and his children — make his servants insult instead of 
 serving him — give him a large nose or no nose at all, just as 
 it suits your convenience — his castle shall or shall not be 
 his castle, agreeably to your will and pleasure. Never on 
 earth was power more supreme or despotic — the Imperial 
 Parliament must submit and give way to its domination, and 
 even Majesty itself must bend if you choose to write home 
 with the consent and concurrence of this glorious, this 
 tremendous autocratic, political association press !" 
 
 At the time at which he first landed, however, the 
 u Press " was not in existence. That great engine for the 
 blowing off of private steam not being yet established, the 
 residents of the city were forced to vent their private malice 
 in manuscript. " These were the days of 'pipes.' Certain 
 supposed home truths or lively descriptions were indited in 
 clear and legible letters on a piece of paper, which was then 
 rolled up in the form of a pipe, and being held together by 
 twisting at one end, was found at the door of the person 
 intended to be instructed on its first opening in the morn- 
 ing." 
 
 Nor was the expression of private opinion confined to 
 personalities. A considerable dislike towards the country 
 itself was manifested. Sydney was the place, and nothing 
 but Sydney. Any person who settled in Van Diemen's 
 Land wits looked upon as but little better than a madman. 
 
THE SETTLER IN TASMANIA FIFTY YEARS AC). 129 
 
 The same objections were urged by the same class of people 
 who urge similar objections now. 
 
 "Sydney was the only place. Why don't you goon N> 
 Sydney, sir ! There is nothing but oppression here. Tin- 
 colony is ruined, sir. There is not even a drop of good 
 water in the whole island, sir. It is all alum ; you will be 
 poisoned if you stop here, sir." 
 
 Having crossed the solitary vale of Bagdad, and camped 
 at Constitution-hill, bogged his bullocks and lost them, Ross 
 at last reached the " desolate spot" on which his future home 
 was to be built. His preparations for permanent residence 
 were rapid. He cut down some poles and made :i 
 " wigwam," and dwelling in this wigwam for some weeks, 
 set boldly to work to construct a " slab hut," in the midst of 
 a landscape which he thought would have afforded scope for 
 the employment of the pencil of Morland, and " does now, I 
 trust," says he, " to the equally immortal one of my friend 
 Mr. Glover." 
 
 The "hut" was built after the following manner: — 
 
 "Having first erected a snug hut for my men, with a 
 good sleeping-loft above — which was very easily done by 
 making the frame proportionately higher, and laving a floor 
 of thinly-split logs neatly across the joists — I added ;i very 
 good kitchen, with a fireplace almost as big as a small room 
 behind, a storeroom, a bedroom for my children, with two 
 pretty little four-pane windows looking on the river, a study 
 with a long bench or desk, which served as a library, a 
 workshop, a schoolroom, and spare bedroom by turns (this 
 place had three little windows to it, was lined with shelves 
 all round, stuffed full of old books), a small apartment for 
 my nursemaid and youngest child, and a verandah with a 
 porch in the centre, supported on four real Doric columns, 
 formed of equal-sized barrels of trees set upright with flutes 
 and other carving of bark as nature gave them. They 
 were, though I say it myself, very pretty, and gave my 
 cottage, with very little trouble, an unassuming, but 
 comfortable, rural appearance. I lathed the whole, inside 
 and out; and with the help of the sand and loam which 
 I found at my door, mixed with chopped grass, I gave 
 it two coats of plaster, that hardened and stuck, and 
 sticks to this day, for aught I know, as well as any stucco. 
 My two principal rooms were moreover nicely ceiled up to 
 the rafters in the roof, giving them a lofty and arched ap 
 
 K 
 
130 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 pearance. They were 14ft. or 1,3ft. high in the centre, and the 
 arching had this advantage, that it lessened the downward 
 pressure, and saved it from falling, as I have known ceilings 
 in houses of far higher pretensions often do — and especially 
 at the most inopportune times, when the fumes of the dinner 
 on the table informed the treacherous though blind mortar 
 that the guests were assembled below. There was a very 
 beautiful grass plat or lawn, of two or three acres in extent, 
 a little to the right in front of my cottage, and elevated not 
 more than two yards above the margin of the river. I took 
 a great deal of pains with this little spot. I fenced it very 
 carefully round, in connection with my garden and lawn that 
 fronted my cottage, with good 6ft. paling on all sides, except 
 towards the river, which of itself was a sufficient fence ; 
 besides that the opposite side overhung the stream, as I have 
 said, with beautiful, basaltic, perpendicular rooks, with here 
 and there a tuft of flowering shrubs growing out from the 
 crevices. A long straight path, of four yards in width, 
 stretched from end to end, on the borders of which grew 
 several English flowers, from seeds I had brought with me, 
 intermixed with indigenous ones collected from the bush." 
 
 But the settler's life was not a bed of roses. Bushrangers 
 and blacks swarmed about him, and the immigrant was 
 often shot dead on the threshold of that home which he had 
 but just snatched from the wilderness. Yet, if the blacks 
 were well treated, they were not invariably treacherous. 
 Ross says, having began with kindness, he found that good 
 feeling continued; and that confidence once inspired, the 
 natives behaved with civility. " They never once com- 
 mitted the smallest trespass or annoyance on my farm, and 
 during the five or six years that elapsed between their final 
 removal by Mr. G. A. Robinson to Flinders Island, and the 
 time of my own removal with my own family to Hobart 
 Town, while the most dreadful outrages were committed by 
 them all round, they never once attacked my farm, or any 
 one belonging to it." 
 
 But the bushrangers were of a different nature. John 
 Cook, Ross's assigned servant, is a good example of the class. 
 This fellow was surly, drunken, and obstructive, and after 
 enduring his ill-humours for some time, poor Ross returned 
 him to the hands of the Government. Three days after he 
 was with his new employer he absconded, and was strongly 
 suspected of being concerned in a murder and robbery per- 
 
THE SETTLER IN TASMANIA FIFTY YKAUS A<;0. I '.) 1 
 
 petrated in the neighbourhood. Some weeks after tins 
 Ross missed a gun, ammunition, and an iron pot from his 
 lint; and two days afterwards, on visiting his shepherd's, saw 
 Cook, armed with the stolen weapon, sneak out of the back 
 door. Ten days afterwards, a party oi' the 48th, who were 
 out "bushranger limiting," caught sight of him, and then ' e 
 disappeared. " I never more heard of him alive," says 
 Ross; "but about a year after, a skeleton, which some 
 articles of dress, especially the kangaroo jacket, with the 
 iron pot and tin pot he had stolen from me, identified as the 
 remains of poor Cook, and a gun-shot entering under his left 
 blade bone showed clearly how he met his death. The gun 
 and shot-belt were taken away, and his miserable bones had 
 been picked bare by the wretched crows, the self-same, 1 
 doubt not, whose foreboding croaking had been so untimely 
 disregarded both by him and me in the gum-trees, while we 
 lay beside our swamped cart before dawn on the banks of 
 the Fat Doe river. I learned from very good though con- 
 fidential authority .some time after, that this poor misguided 
 man having on one or two occasions for a small reward 
 aided and assisted a sheep-stealer who possessed some pasture 
 land between the Shannon and the Clyde, and was ac- 
 quainted with his delinquencies, had subsequently shown 
 some little symptoms of disapprobation of a small sheep 
 robbery committed by the same individual, being a neighbour, 
 on my own flock, and in consequence a schism or quarrel 
 ensued. The sheep-stealer then became uneasy from the 
 fear of Cook on some future occasion coming forward or 
 being called on, should detection and a trial ensue, to give 
 evidence against him. He and another associate had 
 resolved, as they had already ' put aside,' as it is colonially 
 called, one poor man similarly circumstanced as to a know 
 ledge of their doings, to join him once more in the bush 
 under a cloak of friendship, and by sending him unawares 
 and unprepared out of the world, to deprive him of all 
 power to give evidence against them in a witness-box. 
 
 The '-name and fame" of Cook continued, however,^ for 
 several years afterwards, and existed in 1830 in the " Run- 
 away List," published in Hobart Town and Row-street. 
 
 Apropos of the death of Cook, Ross tells a story of the 
 untimely end of a friend of his, which, as an illustration o' 
 the "manners of the age," is curious enough. Riding over 
 one day to this man's house, the doctor was surprised to find 
 
132 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 him " salting down the carcases of six sheep, which he had 
 just killed. He said it was a very convenient plan, as it 
 saved time, and obviated the necessity of bringing home the 
 flock, to kill one every second day for the use of the family. 
 Besides, he added, the six sheep's heads and plucks served 
 his people for more than a day, as, though they would throw 
 away one head or give it to the dogs, they could not have 
 the face to waste a whole half-dozen at a time. I war- 
 simple and unsuspecting enough to believe there was some 
 convenience in his plan, though it was not great enough to 
 induce me ever to adoj)t it. The same individual, however, 
 was afterwards tried for stealing a whole flock of about 
 400 sheep, convicted, and executed with several other bad 
 characters and bushrangers at Hobart Town. I stood at 
 the bottom of the ladder as he mounted to the scaffold. He 
 had his arms pinioned behind his back, and after stooping 
 his head to suck a Sydney orange, which he was unable 
 otherwise to reach to his mouth, lie placed it by a rose which 
 he held in his other hand, and shaking hands with me, he 
 wished me farewell, saying, as he looked in my face with a 
 most altered countenance, which I shall never forget, 'Oh, 
 sir ! this is the happiest day I ever had in my life.' " 
 
 Amid such scenes did the first ten years of our 
 " pioneer's" settlement pass. Each day, however, brought 
 an increase of civilisation, and, says happy Ross, " I now 
 saw my way fair before me. My flocks and herds were 
 rapidly increasing ; I could readily sell the former at a 
 pound a head, and the latter from £8 to £10. Every day 
 was adding something to the value of my estate, and the 
 efforts which the Government was making to put down the 
 aggressions of both the black and white invaders of life and 
 property, although yet abortive, I looked forward with every 
 hope to be at last, as they have since proved, triumphantly 
 successful." 
 
THE SEIZURE OF THE "CYPRUS." 
 
 On the 9th of August, 1820, the "Cyprus," a vessel which 
 was employed by the Government of Van Diemen's Land to 
 carry prisoners from Hobart Town to Macquarie Harbour, 
 was seized by the convicts and carried into the South Sims. 
 
 The story is a romantic one, and if it does not equal in 
 interest the story of the capture of the " Frederick." of which 
 I shall by-and-by have occasion to speak, it is remarkable 
 as showing the condition of convict discipline in the early 
 days of the colony. 
 
 Macquarie Harbour— abandoned in 1833 — was in these 
 days the Ultima Thule of convict settlement. Established 
 in 1821 by Governor Sorrell as a station for the most irre- 
 claimable of the desperadoes who were sent in shiploads from 
 England, the discipline had gradually increased in severity 
 until it became a hideous terrorism, which often drove its 
 victims to seek death as a means of escape. The picture of 
 the place, as drawn by Mr. Backhouse, the missionary who 
 visited it in 1832, is most dismal. The scenery is wild and 
 barren, the scrub and undergrowth impenetrable, and from 
 the swampy ground around the settlement arises noisome and 
 death-dealing exhalations. The surf beating with violence 
 on the rocky shore renders approach difficult; and the 
 westerly winds blowing with fury into the harbour, opposes 
 sometimes for days the departure of the convict vessels. 
 
 This place was the last home— but one— of the felon. 
 Once sent to '-'the Hell," as the abode of doom was termed 
 by the prisoners, return was all but hopeless. Tim iron 
 bound coast, the dismal and impassable swamps, the barren 
 and rugged mountain ranges, combined to render escape im- 
 possible. Of the many unfortunates who made the attempt, 
 to regain their freedom, all save some eight or nine died or 
 were retaken. The life of a convict at this hideous place of 
 punishment was one continual agony. In those times, the 
 
134 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 notion of reclaiming human creatures by reason and kind- 
 ness was unknown. Condemned for life to the settlement — 
 often for small offences against discipline — the miserable 
 beings were cut off from the world for ever. The command- 
 ant — usually some worthy officer selected from the regiment 
 then in Yan Diemen's Land for his severity or strength of 
 will — dealt with the men under his charge as the humoui 
 took him. The guard was always under arms, and had 
 orders to fire on any man who attempted to escape. The 
 lash was the punishment most in vogue, but those wretches 
 whose hardened hides the cat had cut into insensibility were 
 marooned on rocks within view of the prison barracks. 
 The work was constant and exhausting. Robbers, mur- 
 derers, and forgers, told off into gangs, felled the gigantic 
 trees which grew in the neighbourhood of the harbour. 
 Chained together like beasts, and kept in activity by the 
 rarely idle lash, they bore the logs to the water-side on 
 their backs. Every now and then some feebler ruffian 
 would foil from exhaustion, and the chain would drag him 
 after the main body until he rose again. A visitor to the 
 place in 1831 says that he saw " something which he took 
 for a gigantic centipede, which moved forward through the 
 bush to the clanking of chains and the cracking of the over- 
 seer's whip." This was a log borne by a convict gang. 
 Treated like beasts, the men lived the life of beasts. All 
 the atrocities that men could commit were committed there. 
 Suicide was frequent. Men drowned themselves to be rid 
 of the burden of their existence. Three wretches once drew 
 lots as to who should get a sight of Hobart Town. One was 
 to murder the other, and the third was to volunteer his evi- 
 dence. The lottery was drawn, the doomed man laughed 
 ere his companion beat out his brains, and the two survivors 
 congratulated each other on their holiday on the scaffold of 
 Hobart Town gaol. 
 
 To this place Lieutenant Carew, with ten soldiers, set out 
 to convey thirty-one prisoners. As not infrequently hap- 
 pened, the weather proved unfavourable, and the vessel put 
 into Recherche Bay for shelter. The prisoners were all 
 desperate men. Two of them had been before at " Hell's 
 dates," and detailed the horrors of the place to their com- 
 panions. In the semi-darkness of the lower deck, where, 
 chained in gangs of four, the miserable wretches speculated, 
 on their doom, it was proposed to seize the ship. A prisoner 
 
THE SEIZURE OF THK "CYPRl'S." 1 ;}.'. 
 
 named Fergusson was the ringleader. k> At the worst,'' said 
 he, " it is but death; and which of us wishes to live {" But 
 the others were not so bold. Degraded by the chain and 
 the lash, they yet clung to life as the one thing the law had 
 not yet taken from them. There were wooden bars studded 
 with nails fastened across their prison, and two sentinels 
 with loaded arms kept watch at the hatchway. How could 
 they — unarmed, weak, and chained — hope to succeed I But 
 with Fergusson was a man named Walker, who had been ;i 
 sailor, and he urged them on. " Once free, he could navi 
 gate the ship to China!'' Six times did the trembling 
 wretches essay the struggle with the soldiers, and six times 
 did their courage fail them. At last a favourable opportu- 
 nity presented itself. 
 
 Lying at anchor in the channel, with the land in sight, 
 life on board the ship became tedious even to the officers. 
 Lieutenant Carew, confident in his soldiers and their 
 muskets, thought he would take a little fishing excursion. 
 His wife was on board, but, for some reason or other, refused 
 to accompany him. The surgeon, however, was eager for 
 some amusement, and taking with them a soldier and con- 
 vict, the two lowered a boat and went into the bay. 
 
 It was the custom to bring the men on deck by sixes and 
 sevens for exercise, and it so happened that on this morning 
 it was the turn of Fergusson and Walker's gang. Fergusson, 
 Walker, Pennell, M'Kan, Jones, and another, came up in 
 their double irons, and clanked up and down under the 
 supervision of the loaded muskets. Fergusson saw his 
 chance — if ever he was to get it — had come now. " Now is 
 your time, lads," he cried; " the captain's away: there are 
 but the two men on deck." Sulkily eyeing the muskets, 
 Pennell and M'Kan refused. "You have failed me six 
 times," cried Fergusson with an oath. " If you don't join 
 me now, I'll inform of your former [dots." This threat 
 terrified them into compliance. A rush was made. The 
 two soldiers idly staring over the bulwarks were knocked 
 down before they could fire their muskets. The hatchway 
 was secured, and knocking oft* their irons, the six were 
 masters of the ship. 
 
 But the captain and soldiers below did not intend t<» sur 
 render without a struggle. They tired up the hatchway, 
 but without effect, and the other prisoners burst then 
 nailed bars and joined their companions. A parley uou 
 
136 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 ensued, the convicts promising to spare the lives of the 
 soldiers if they gave up their arms. A volley was the only 
 answer, and then two prisoners, by Fergusson's directions, 
 got buckets of boiling water from the galley and poured them 
 down the hatchway. Panic-stricken by the knowledge that 
 thirty desperate men were at liberty on the deck, and that 
 the seizure of the vessel was only a matter of time, the 
 scalded soldiers surrendered and passed up their arms. 
 
 Carew and the surgeon heard the firing, and came back 
 with all speed to the vessel. Standing in the stern-sheets, 
 as the two rowers ran the boat alongside, he commanded the 
 mutineers to return to their prison. A gun presented at 
 his head was the not unnatural reply. Fergusson, however, 
 had ordered the priming of the soldiers' pieces to be wetted 
 before they were handed up, and the gun missed tire. Now 
 began another parley. Carew, anxious, doubtless, for the 
 safety of his wife, promised that if the men would give up 
 the ship lie would say nothing of their conduct to the 
 authorities at Hell's Gates; but the easily-won liberty was 
 too sweet to be resigned so easily. Confident in his own 
 power, Fergusson told the mutineers that he could navigate 
 the vessel to some foreign port, where they could defy the 
 wrath of the Governor and the commandant. The prospect 
 of the sheds and the cat, as contrasted with freedom and 
 China, was not too tempting. As might have been expected, 
 they refused. 
 
 A muster was now held upon the deck, and Fergusson 
 formally called upon the convicts to join him. All but 
 thirteen consented, and one of the sailors, possibly an ex- 
 convict himself, threw in his lot with the mutineers. Boats 
 were lowered, and the soldiers and the thirteen were landed 
 by the now armed convicts on the barren coast. With a 
 generosity which to those acquainted with convict customs 
 will seem somewhat strange, Mrs. Carew, with her children, 
 was restored to her husband unharmed. Secure of safety, 
 Fergusson ordered rations to be given to his late masters, 
 and recommended them to make overland for Hobart Town. 
 " The land party," says Mr. Bonwick, " received (JO lbs. of 
 biscuit, 20 lbs. of flour, 20 lbs. of sugar, 4 lbs. of tea, and 6 
 gals, rum." The boats were taken back to the ship and 
 hauled on board, and returning to their vessel the mutineers 
 gave three cheers for their bloodless victory. 
 
 After a hearty supper and a pannikin of rum apiece, the 
 
THE SEIZURE OF THE " CYPRUS.'' 137 
 
 seventeen set to work to organise their future plans. Some 
 were for China, some for India, and two men proposed to go 
 to one of the islands of the South Seas, sink the ship, aud 
 settle among the friendly islanders. After some talk, how 
 ever, it was resolved to make for the Friendly Isles, where 
 those who chose could remain. 
 
 With provisions for six months for 400 men, arms, am- 
 munition, and a sailor captain, the mutineers felt that 
 fortune had befriended them at last. Amid one knows no! 
 what wild thoughts of future liberty, the night passed 
 rapidly away, and at daylight the next morning the marooned 
 Oarew and his companions saw the "Cyprus" spread her 
 sails, and move slowly out of the harbour. 
 
 Then began the sufferings of the conquered party. They 
 were on a desolate part of the coast ; impenetrable scrub and 
 impassable mountain ranges lay, for many a weary mile, 
 between them and HobartTown. It was impossible to com- 
 municate with the settlement at Macquarie Harbour: the 
 country on that side was even more desolate and barren than 
 on the other. Communication between the two places was 
 most rare, and effected by that very ship winch was now 
 bearing the escaped party in safety to the South Seas. The 
 only hope was that some passing vessel, either driven by 
 stress of weather or urged by want of water, would put into 
 the channel and take them off The party in all consisted 
 of more than 40 souls, and their slender stock of provision 
 melted away like snow in the sun. Mr. Carew showed his 
 courage. He apportioned out the victuals in equal shares, 
 keeping the rum as a last resource. The soldiers were 
 divided into watches, and he himself took his turn with the 
 rest. Day after day passed with the same monotony of 
 silence. The allowance of provisions was decreased, and 
 despair began to sit heavily on their hearts. From east to 
 west, from north to south, their haggard eyes turned in 
 vain. 
 
 " The bla: wati rs ; i the east. 
 
 The blaze upon the island overhead, 
 The blaze upon the waters to the west, 
 Then the great stars that globed themseU oai. 
 
 The hoi lower- b< - ;li " 
 
 The scarlet shafts of sanri.se. but no sail." 
 
 At last hunger broke through discipline. Two men set oil 
 overland for Hobart Town, but, frightened at the perils 
 
138 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 before them, and menaced by hostile natives, returned. 
 Five more attempted to head the Huon, and after coming 
 near to death, were rescued. The others remained waiting 
 for death. 
 
 Desperate, and with but two days' provisions left, Popjoy, 
 a convict, determined to try and make a boat. Assisted by 
 a man named Morgan, he framed a sort of coracle of young 
 wattle trees, and covered it with sailcloth. Over this a 
 mixture of soap and resin was poured, to keep out the water. 
 After many failures, the thing floated. It was twelve feet 
 long, and propelled by paddles. During the last two days 
 of its construction the party were without food. In this 
 rude craft Carew embarked the remnant of his party, and, 
 hoping against hope, got out to sea, Luckily, at a distance 
 of twenty miles, they fell in with the "Oxelia," and the poor 
 fellows were brought safely to Hobart Town. Carew was 
 tried by court martial, and honourably acquitted. Popjoy, 
 who had been transported when eleven years old for stealing 
 a hare, received a free pardon, and returned to England. 
 
 In the meantime the " Cyprus " was running for the 
 Friendly Islands. The mutineers had chosen officers for 
 themselves. Walker was captain; Fergusson, "dressed up in 
 Carew's best uniform," lieutenant; and Jones mate. The 
 days passed quickly by, liberty seemed before them, and all 
 were in high spirits. Getting out of their course, however, 
 they came to Japan. Here, in spite of Fergusson's orders, 
 seven deserted, and cast in their lot with the natives of that 
 lovely spot. Fergusson went on, but seems to have begun to 
 lose his prestige among the men. One Swallow, a seaman 
 and convict, now appears to have assumed the command. 
 This fellow seems to have been both powerful and intelligent. 
 He was originally transported from England for rioting, but 
 on the way out saved the ship at the hazard of his lift. 
 Allowed to roam the deck and assist the sailors, he contrived 
 to enlist their sympathies, and when the transport arrived 
 in Hobart Town they hid him in the lower deck and the 
 vessel sailed away with him. The crew gave him rations. 
 Despite a rigorous search, he was not found until after some 
 weeks. The captain landed him at Rio, and he was soon 
 again in London. There an old companion " peached" upon 
 him, and he was sent back to Van Diemen's Land. Half 
 way to Hell's dates, the mutiny restored him once more to 
 freedom. 
 
THE SEIZURE OF THE "CYPRUS.'" |:,. 
 
 To this man was the charge of the vessel entrusted, ami 
 he took her to China. On the way a boat with the name <>i 
 " Edward" on its stern was seized, and Swallow, know inn 
 that he could not account for the " Cyprus," determined to 
 try a new plan. There was a sextant in the cabin which had 
 on it the name " Waldron," and with that and the boal 
 Swallow laid his plot. Abandoning the vessel, he appeai-ed. 
 with three others, as ''shipwrecked sailors." Swallow 
 affected to be Captain Waldron, and exhibited his sextain 
 as a proof of his story. The English merchants in Canton 
 got up a subscription for them, and paid their passage home. 
 Suspicion, however, was excited by the appearance of fom 
 more of the party, who did not know the captain's name, 
 but said ""Wilson" for "Waldron." Swallow, trapped again. 
 was at his wit's end. Arrived in London, the party were 
 brought before the Thames Police Court, where a few day- 
 before a curious incident occurred. 
 
 Popjoy, having been landed by the mercy of the Crown in 
 London, was cast upon the streets to find his way to gaol 01 
 starvation. Imprisoned from eleven years old, and knowing 
 nothing save how to roll logs and cringe to the lash, tin 
 returned convict had taken to begging round about the 
 docks. Begging, like stealing, was a crime, and he was 
 brought before the Thames Police Court. There he told the 
 story of the mutiny and the boat-building. 
 
 Though there was not criminating evidence, the appear 
 ance of "Captain Waldron" was somewhat strange, and tin 
 story of poor Popjoy — who had been honoured with several 
 paragraphs in the newspaper town-talk — recurred to the 
 mind of the bench. The suspected men were remanded. 
 
 This remand cost three of them their lives. 
 
 Strangely enough, a Mr. Capon, who had been gaoler al 
 Hobart Town, was in London, and, attracted by the report 
 of the case, he strolled down to the police court. One glance 
 was enough; Swallow, Watt, and Davis were detected at 
 once, and the whole party committed for trial. 
 
 Watt and Davis, tried as pirates and escaped felons, wen 
 hung in London. Swallow and the rest were sent hack to 
 Hobart Town. One was hung at the gaol, and the rest sent 
 back to Hells Gates for life. Swallow managed to . ,eap< 
 the death penalty, and went back to the chain. Twic • iin.n 
 he tried to escape, but in vain. At last the weight of hi- 
 doom broke his spirit, and he submitted to his fate. 
 
140 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 worked in his irons for life, and died — still in yellow livery 
 — at Port Arthur, a melancholy instance of a brave man 
 crashed into brutality by a senseless system of punishment. 
 Five years later Popjoy died also. He made some 
 endeavour to procure a pension from the Government, and 
 only waited the arrival of documents from Hobart Town, 
 formally attesting his services to Lieutenant Carew, to 
 obtain it. In the meantime he obtained a seaman's berth in 
 a merchant- vessel, married, and seemed to have lived respec- 
 tably. Coming from Quebec in a timber ship, however, he 
 was wrecked on Boulogne. Taking to the boats, the crew 
 made for the shore, but the sea was running with great vio- 
 lence, and Popjoy, with another, was washed overboard and 
 drowned, and so n^;ev got his " pension' after all. 
 
 &m^ 
 
THE LAST OF MACQTJARIE HARBOUR. 
 
 Five years after the seizure of the " Cyprus'' it was resolved 
 that Macquarie Harbour should be abandoned. 
 
 The difficulty of access and the barren nature of the 
 surrounding country combined to render the spot inadequate 
 to the growing necessities of the colony. Prisoners were 
 arriving in shiploads, and it was necessary to find for them 
 some more convenient place of settlement. Moreover, 
 Governor Arthur seemed to have learnt that his officers 
 were too far from his control. Rumours of gross abuse of 
 power among the resident officers were current in IFobarl 
 Town, and public attention was particularly excited by the 
 revelations incident upon the execution of two men for the 
 murder of their companion, " in order to get a holiday." 
 The accounts of the conduct of the establishment were 
 perhaps highly coloured, but sufficiently true in the main to 
 cause Arthur's resolutions to be universally applauded. 
 
 I have already given some description of the settlement 
 itself; let me here add an account of the voyage to it. In 
 1832, James Backhouse, the good Quaker missionary, to 
 whose simply-written narrative I have before referred, 
 visited " Hell's Gates" in the Government brig "Tamar." 
 " There were in the cabin," he says— 
 
 "John Burn, the captain for the voyage, Henry Herberg, 
 the mate, David Hoy, a ship's carpenter, Jno. A. Manton, 
 George W. Walker, and myself. Ten private soldiers and ;i 
 sergeant, as a guard, occupied a portion of the held, in 
 which there were also provisions for the penal settlement, 
 and a flock of sheep. Two soldiers' wives and rive children 
 were in the midships. Twelve seamen, several of whom 
 were convicts, formed the crew; and eighteen prisoners 
 under sentence to the penal settlement completed the ship's 
 company. The last occupied a gaol, separated from tin- hold 
 by wooden bars, filled with nails, and accessible only from 
 the deck bv a small hatchwav. One of the soldiers or. 
 
142 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 guard stood constantly by this hatchway, which was secured 
 by three bolts across the opening; two walked the deck, the 
 one on one side returning with his face toward the prison at 
 the time the other was going in the opposite direction; and 
 two were in the hold, seated in view of the gaol. The pri- 
 soners wore chains, and only two of them were allowed to 
 come on deck at a time for air; these were kept before the 
 windlass, and not allowed to converse with the seamen. 
 This was rigidly observed in consequence of two of these 
 men having, at a former period, been parties in the seizure 
 of a vessel named the ' Cypress' (sic) making the same 
 voyage, which was carried off to the coast of China or 
 Japan. . . . The gaol occupied by these men was not 
 high enough for them to stand erect in, but they could 
 stretch themselves on the floor, on which they slept, being 
 each furnished with a blanket." 
 
 When the vessel, after a tedious voyage, had reached the 
 entrance to the harbour, the main difficulty of the passage 
 really commenced. The Doom-rock lay within the jaws of 
 a sandy, barren bight, and the "league-long rollers" of the 
 Southern Ocean broke unchecked upon the bar. For some 
 time the " Tamar" stood on and off this dangerous channel, 
 unwilling to risk an entrance. " At length," says the mis- 
 sionary — 
 
 " When about to run back for shelter to Port Davey we 
 were descried, and a signal to enter was hoisted. We im- 
 mediately stood in, and in a few minutes the opportunity to 
 return was past. The pilot put off', knowing better than 
 ourselves our danger; his boat could only be seen now and 
 then above the billows; but he was soon alongside, and 
 ordered all the sails to be squared, so that we might go right 
 before the wind. On coming on board, he commanded the 
 women and children below, and then came to me, and 
 advised me to go below also. I replied, that if we were lost 
 I should like to see the last of it, for the sight was awfully 
 grand. Laying hold of a rope at the stern, he said, ' Then 
 put your arm round this rope, and don't speak a word.' To 
 my companion he gave similar instructions, placing him at 
 the opposite quarter. A man was sent into the chains on 
 each side with the sounding lead. The pilot went to the 
 bows, and nothing was now to be heard through the roar of 
 the wind and waves but his voice calling to the helmsman, 
 'he helmsman's answer, and the voices of the men in tin; 
 
THE LAST OF MACQVARIE IIAKHOUR. I 13 
 
 chains, counting off the fathoms as the water became shal- 
 lower. The vessel was cast alternately from our side to the 
 other, to prevent her sticking on the sand, in which case the 
 billows would have run over her, and have driven her upon a 
 sandbank a mile from the shore, on which they were break- 
 ing with fury. The fathoms decreased, and the men counted 
 off the feet, of which we drew seven and a half, and there 
 were but seven in the hollow of the sea, until they called out 
 eleven feet. At this moment a huge billow carried us 
 forward on its raging head into deep water. The pilot's 
 countenance relaxed; he looked like a man reprieved from 
 under the gallows, and coming up, shook hands with each 
 individual, congratulating them on a safe arrival in Mae- 
 juarie Harbour." 
 
 Such was the place that it was at last determine! 1 to 
 abandon, and in 1834 orders came to break up the sc: tie. 
 ment. 
 
 The commandant, Major Bayiee, (33rd Regiment, em- 
 barked the prisoners in a vessel sent specially for them, and 
 accompanied them to Hobart Town, leaving behind him a 
 man named Taw, who was the pilot at the settlement, to 
 complete the work of demolition, and bring away such 
 matters as might have been overlooked in the hurry of the 
 departure of the main body. 
 
 Taw was in command of the " Frederick," a brig that had 
 been built at the settlement, and he had as a crew, .Mr. 
 Hoy, the shipwright, a man named Tate, and ten convicts, 
 together with a guard of three soldiers and a corporal. The 
 names of the ten — as given in their own narrative, written 
 while under sentence of death in Hobart Town—were .John 
 Barker, Charles Lyons, James Lesly, James Porter, Benjamin 
 Russen, John Dady, William Cheshire, William Shiers, 
 John Fair, and John Jones. The narrative was printed in 
 William Gore Elliston's Hobart Town Almanack and Van 
 Diemen's Land Annual for 1838, and forms the; basis of this 
 twice-told tale. 
 
 On the 11th of January, 1831, everything of value had 
 been placed on board the brig, and the prisoners received 
 the intelligence that the next day they would weigh aneher, 
 and leave Hell's Gates for ever. One of the prisoners, how- 
 ever, was still " in confinement." His name was Charles 
 Lyons, and he had been imprisoned for insubordination. 
 Two convicts and Taw released him and brought him aboard. 
 
144 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 That night, in the prisoner's berth, Lyons gave vent to his 
 wrath, and inveighed against the tyranny of Taw. He pro- 
 bably guessed what awaited him in Hobart Town. 
 
 The next day was spent in running to the bar and back, 
 the heavy sea outside rendering dangerous any attempt to 
 pass the gates. On the morning of the 12th, at daybreak, 
 Taw ordered out the whaleboat and went to " sound the 
 bar," returning with the news that it was yet dangerous, but 
 that if the tide abated towards evening he would risk it. 
 
 Now the evils of forced inaction began to show. The 
 men grumbled. They should have been well on their way 
 to Hobart Town and civilisation. Why keep them still in 
 sight of their dismal prison-house? Doubtless with a view 
 to employing them, Taw gave permission for the men to 
 go ashore and wash their clothes. All went except Hoy's 
 servant, and while on shore a plot was concocted. 
 
 At half-past three p.m. the men returned, and the corporal, 
 a soldier, and a prisoner took the whaleboat and went fishing, 
 so that besides the nine convicts in the forecastle, were only 
 Taw, Hoy, and his servant in the cabin, and Tate and two 
 soldiers on deck. One of the convicts- — Porter, the narrator 
 of the story — began to sing, and a soldier came below to 
 listen. While he listened, Lesly, Cheshire, Russen, Fair, 
 and Barker stole up the hatchway. 
 
 The mate and soldier were noiselessly seized, and Cheshire 
 going down the aft deck, passed up the muskets. The song 
 still continued, and the soldier, with the disaffected Lyons 
 on one side and Dady on the other, listened with increased 
 attention. Suddenly, a prisoner came down the hatchway 
 and trod upon the toe of Shiers. This was the signal. 
 Shiers presented his fist in the astonished dilettante's nice, 
 and Dady and Lyons seized him and "made him fast." 
 Shiers and Lyons then rushed upon deck, leaving the 
 prisoner with Porter and Dady below. 
 
 Porter — who, by his own account, was unwilling to join 
 the mutiny — endeavoured to force up the hatch, but presently 
 it was opened from above, and the other soldier and Tate 
 were sent down bound, and he, Dady, and Jones got upon 
 deck. Pair, who seems to have assumed the command,, 
 ordered the hatch to be secured, and placed Porter over it 
 as a guard, while Lesly and Russen, armed with the soldiers' 
 muskets, stationed themselves at the companion. 
 
 Though accomplished with as little noise as possible, the 
 
THE LAST OP UACOUARIE HARBOUR. U") 
 
 mutiny had roused Taw and Hoy, and they endeavoured to 
 force their way on deck. Lesly and Russen, however, l>eat 
 them back, but did not lire. All was silent for a while until 
 Cheshire, creeping to the skylight, tore it up, crying 
 
 ''Here they are! Surrender! Surrender!" 
 
 Fair and Barker snatched up their arms, and four muskets 
 were levelled down the skylight. 
 
 Crouched out of reach of the musk. as, the captain and 
 Hoy gave no reply, and then some one of the mutineers tired. 
 
 Shiers rushed to the skylight. 
 
 •• Are you going to commit murder?" lie cried. 
 
 '• No, no," replied they; " it can be done without," 
 
 Shiers then called upon Taw and Hoy to surrender, pro- 
 mising to spare their lives. 
 
 •'My life be the forfeit if we injure you." said In-; " we 
 only want our liberty." 
 
 Then the two came on deck. 
 
 Hoy asked who was to command the brig. 
 
 " I am," says Barker, '-and with the crew I'll navigate her 
 round the world !" 
 
 Hoy then, as did Carew before, promised to say nothing 
 of the escapade if they would give up the brig. 
 
 Barker laughed. 
 
 "That isn't likely," said he. '•' We got her, and we'll 
 •keep her — liberty is what we mean to have." 
 
 Shiers and Barker then asked the prisoners if they wanted 
 anything from out their boxes, as they were going t.> put 
 them ashore, and allowed them to go down into the cabin 
 and take what they thought proper, only refusing Hoy his 
 pocket pistols. They were then put into the jolly-boat, 
 together with the mate and the two soldiers; a bottle of nun 
 was given to Taw, whoso hands were tied, and two buttles of 
 wine and a peajacket to Hoy, "as he had been indisposed.' 
 Indeed the mutineers seem to have behave 
 consideration and even generosity, priding the 
 abusing their newly-found liberty. 
 
 A musket tired over the stern brought 
 alongside, and the soldiers and the prisoner? 
 out of her into the jolly-boat. The soldiers we 
 to row the party ashore. Seven mutineers 
 one steering, and four armed with muskets a^ a guard 
 accompanied them in the whaleboat. Having landed Taw 
 and the others, the jolly-boat was towed back to tie- hip, 
 
 L 
 
 1 wit 
 
 h 
 
 mueli 
 
 USelv. 
 
 •s 
 
 1)11 II"' 
 
 he W 
 
 h. 
 
 
 were 
 
 o 
 
 rdered 
 rdeivd 
 
 e ' r j • - 1 1 
 
 two 
 
 1» 
 
 ulling, 
 
146 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 and a watch was set all night to prevent surprise, so great 
 was their dread of the resolute Taw. 
 
 Next morning a council of war was held as to the disposi- 
 tion of provisions. Shiers — referring to the seizure of the 
 " Cyprus," which would seem to have made a great impres- 
 sion on the minds of convictism — said, " Don't let this affair 
 be like that one. Do not let us leave them to starve, but 
 share the provisions equally between us all. Then when 
 they reach head-quarters they can't sav that we'd used them 
 cruelly." 
 
 The notion was deemed a good one; the meat was divided 
 as nearly as possible, also tea, sugar, flour, and biscuit; and 
 Shiers, taking with him another pair of shoes and bandages 
 and plaister for Mr. Hoy, who seems to have been a 
 favourite, got out of the Avhaleboat and rowed to the shore. 
 
 Hoy and two men received the stores, three of the muti- 
 neers standing armed in the sternshcets to prevent the 
 dreaded Taw from rushing the boat. 
 
 Hoy then seems to have thanked them for the provisions, 
 and, while commenting upon the difficulty of the task before 
 them, to have wished them success in their enterprise. This 
 at' least is the statement of Porter's narrative, but as that 
 gentleman intersperses his story with frequent addresses to 
 Providence and reflections on the bounty of Heaven unusual 
 to convict minds, we may not unreasonably suppose that his 
 reported conversations are not given verbatim, and that a 
 great deal of rude language is omitted. Moreover, the poor 
 devil was lying in Hobart Town Gaol under sentence of 
 death, and had a chaplain for his amanuensis. Under such 
 circumstances he was likely to restrain the natural vigour of 
 his descriptive powers. 
 
 Having been blessed — if we believe our convict — by the 
 pious Hoy, a touching adieu took place, and the mutineers 
 returned to the brig. They passed the morning in throwing 
 overboard the light cargo which was in the hold, and then 
 ran out a small kedge anchor with about 100 fathoms of 
 line. The tide being slack, they hedged along until they 
 came to the Cap and Bonnet, and there observing an old 
 wlialeboat ashore they destroyed it, lest it should offer 
 means of pursuit to the terrible Taw. It being calm they 
 towed the " Frederick" in safety over the dangerous bar, 
 and a light breeze springing up from the south-east took her 
 gaily out to sea. 
 
THE LAST OK MAClfUAKlK IIAKJ'.OI ■ 117 
 
 John Fair being "an experienced mariner," was made 
 mate; but Barker, in consideration of his superior sagaeit\ 
 and a smattering of navigation, received the rank of captain. 
 He, "with what few instruments he had," made preparation 
 to take his departure from Birches Rock, and stating thai 
 the course should be E.S.E., ordered the whaleboat to lie 
 stove in and cast adrift, as there was no room on board for 
 her. All sail was then made; Fair and Lyons divided the 
 men in watches, parting the seamen with the landsmen, and 
 " at eight p.m./' says Porter, " we set our first watch."' 
 
 At half-past nine that night came a heavy gale from the 
 S.W., which compelled them to run under close-reefed topsails. 
 Shiers, Cheshire, Russeii, and Lesly were sea-sick, as was 
 also John Barker, and the heavy sea requiring two men at 
 the helm, the others had their work cut out for them. 
 
 The morning dawned upon a raging sea and a cloudy sky. 
 Lesly sounded the well and found the hold three-parts full 
 of water, and all hands were set to the pumps. The gale 
 lasted for two nights and a day, and then moderated. But 
 the convict-built vessel proved leaky, "'occasioned princi 
 pally," says Porter, " by carrying such a press of canvas 
 during the gale," and only one pump could be got to work'. 
 
 On the 16th, Barker, who still suffered from violent sea 
 sickness, took a meridian, and altered the course of the 
 vessel to E. by S., desiring to "run to the southward of New 
 Zealand, out of the track of shipping." On the 20th a vast 
 quantity of seaweed appeared, and the men grew frightened. 
 thinking thev were running on land. Pair begged Barker 
 to come on deck and take an observation, urging the neces- 
 sity of keeping the crew in good heart. At first the poor 
 fellow refused, vowing-— as many sea-sick mariners have done 
 before and since— that the ship might go to the bottom for 
 all he could stir a hand to save her. By dint of persuasion, 
 however, he was got on deck, supported by two men, and 
 assured his followers that all was well, adding, " I can take 
 you safe to South America even though I had no quadrant 
 aboard, by keeping a dead-reckoning." At noon — still sap 
 ported by his two assistants, like Moses between the two 
 Israelites — he took an observation, and shortly afterwards 
 sent up to inform the men that lie would run to the south of 
 New Zealand, and not sight it, as had been his first inten- 
 tion. 
 
 So far so good; but by-and-by— the brig running eleven 
 l 2 
 
148 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 knots an hour under closely-reefed topsails, and the pumps 
 hard at work the whole time- — -murmurs arose, and Barker 
 not appearing on deck for nine days, a deputation was sent 
 to beg him to consider the position of the vessel. 
 
 Housed by this the " captain" came up, and though sick, 
 made shift to attend to his navigation. The weather, how- 
 ever, prevented him from taking an observation until the 
 30th January, and on that day he altered the course of the 
 vessel to N. by E., being anxious "to make a landfall 
 between Chili and Valdivia." 
 
 The crew were now well-nigh exhausted. The old sailors 
 had to do duty for the raw hands, and to add to their 
 distress it came on to blow harder than they had yet 
 experienced it. A white squall threw the brig on her beam 
 ends, and carried away the spanker boom; but notwithstand- 
 ing the leaky condition of the craft, Fair persisted in carry- 
 ing on sail. The more chicken-hearted began to despair of 
 reaching land. They now sighted a French whaler, hull 
 down to windward, and desperate Barker gave orders to get 
 out the arms and make ready to defend the brig, in case the 
 stranger should bear down upon them. His precaution, 
 however, was not needed. 
 
 After nine days of rough weather the gale abated, and 
 Fair, giving orders to cross the topgallant yards and make 
 sail, on the 25th of February they made the South American 
 coast, about an hour before dark. 
 
 Though all hands swore that there was land ahead, the 
 impostor Barker laughed at them, saying that he had kept 
 the reckoning, and they were at least u 500 miles oft' the 
 coast of Chili." Fair, however, put no faith in his asser- 
 tions, and gave orders to shorten sail. At daylight they 
 found a rocky shore close under their lee, and hauled off. 
 Now Barker condescended to be convinced, and at twelve 
 o'clock informed the crew that they were between Chili and 
 Valdivia. This was the 24th February, six weeks and a 
 day from the time when the captured " Frederick" left 
 Hell's Gates. 
 
 Now arose a discussion as to the best course of action. 
 Some advised landing at once in the launch, others to creep 
 along shore, while the more prudent recommended that the 
 brig should be abandoned, and that they should coast in 
 their boat in search of a landing-place. This plan was at 
 last adopted. The launch was a big, seaworthy boat; more- 
 
THE LAST OF MACOlARIK HANBOl'lt. \i\) 
 
 over, she had been raised a plank higher, had hern decked 
 after a fashion, and fitted with mast, boom, and ;i suit of 
 sails, while the bachveather cloth that Taw had used for the 
 whaleboat would answer the purpose of bulwarks. Putting 
 on board her the scanty remnant of provisions, together with 
 firearms, ammunition, and — notable item — u Government 
 cat that had unconsciously cast in its lot with theirs, four of 
 them got aboard the launch, and the others commenced to 
 batten down the hatches of the brig. 
 
 These amateur carpenters had indeed but little time to 
 spare. The pumping being stopped, they found four feet of 
 water in the hold, and hastily flinging over two breakei-s of 
 water and such provisions as they could scrape together, 
 called the launch alongside, and got into her without delay. 
 
 It was time, for as the sun went down in a lowering and 
 angry sky, the ill-fated vessel that had brought them to 
 freedom sank to her channel plates, and the exhausted and 
 toil-worn mutineers, hoisting sail in the darkness, turned 
 their backs upon her. and speeded towards the wished-for 
 but unknown shore. 
 
 The next day the miserable boat crew, drenched with 
 water and shivering with cold — they had been sitting by 
 turns of four in the stern-sheets all night, with their backs to 
 the sea, to prevent the water from swamping them — reached 
 the coast, At three o'clock in the afternoon they entered a 
 small bay, and at half-past four came to anchor under the lee 
 of a barren reef. Some went ashore, but met with " no sign of 
 human habitation." They slept there that night, having set 
 a watch of two men in case of attack by wild beasts, and in 
 the morning set to work to gather shell-fish. Having made 
 such a breakfast as this somewhat meagre fare afforded, they 
 again set sail, determining to make for a distant point, in 
 the hope of meeting with human beings. Reaching this 
 point in the afternoon, they found two strange, pyramidal 
 shaped rocks, and running in between them, came upon a 
 stream of fresh water. Near this was a deserted Indian lint, 
 but no "Indian;" and so, securing the boat and setting a 
 watch, the castaways passed the second night sine- the 
 abandonment of the brig. 
 
 All the next day they sailed from bay to hay in search 
 of inhabitants, and casting anchor in a little inlet at night, 
 prepared to sup on a seal which they had killed err they 
 started in the morning: but a heavy swell arising carried 
 
150 OLD TALES OP A .'OUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 their boat violently towards the rocks, and they were com- 
 pelled to use all exertions do keep her afloat. The next day 
 passed in the same fruitless quest. The wind blew hard, 
 the boat leaked, the coast seemed ironbound, and they held 
 on their dismal course with despairing hearts. Camping 
 that night in a snug nook, the cat which they had brought 
 from the brig, and which had shared with them their scanty 
 provisions, made off into the woods. The next day was the 
 3rd March — about eight weeks since they had seized the 
 " Frederick" — and they made sure that human habitations 
 were close at hand. Punning down the coast all that day 
 with a fresh breeze, they weathered a point which John 
 Barker said was " Tweedle-point," and ran for a bluff far 
 down the shore. Half-an-hour before dark they weathered 
 the bluff, and made for the beach, but not finding boat- 
 anchorage coasted along until the sun went down. 
 
 Their hearts began now to fail them. They had accom- 
 plished an almost unparalleled escape. They had seized a 
 prison-ship under the very noses of the guards, and under all 
 disadvantages had carried her out to sea, sailed her success- 
 fully through an unknown ocean, made land just as she 
 could no longer be kept afloat, and were now about to perish 
 when their hopes seemed nearest to their fulfilment. The 
 shore was barren and rocky, night was closing in, they had 
 no food, and they were miles from succour, " Suddenly," 
 says Porter, " we heard the bellowing of a bullock on the 
 shore." Did their ears deceive them? All held their breath 
 to Lear the sound again. No, it was no deception — they 
 were saved! 
 
 With renewed vigour they tugged at the oars, and round- 
 ing a low-lying reef that projected into the black water, 
 came in sight of large fires. Against the glare of these 
 fires — which had the appearance of blazing rubbish-heaps — 
 tnirantic shadows moved. These shadows were men and 
 women. Out of the darkness the escaped convicts hailed 
 the shore, but received for a reply only a confused murmur, 
 which seemed to denote alarm. The full swell of the ocean 
 rolled in upon the rocky shore, and it was impossible to 
 land. So keeping out to sea, but still within sight of the 
 cheering fires, they let go their anchor in nineteen fathoms 
 of water, and lay outside the reefs waiting for the day. 
 
 All that night they kept awake, conversing on the chance 
 of safety. Perhaps the people they bad seen were cannibals, 
 
THE LAST OF MAOJUAR1E HAUE0UK. I ~ I 
 
 perhaps pirates. At any rate, they were human. When 
 morning dawned they made all haste to land, and mooring 
 the boat to some seaweed, called to the Indians. These 
 came instantly, running down to the boat. They scon to 
 have been Spanish Indians, and informed Shiers thai Valdi- 
 via was but three leagues distant. The mutineers prudently 
 refused to beach the boat, but Shiers and four men, taking 
 with them needles and thread and a loaded pistol, jumped 
 ashore, and followed the natives to their huts. In ; ! i<- 
 meantime, the boat was pushed off four lengths from tin- 
 shore, to guard against any attempt that might be mad' to 
 seize her. By-and-by Shiers returned, and then the ol 
 rive landed. They found the Indians very friendly and 
 partly civilised. The chief won 1 a poncho — a square cloth, 
 with hole for the head in the middle — and a pair of Une 
 worsted trousers. The poncho was embroidered; the fellow 
 carried a large hilted knife (probably a Spanish machete), for 
 defensive or offensive purposes. They gave" this warrior a 
 hatchet, "of which he well knew the use," and he did the 
 honours of the village to them. Porter says that the huts 
 were clean and well built, and the people industrious, lb' 
 observed a man and boy ploughing with four bullocks yoked 
 by the horns. The ploughshare was of wood hardened in 
 the fire. Both sexes wore their hair long, but the men 
 having no razors — plucked out their beards by the roots 
 with two shells provided for the purpose. Porter made 
 repeated requests for something to eat, but his conductor 
 either could not or— as he thinks— would not understand 
 him. Having bestowed upon him some buttons, pins, unci 
 needles, the rejoicing mutineers set sail for Valdivia. At 
 three o'clock in the afternoon they reached a point of land 
 to which their attention had been drawn, and perceived a 
 flagstaff and twelve-gun battery. They had made their port 
 at last. 
 
 Valdivia is the chief town of the most southern province 
 of Chili, and is situated nine miles up the river which bears 
 its name. It was founded in 1551, by Pedro de Valdivia - 
 one of the gentlemen adventurers of that stormy time -who 
 gave it his name, and grew rich by working the gold nines 
 in the vicinity. In 1590 it was captured by the natives, 
 but was afterwards rebuilt and strongly fortified by the 
 Spaniards. The harbour, at the mouth of whieh our con- 
 victs were now 7-esting, is one of the most spacious on the 
 
152 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 coast. Three years after the date of our story — in 1837 — it 
 was ruined by an earthquake. 
 
 Pulling in under the guns of the battery, Barker ha- 
 rangued his comrades, and enlarged upon his own abilities, 
 which had brought them thus far in safety. It being 
 believed that Spain was hostile to England, they resolved to 
 tell their story, and throw themselves on the mercy of the 
 Governor. Barker then gave each of the men half a sove- 
 reign, and divided all the clothing and valuables equally, 
 with the exception of two watches, which he kept for him- 
 self. They then pulled for the shore. 
 
 The Spaniards received them with humanity, and they 
 stayed that night at the fort. The next day it was agreed 
 that Barker, Shiers, Lesley, Bussen, and Cheshire should 
 hire a canoe to go up to the town, and lay their case before 
 the Governor. This was done, and on the next day (March 
 7th) a party of soldiers came down, and took the remaining 
 fi\"e up to the* city, where they were lodged in prison. 
 Being taken before the judge, they told their story, giving 
 the names the}' went by in Van Diemen's Land, and he 
 remanded them until the arrival of the Governor. 
 
 They remained in prison five days. The mate was allowed 
 a dollar per day, the boatswain half-a-dollar, and the rest a 
 quarter dollar, "and provisions being very cheap," says our 
 narrator, " this was amply sufficient for our support." On 
 the 13th the Governor arrived, and they were taken before 
 him. He seemed inclined to look favourably upon them. 
 but asked them why they came to that part of the coast. 
 Whereupon Barker, with unblushing effrontery, replied — 
 " Because we knew that you were patriots, and had long 
 ago declared your independence ; and we throw ourselves 
 under the protection of your flag, relying on your clemency." 
 Upon this, the Governor — saying that he believed that they 
 had spared life, and had committed no murder — promised to 
 use his influence with the President, at San J ago, to procure 
 them permission to live in Valdivia, but that they must, 
 in the meantime return to the prison, and remain there 
 peaceably. 
 
 In the meantime, a Captain Lawson, their interpreter, 
 " a gentleman," says Porter, " of great respectability," drew 
 up a petition praying for their release, and got the principal 
 inhabitants of the town to sign it. On the following day 
 they wen- again brought before the Governor, who said that 
 
THE LAST OF MACQUAKIE UAltllOl'lt. I').', 
 
 lie would liberate them at once were he not fearful that 
 some of the number would make their escape. Upon this 
 the ever-ready Barker made a melodramatic speech, beggin" 
 His Excellency to rather shoot them all dead in tin- Palace 
 Square than deliver them up to the British Go\ernment. 
 The Governor, who seems to have been a good-humoured 
 fellow, and who had doubtless been regaled with .1 highh 
 coloured description of the horrors of Hell's Gates bad 
 enough, in sober truth, Heaven knows— promised to prote ' 
 them, vowing that out of respect to their heroic journey h« 
 would not give them up. "And,'' said he, "if you will 
 promise not to escape, should a vessel come to-morrow to 
 demand you, you will rind me as good as my word." He 
 then advised them to "beware of intemperance." and to j>;t\ 
 back to the Government as soon as possible the money 
 expended in their subsistence while in prison. The en 
 then took lodgings in the town, ami next dav assisted in 
 launching a vessel of ICO tons burden — a ceremony which 
 was performed with the aid of a band ot music, and in tin 
 presence of the Governor in person. The owner expressed 
 himself much satisfied with the behaviour and talent of the 
 Englishmen, and declaring — so says Porter — that '-he would 
 rather have them than thirty of his own countrymen," 
 engaged them to "tit her out" at 15 dols. a month and pm 
 visions. 
 
 The adventurous ten now seemed to have fallen on get id 
 days. They were well clothed, well fed. and well liked. 
 Macquarie Harbour and its agonies were forgotten. Tli -y 
 cast away recollections of their past dangers and crime-, 
 and appear to have maintained themselves by honest indus- 
 try. The Governor took great interest in their well-being, 
 and when, on the 25th April, the " Blonde" frigate, Comnn 
 dore Mason, arrived in port, sent for them and told thou 
 to be of good cheer, that he would not deliver them up ' 
 bondage; that the despatches from San Jago having arri\rd. 
 he could officially receive; them as Chilian subjects, and tha', 
 if they pleased, they might marry. 
 
 Spanish America is noted for the beauty of its womei 
 the Chilian ladies are even now the belles of the seaboard 
 and our adventurers jumped at the offer. The attraction n! 
 the gossip by the fountains, the chatter of the quaint old 
 market-place,' the dances by night under the orang< 
 were too strong to be resisted. The Herce black ey<\> 
 the manolas; for in those days there were yet mo nolo* m 
 
154 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Spain and grisettes in France; the more golden glory of the 
 Malaguena, transplanted from the sultry seaport of Old 
 Spain two generations back; the sparkling purity of the 
 Andalusian granddaughter of some brilliant adventurer of 
 Seville, conspired to capture the hearts of the escaped 
 prisoners — all honest English sensualists, T have no doubt. 
 Five of them were immediately married, and at the wedding 
 •of that lucky scoundrel, John Barker, the Governor and his 
 lady attended in court costume. 
 
 But this felicity was not to last. Nine months after these 
 auspicious events — on the 10th February, 1835 — the ten 
 were carried off in the night to the guard-house. In a 
 terrible fright, they speculated on the cause of their arrest, 
 when suddenly the ubiquitous Governor arriving, tells them 
 not to be frightened. "There is an English frigate lying 
 outside the harbour," cries he, "and I was afraid that did 
 you hear the news you would take to the forest, and have 
 been all slain by the Indians. Here is a letter that I have 
 just received." 
 
 This letter proved to be from Commodore Mason, and 
 stated that its writer, having learned that several English- 
 men were in the town, who bad come in some "clandestine" 
 manner to the coast, desired them to come on board and 
 .give an account of themselves. 
 
 The ten upon this fell into great trepidation. " If we 
 go," cried one of them, "we shall never return." "I 
 thought so !" said the Governor (let us remember that this 
 is the statement of a convict under sentence of death). " 1 
 will protect you. Should they force their way here, I will 
 send you up the country under escort to an Indian chief of 
 my acquaintance, who will protect you. If the captain of 
 this vessel wishes to speak with you, he shall do so at my 
 palace. You shall not go on board." 
 
 This worthy man, Don Fernando Martelle, doubtless a 
 Spaniard of mettle, who, having given his word, meant to 
 keep it, proved a true friend ; for a cutter from the frigate 
 attempting to pass the battery, the Spaniards tired a 321b. 
 shot over the heads of the crew, and presently the frigate 
 departed, bearing up in the direction of Valparaiso. 
 
 So far, so good, but more; evils were in store. On the 2nd 
 May, 1835, the "Achilles," a 21-gun brig of Avar, arrived 
 with a new Governor. r l his gentleman was coolly received 
 by tin; inhabitants, " who," says poor Porter, "had heard 
 but an indifferent account of him," and the refugees began 
 
THE LAST OF MA(\H'.\!;ir, IIAUHOUK. 1 •'»"» 
 
 ~o dread lest a new Pharaoh had arisen who knew mil 
 • Joseph. The old Governor, however, gave them an excellent 
 character;, and Governor Thompson, the nocun homo, pro- 
 mised to protect them. They soon discovered, however, that 
 his promises were of little value. Don Fernando left on tin* 
 20th of May, and as soon as he had gone hostilities were 
 commenced. 
 
 The remaining seven (.Jones, Fair, and Dady had wisely 
 taken service in a brig, and had got away from the place) 
 were ordered to present themselves at the guardhouse every 
 evening, and suffered other small indignities which the nar- 
 rator does not particularise. It had been previously agreed 
 that no attempt to escape should be math', as the Governor 
 swore that, should any man succeed in getting away from 
 the city, he would hang the others without mercy, 
 agreement had been hitherto strictly kept — tin 
 the fortunate three was permitted by Don Fern 
 this last extremity Barker broke it. The boat 
 mutineers had made their adventurous voyage 
 moored at the back of Government House 
 Governor, tempted by an offer of 4-0 dols. 
 sold her, '-mast, oars, sails, and all," to 
 •Spanish merchants. In the month of 
 enlarging upon the excellent qualities of 
 offered to build one for the Governor, 
 sition met with a ready approval, but when the bo. 
 was finished, Barker, pretending that she was too small, 
 offered to build a larger one, if the (Jovernor would 
 permit him to get stores, &c, in his name. This was con- 
 ceded, and, in three weeks, Barker, Lesley, and Russen 
 completed a three-oared whaleboat, and fitted her with -ads 
 and provisions, on the Governor's credit. 
 
 All was now ready, and on Saturday night, the 4th July, 
 Barker, Lesley, Russen, and a man named Roberts, '-for- 
 merly mate of a brig," crept out under cover of the darkness, 
 and, slipping down the river, got out to sea. On Monday 
 morning, at ten o'clock, their flight was discovered, ami the 
 Governor, in a furious rage at being outwitted, despatched 
 six soldiers and a crew, with orders "to bring back the 
 Englishmen, dead or alive." This was easier said than 
 done, and in a week the soldiers returned, without having 
 even seen the fugitives. 
 
 ft is not improbable that the townspeople, among whom 
 
 ie depart 
 
 ure oi 
 
 nando — 
 
 bin in 
 
 t in whii 
 
 •1. the 
 
 had beei 
 
 
 : but th 
 
 
 ;.', had a 
 
 ' 
 
 ) one (i 
 
 f the 
 
 I une, 15 
 
 arker. 
 
 the old 
 
 boat, 
 
 This ] 
 
 ,,1-opO- 
 
156 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 the Englishmen were liked and the Governor cordially 
 detested, began to ridicule His Excellency with the prover- 
 bial Spanish freedom of popular speech, for he seems to have 
 determined to revenge himself on the luckless four, Porter, 
 Riley, Cheshire, and Shiers, who remained. In vain did the 
 poor fellows plead their innocence and good conduct. In 
 vain did their black-eyed wives weep, and their tawny kins- 
 folk remonstrate with justice. The four were ironed to- 
 gether, and thrown in the prison of Valdivia, and the Eng- 
 lish consul at Valparaiso having been communicated with, a 
 schooner was sent which brought them to Callao — a port 
 not altogether unknown to several illustrious Victorians in 
 the present day — and here the dreaded Mason got them 
 at last. The " Blonde" took them to Valparaiso, when they 
 were placed on board the " North Star," 28 guns, and sent 
 to England. 
 
 Arrived once more in London, they were placed in the 
 Leviathian hulk, and then shipped (with a fresh batch of 
 convicts) on board the " Sarah," and sent back to Van Die- 
 men's Land, there to be tried for their lives. One can 
 fancy the pleasant time these poor devils must have enjoyed, 
 speculating on their fate, and imagination does not refuse to 
 suggest the stories of the horrors of Hell's Gates with which 
 thev would beguile the time and attention of the convict 
 " new chums." A " prison-ship" in those days was an 
 excellent preparatory school for the gallows. Arrived in 
 Hobart Town on 29th March, 1837, they were tried before 
 the Chief Justice, "for piratically seizing the brig Frede- 
 rick," and were sentenced to be hanged. Their case, how- 
 ever, excited some interest, and they appealed to " the 
 English judges." These gentlemen were merciful, and 
 commuted the death-penalty to "hard labour for life." 
 
 Their perilous journey, their strange adventures, their 
 three years of freedom in the old Spanish town, resulted 
 only in a change of prisons. Port Arthur -was substituted 
 for Macquarie Harbour. 
 
 Barker, Lesley, and Russen, were never heard of again. 
 "Whether they were wrecked on that stormy coast, killed by 
 Indians, picked up by a stray ship, and returned to civilisa- 
 tion, or striking on some .savage island colonised another 
 Pitcairn, no one can tell. Despite their treachery, their 
 romantic story makes one hope that they got their longed- 
 for liberty at last. 
 
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN HUBBLE. 
 
 Among the many bubbles of speculation that, reflecting in 
 their shining sides prismatic worlds of fortune, have ht-.-n 
 destined to burst in the most commonplace of soapsuds, it 
 would be unfair to class the speculation-born colony of South 
 Australia. But, though neither so magnificently blown as 
 its prototype of the South Seas, nor reflecting such elegant 
 foolishness as that most glorious bladder blown in the Rue 
 Quicamfoix, the South Australian bubble was quite as flimsy 
 and quite as dangerous. Luckily a fact, unsuspected by its 
 blower, saved it from bursting — the soap-suds were made 
 with mineral water; the pursuers of the floating globe fell 
 into a quagmire, but found a copper mine. 
 
 In the year 1829, Captain Sturt, exploring the Murrum- 
 bidgee, came to Lake Alexandrina — a shallow sheet <>t 
 water, 60 miles long by 40 in breadth — and discovered the 
 future province of South Australia. Almost simultaneously 
 with his discovery was published in London a little hook 
 entitled, A Letter from Sydney, edited by Mr. Robert < longer, 
 and written by Mr. Gibbon Wakefield. 
 
 I have neither the inclination nor the ability to give in 
 this place an exhaustive article upon the immigration ques- 
 tion, still less to comment at length upon the system of .Mr. 
 Gibbon Wakefield, but a slight sketch of the scheii 
 down by that ingenious theorist may not he altoget'm 
 unacceptable. 
 
 The "Letter from Sydney'' produced, as it deserved to d«.. 
 a profound sensation upon speculators in Kngland. It- 
 author was a man of ability, and wrote with taste ami 
 elegance. Placing the most audacious mistatcmonts side i>. 
 side with the most brilliant sketches of place and people, }»• 
 covered the fallacy of his argument by the brilliance of his 
 wit. The catherine-wheels flashed so dazzlingly that onceouM 
 not see how slender was the stick on which they turned. 
 The "Letter from Sydney" was written with a purpose. h 
 purported to be from the pen of a gentleman ol taste and 
 
158 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 fortune, who, emigrating to Australia under the impression 
 that his easily-purchased land Would prove remunerative, 
 found himself poor for want of the means to develope his 
 riches — for want of men to hew down his magnificent forests 
 of timber, tenants to rent his fat and fertile farm land, and 
 miners to bring to the surface his wealth of iron, coal, and 
 copper. Interspersed with exquisite descriptions of scenery 
 and humorous sketches of colonial discomfort and colonial 
 society, he draws a succession of pictures of the misery 
 which would befall the landowners whenever the cessation 
 of convict-shipping should leave them dependent on free 
 labour. Having thus prepared the mind of his reader foi 
 some sweeping reform, Mr. Wakefield proposes his modest 
 remedy — to raise the price of land. Cheap land makes deai 
 labour, for the working-man who by economy and industry 
 accumulates enough money to purchase a " house and home,' : 
 will decline to hire himself to reap those fruits which lie 
 shall not enjoy. Cheap land makes cheap independence, and 
 cheap independence is fatal to individual wealth. The authoi 
 of a "Letter from Sydney" pointed out with dismay that in 
 a country where " common" labourers could maintain them- 
 selves without seeking hired service, the " gentleman" who 
 desired to sell timber, grain, or coals, must hew, reap, and 
 dig for himself, and such proceedings have been disdained 
 by " gentlemen" in all ages. In this wretched country ot 
 Australia Mr. Wakefield found that " intellect and refine- 
 ment," as he viewed them — that is to say, the reading 
 of purposeless novels and the lettered leisure of the idle 
 wealthy — were altogether at a discount, and that the 
 ' : common" folk, such as mechanics, farm labourers, and 
 men who ought to be dying by inches in factories, or 
 starving unmurmuringly in the over-populated agricul- 
 tural districts of England, were the only people who 
 could " enjoy" colonial life. Dear labour meant independ- 
 ence to the labourer, cheap labour meant wealth to the 
 capitalist, and the author of a " Letter from Sydney" being 
 a capitalist, desired to increase his capital. He longed for 
 parks and palaces, for gardens, fountains, picture galleries, 
 and preserves — not that the labourers who were to help him 
 to obtain all these fine things might share in the enjoyment 
 of them, but that he himself might become in Australia the 
 monopolist he was too poor to become in England. The 
 method he advised for the accomplishment of the monstrou- 
 
THK SOUTH AUSTRALIAN lUmU.K. 1 .*. 
 
 design was ingenious in its speciousness. Land was t<> 1- 
 made so dear that labourers " could not obtain it too m>ou ; 
 that is to say. a wealthy man could purchase by main torn 
 of his wealth, and compel the poor man to hire himself in 
 order to till and reap. A portion of the money thus 
 invested in land by the rich man was to go into a fund foi 
 the bringing out of emigrants, who might " further benefit tin 
 capitalist" by lowering the price of labour, and who were ; 
 consist of healthy young married couples. Thus the rich 
 man would be spared the pain of contributing a moiety oi 
 his wealth to support the aged and the sick. A succession ol 
 " common' young men and women arming by a succession 
 of ships, would compete with each other for the honour of 
 hewing his trees and drawing his water: and to such young 
 men and women was held out the delightful prospect oi 
 earning, by an artificially-enforced servitude, (he right to 
 settle on the land which they could obtain now for tin 
 mere trouble of tilling it. This system was termed tin 
 "sufficient price" system, and as such has been partially 
 adopted in Xew South Wales and New Zealand. 
 
 The book took the public by assault, it was at once so 
 plausible and so pathetic. It touched at once the souls and 
 pockets of men. The rich man saw an easy method of get 
 ting richer; the agricultural schemer saw a virgin field foi 
 his experiments: the middle-class farmer was enchanted wit! 
 the notion of rivalling the lord of the manor, ami becoming 
 the "squire" of a respectful Australian tenantry: while the 
 philanthropist admitted that to remove the starving popu- 
 lation of St. Giles to a greater Britain, situated somewhere 
 in the South Seas, was a suggestion of a most excellent 
 character, and that Mr. Wakefield deserved great credit for 
 it. During the agitation caused by the Reform Rill of 1 >•"»_. 
 public attention was diverted from Mi - . Wakefield, ami ;■ 
 company formed, under the title of the South Australian 
 Land Company, failed to float. In 1833, however, a second 
 company was formed, which included Grote, the historian. 
 and Henry Bulwer; and, after some changes of constitution, 
 the company, under the title of the South Australian As 
 sociation, was finally established. By an act passed in 1831 
 the tract of country discovered by Sturt. was created ;i 
 province, the minimum price of land fixed at 12s. an acre, 
 and the business of colonisation deputed to eight members, 
 with Colonel Torrens (proprietor of the Globe) as chairman. 
 
160 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Thus established, the most strenuous exertions were made 
 by the Association to ensure the popularity of their enter- 
 prise. Mr. Gibbon Wakefield, placed virtually in command, 
 attended the rooms of the Association at the Adelphi, and 
 by sheer force of talk caught bishops, mill-owners, and 
 journalists. The rooms were crowded with members of Par- 
 liament, mouth-orators, and pamphleteers, all eager to give 
 to the world the realisation of Utopia " at a sufficient price." 
 The post of Governor was offered to Colonel Charles James 
 Napier, but he declined the appointment, and Captain Hind- 
 marsh, R.N., accepted the office. Colonel Light was made 
 Surveyor-General, and Mr. Gouger Colonial Secretary ; while 
 Mr. Fisher (better known to colonists as Sir James Hurtle 
 Fisher), received the post of Resident Commissioner. 
 
 Colonel Light was despatched in March, 1836, and Cap- 
 tain Hindmarsh in July, while in November the " Africaine" 
 arrived with Mr. Gouger, a banking association, and the 
 South Australian Gazette, a paper first published in London, 
 and taken out wholesale to be " continued " in the new 
 colony. Governor Hindmarsh, arriving in December, found 
 fault with the site fixed upon by Colonel Light as the 
 future capital. "Adelaide" was built upon a creek leading- 
 out of St. Vincent's Gulf. The port was a mangrove 
 swamp, seven miles from the city; and the piano of Mrs. 
 Hindmarsh was floated ashore, through the surf, to a mud 
 bank covered with the debris of immigrants' furniture. 
 Hindmarsh having " read his commission under a gum-tree, 
 in the presence of about 200 immigrants and officials," 
 entered upon his duties by attempting to change the site of 
 the city. As the fortunate first-comers had already pur- 
 chased "eligible town lots" for a price upon which they 
 hoped to realise large profits, his efforts received determined 
 opposition, and a quarrel arose between Mr. Fisher and His 
 Excellency, which ended in His Excellency's recall. The 
 .Association now appointed Colonel Gawler, who united in 
 his own person the offices of Governor and Resident Com- 
 missioner, and reconciled conflicting parties. 
 
 Immigrants now began to arrive wholesale, and a fierce 
 competition ensued for the "town lots." Now the commis- 
 sioners had issued what they termed " preliminary orders" 
 at j£72 12s. each, which enabled the holder to select one 
 acre of capital and 120 acres of country land. The order of 
 this selection was governed by the chances of a lottery, con- 
 
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BUBBLE. 161 
 
 ducted on the principle of those which recently became so 
 notorious in Victoria. The first-comers having made their 
 selections, the remainder of the 12,000 acres of "city" was 
 put up to auction and sold to the highest bidder. The 
 majority of these "orders" were in the hands of the South 
 Australian Company. A gigantic '-land swindle'' was now 
 inaugurated. Instead of South Sea stock, or John Law's 
 paper-money, the speculators trafficked in blocks of country 
 which should be farms, and stretches of turf which would 
 soon be terraces. Mr. Davenport Dunn's scheme was real- 
 ised, and the " watering-place" was sold before a hut had 
 been built upon it. It will be easily seen that in this lottery 
 the holders of " preliminary orders" had the best of the game. 
 They held virtual pre-emptive rights, and the speculator 
 never knew but that at the last moment his next-door neigh- 
 bour would produce a "preliminary" order, and swoop upon 
 the section he had hoped himself to secure. A traffic took 
 place similar to that which had made and marred the adven- 
 turous Scotchman, and raised Mr. Secretary Craggs from 
 the footboard to the council. The "orders' were sold like 
 scrip, and a class of speculators and enthusiasts, of whom 
 Lord Lytton's "Cousin Jack" may be taken as a favourable 
 type, swarmed in the " nine square miles" of the unbuilt city. 
 Colonel Gawler arrived just precisely when this land- 
 jobbing was at its height, and when the reports of the 
 colony's prosperity had turned the heads of all the " in- 
 tending immigrants" in England. Nothing was left undone 
 by the Association to secuve the success of their infant 
 country. Mr. Gibbon Wakefield was in his glory. He was 
 the apostle of this new gospel of universal happiness at a 
 " sufficient price," and members of Parliament, bitten with 
 the desire to " do something popular," flocked around him, 
 eagerly proclaiming the excellence of his teaching and the 
 purity of his motives. Colonel Torrens himself did not dis- 
 dain to deliver lectures upon the propriety of emigrating at 
 once to Adelaide, and is reported to have monstrously 
 stated that that city held the same position with regard to 
 the valley of the Murray as New Orleans did t<» the valley 
 of the Mississippi. There was, however, no one to dispu'e 
 these assertions, and ship-load after ship load of g- n'l-m mi 
 and ladies left England for this Arcadia m the man-rove 
 swamp of St. Vincent's Gulf. To the new-comer fie , •■.!!- 
 dition of the infant colony was astonishing. The t>wn wa> 
 
 M 
 
162 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 formed oi' iron huts and wooden shanties, in which well- 
 dressed ladies played upon 100-guinea pianos, and gentlemen 
 in the most correct evening costume entertained their 
 friends with champagne and potted meats. Dandies who 
 six months before were strolling up Pall Mall, or lounging 
 in the stalls of the opera-house, waded in patent-leather 
 boots across the sand to leave cards upon newly-arrived 
 families of distinction, who — until their parks and palaces 
 became absolute tacts — occupied zinc-roofed cabins and 
 weatherboard cottages. While labour was in course of 
 becoming cheap, provisions became dear. Eight shillings 
 and ten shillings wore charged for a coarse meal, and " ser- 
 vants " were not to be had at any price. But the lottery 
 supplied money as fast as it was needed, and " young 
 pioneers of civilisation," having unpacked their fashionable 
 coats, pieced together their dogcarts, and got their blood 
 horses conveyed ashore at a cost that nearly equalled that 
 of the animals themselves, sold their "preliminary orders," 
 and gave supper-parties to each other at the Southern Cross 
 Hotel, to commemorate the fortunate moment when they 
 first undertook to found an empire. The inexhaustible 
 lottery supplied apparently inexhaustible funds, and as the 
 bank readily discounted the paper of notable purchasers, 
 the sellers found their sections transmuted from barren 
 blocks of unexplored country into cash and credit, both of 
 which seemed illimitable. Into the current madness 
 Governor Gawler seemed to fall. He set up public buildings 
 with ruinous rapidity. He organised a police at a rate of 
 expenditure which seems altogether incommensurate with 
 the then value of such a body. He built roads, wharfs, and 
 hospitals, and erected a Government-house at a cost of 
 £20,000. It was so evident that the colony was going to 
 become a second Carthage, that to do less would have 
 seemed mean in the eyes of the colonists. Having done this 
 he sat down in comfort, guarded by a volunteer corps, and 
 surrounded by a little court, consisting of the white-handed 
 gentlemen and ladies who were to be the aristocracy of this 
 mighty city of the mangrove swamp. 
 
 But this happy state of things was not long to last. Im- 
 migration began to check itself, and the price of land to 
 decrease. Wool-growing was found to be more profitable in 
 Port Phillip and New South Wales. The " healthy young 
 married couples," owning such preposterous tilings as home 
 
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN IJUIHiLE. 1G3 
 
 affections and family ties, refused to bo transplanted to the 
 South Australian Canaan, and such labourers as did come 
 were waiting to be employed by the ;: gentlemen farmers," 
 who were gambling in Adelaide. Moreover, such plebeian 
 commodities as beef and mutton began to grow scarce, and 
 the Carthaginians felt the pangs of famine. It is probable 
 that the place would have been abandoned altogether, but 
 for the "overlanders." "Overlanding" was a profitable and, 
 withal, romantic occupation. Young men of spirit, wearied 
 jf the capital, and prompted. by love of gain and adventure, 
 purchased cattle anil sheep in New South Wales, and drove 
 them "overland" to the ''New Orleans" of Colonel Torrens. 
 The journey w r as not without its perils. Hostile natives 
 attacked these Australian caravans, and the hot winds of the 
 north were no insufficient substitute for the simoom of the 
 Arabian deserts. The scanty streams of the interior were 
 coo often dry, and the adventurers, wandering from the track 
 in search of water, were lost in the barren wilderness that 
 bordered this new civilisation. Yet " overlanding" had 
 powerful charms. The life was free and vigorous. The 
 trammels of conventionality slipped from off the limbs of 
 these wrestlers with the power of the desert, and they felt 
 the joy of an almost savage independence. Traversing the 
 great grey forests, or camped by the edge of some friendly 
 waterhole, that, sheltered beneath its solitary clump of trees y 
 at once invited and forbade the journey into the limitless 1 
 plains ahead of it, the purveying patriarchs of this Australian 
 land felt that wonderful and subtle happiness which is born 
 of solitude and silence. Alone with their flocks and herds 
 in the vast wilderness, they found for the first time that'. 
 individuality which they had lost amid the buzz and roar of 
 the crowded capitals of Europe. . There 10,000 items went" 
 to swell the sum total of their importance. They were 
 recognised and respected by virtue of a million accidents. 
 Their tailors and boot-makers, married cousins and unmar- 
 ried uncles, all contributed to make them famous. Even a 
 man who owned the " nattiest groom in London" had a sort 
 of personal reputation, and many a worthy gentleman climbed 
 into notoriety on the shoulders of a cook or a coachman. 
 But in the cattle-yards and the camping -ground such aids to 
 .'elebrity were unrecognised. Personal prowess and personal 
 intelligence alone availed the ingenuous youth, who sought 
 for a place among the "overlanders." Unless he had in him 
 
164 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 aome quality which commanded respect, respect was not 
 accorded to him. But when after his fatigues, miseries, and 
 regrets, he reined his horse one day on the summit of some 
 mountain-spur, and seeing beneath him the wide waste of 
 the untrodden " bush," awoke suddenly to the consciousness 
 that he was the lord of that wilderness, that in it he could 
 live unmolested and secure, that he could find there a home 
 and a subsistence, with no aid but that of his own hands 
 and his own brains, then for the first time did he discover to 
 what a heritage of power his birthright as a "man" entitled 
 him. 
 
 The sleek " Downing-street colonists" of Adelaide were 
 astonished at the arrival of these sons of the wilderness. 
 The " trapper" of the Rocky Mountains found a parallel in 
 the bearded, embrowned overlander, with his keen eye and 
 ragged defiance of formula?. But with the rags and keenness 
 the parallel stopped. The gentleman stockowner was no more 
 to be compared in social relations to Rube Rawlins than was 
 Rube Rawlins to a gold-stick-in-waiting. Once arrived at 
 Adelaide, the rags and the defiance disappeared, and "new 
 arrivals fortunate enough to be admitted to the evening 
 parties of a lady of ' the highest ton, 1 were astonished to 
 find, when, to fill up basso in an Italian piece, she called 
 upon a huge man with brown hands, brown face, and a 
 flowing beard, magnificently attiied, in whom they recog- 
 nised the individual they had met the day before, in a torn 
 flannel Jersey, with" a short black pipe in his mouth." 
 Perhaps the life of an overlander was at that time one of 
 the most agreeable in the colony. The force of endurance 
 and intelligence not only received due acknowledgment in 
 the shape of praise and party-giving, but was substantially 
 recognised in current coin of the realm. Such a combination 
 of circumstances is rare. The banditti-like gentlemen ''who 
 rode blood horses, wore broad-brimmed sombreros trimmed 
 with fur and eagle plumes, scarlet flannel shirts, broad belts 
 filled with pistols, knives, and tomahawks," and who were 
 regarded by the Adelaidians with something of the feeling 
 which greeted "the arrival of a party of successful bucca- 
 neers in a quiet seaport with a cargo to sell, in old Dampier's 
 time," had not only the gratification of being the cynosure 
 of neighbouring eyes, but of making considerable profits on 
 their original outlay. But in the midst of this picturesque 
 extravagance came the final crash. In order to meet the 
 
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BUBBLE. 165 
 
 expenses of Utopia — in the way of buildings, roads, and 
 bridges — Colonel Gawler had drawn bills upon the Treasury, 
 and the commissioners and association losing credit, a series 
 of drafts to the amount of £69,000 was dishonoured. As 
 soon as this direful intelligence became known, the bubble 
 burst. A rapid exodus took place. The " working men," 
 poor fellows, finding themselves doubly deceived, threw 
 themselves upon the Government for support. The popu- 
 lation of the city '-diminished in twelve months to the 
 extent of 3000 souls." The price of food, rent, and wages 
 fell fifty per cent. Adelaide was almost deserted, and, like 
 the owls and the bats in the palaces of Palmyra, police horses 
 grazed in the gardens of the Governor. 
 
 Gawler was dismissed, and Mr. Gibbon Wakefield and his 
 friends endeavoured to put the burden of disgrace upon his 
 shoulders. That they at the time succeeded in doing this, 
 there is not a shadow of doubt, and until very lately Colonel 
 Gawler has been held the scapegoat of South Australian 
 colonisation. Lord Stanley, the Colonial Secretary, knocked 
 the last hole in the bottom of this sinking ship In 1842, 
 that far-seeing statesman brought in and passed two Acts, 
 one of which fixed the minimum price of land at £1 per 
 acre, while the other handed over the colony to the Govern- 
 ment of the Colonial Office. The effect of these measures 
 was immediate. As a land-speculating colony. South Aus- 
 tralia was ruined. It was found, moreover, that agriculture 
 could not be carried on at a profit with hired labour, and the 
 only paying pursuit in the country was wool-growing. The 
 despised " interior" was now let in " runs," and to the colonial 
 Meliboei, heaven at last vouchsafed that proverbial wealth 
 which springs from well-pressed woolpacks. Yet even this 
 wealth was long in arriving. The port of Adelaide was 
 deserted, and the visits of the "overlanders" had ceased. 
 The shipment of wool was attended with difficulty and 
 expense, and it seemed as though the bubble having burst, 
 the soap-suds were more alkaline than is usual. 
 
 In this plight, an accident restored the colony to some- 
 thing resembling its pristine glory. " The promoters of the 
 colony," says Mr. Samuel Sidney (to whom, together with 
 Mr. Forster, I am indebted for the materials of this sketch), 
 " had placed coals, marble, slate, and precious stones among 
 their probable exports; but copper and lead had not entered 
 into their calculations." Copper and lead, however, existed, 
 
166 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 and in 1843 Mr. Button and Captain Bagot purchased an 
 80-acrc section, which contained the " Kapunda mine." 
 South Australia was once more famous. Close upon the 
 "Kapunda" followed the " Burra Burra," and Mr. Kingsley 
 has already told the story of the second speculation-mania. 
 
 Application was made to the Governor for a special 
 survey of 20,000 acres, at £1 an acre. The application was 
 granted, and a day and hour fixed for the payment of the 
 £20,000 hi cash. Now, cash was scarce, and local interest 
 began to grow despondent. How coidd famine-stricken 
 Canaan raise £20,<!00 in cash. To add to the perplexity, 
 arrived from Sydney a party of speculators well supplied 
 with gold, and announced their intention of buying up the 
 "survey." A flash of the old gambling spirit reanimated 
 Adelaide. Sydney should not thus snatch the prize from 
 the grasp of the colonists. On the last day for payment a 
 desperate struggle was made to obtain the needful amount of 
 gold coin. " On that day," says Mr. Sidney, " many secret 
 hoards were dug out ; husbands learned that prudent wives 
 had unknown stores, and old women were even tempted to 
 draw their ,£1 and £2 from the recesses of old stockings. 
 Almost at the last minute the money was collected, counted, 
 and paid, and the richest copper mine in the world rewarded 
 the long sufferings of the South Australians." 
 
 But the whirligig of time brought in his revenges. The 
 " gentlemen " whose interests were so tenderly cared for by 
 Mr. Gibbon Wakefield were disgusted to think that the 
 " common " labourers should come between this wind of 
 good fortune and their own dilapidated nobility. Was this 
 to be the end of the " sufficient price " system 1 Forbid it, 
 Torrens ! 
 
 A lottery was proposed by which either section of the com- 
 munity should win or lose a chance in the unopened mine. 
 The "common" people won, and picked 10,000 acres, which 
 they called " Burra Burra." The "gentlemen" termed the 
 remaining portion the "Princess Royal." In 1850 the £50 
 scrip of the " gentlemen's" section was not worth £12, while 
 " Burra Burra" was, as Mr. Sidney called it, " the richest 
 copper mine in the world." Despite Mr. Gibbon Wake- 
 held, the " working man" had won the game after all. 
 
 Our bubble, cast in copper, may now be likened to one of 
 those contrivances of the domestic cistern which, let the 
 tap turn as it will, always keeps half its bulk above water, 
 
AN AUSTRALIAN CRUSOE. 
 
 Ox the 22nd of May, 1796, Henry Goodridge, the landlord 
 of the Crown and Anchor Commercial Inn, in the town of 
 Paignton, near Torbay, in Devon, took an additional horn 
 of ale because that a son was born to him. 
 
 The Goodridges are a well-known and respected family in 
 Paignton. Indeed, that village consists — to speak generally 
 — of but three families — the Goodridges, the Hunts, and 
 the Browses — and the three are so intermingled by marriage, 
 that there is not a Hunt or a Browse that is not in some 
 way related to a Goodridge. The birth of young Charles, 
 therefore, was the cause of some festivity, and gossips pre 
 dieted great things of him. The brat, however, did not 
 appear likely to flourish, being " subject to fits and weak 
 ness." He squinted terribly, moreover, and Mr. Thompson, 
 the u surgeon of the village," despaired of him. As he grew 
 he gained strength, and under the tuition of Mistress Lome, 
 the village " school madam," became an expert in the arts of 
 reading, writing, and arithmetic. 
 
 Paignton, communicating as it does with Brixham and 
 Dartmouth, was frequently visited by sailors " ashore" for 
 the spending of their pay, and the reckless jollity of these 
 fellows begat in Charles Goodridge a desire for a seafaring 
 life. As Mr. Oldmixon descended with his crew of valiant 
 mariners upon the staid seaport of Bideford, and inflamed 
 the minds of the wondering fishers with tales of glory on 
 the Spanish main, so did the tars from the " fleet" heat the 
 imaginations of the honest men of Devon with their yarns, 
 anent thrashing the u Mounseers," and pouching the prize 
 money. Master Goodridge — despite that his father kept an 
 inn on the Western-road, and was a warm man, with hia 
 stocking comfortably lined — must needs go to sea, and at the 
 
168 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 age of thirteen hired himself as cabin-boy on board the 
 " Lord Cochrane," a hired armed brig stationed off Torbay to 
 protect the fishing craft against the French cruisers. 
 
 The commander, Lieutenant Joseph Tyndall, agreed to 
 take the lad for '"three months on trial," and at the end of 
 that time he was bound apprentice to the owners, Mr Martin 
 Gibbs and Mr. Bulteel. Fairly entered upon the life he 
 had chosen for himself, Good ridge experienced a fair share 
 of the adventures current at that epoch He fought a Portin- 
 gallo with knives, and, to the honour of Devon, thrashed 
 him soundly. He came nigh to losing his life in a storm 
 off the coast of Wexford, and took part in an action with a 
 French privateer. In 1813 he shipped on board the '"Trial," 
 Captain Woolcott, of Dartmouth, engaged to transport parts 
 of the 20th and 38th regiments of foot to St. Sebastian, thence 
 to tight the French in Portugal and Spain. Having landed 
 the troops, not without some tiring from the forts surround- 
 ing the harbour, the " Trial," with six other vessels, was 
 despatched to Bilboa, to take home French prisoners, and 
 Goodridge hints darkly of the horrors of the passage. The 
 '■ Trial" then returned to Spain with medicines and stores 
 for the army, but Goodridge did not sail in her. A fortunate 
 circumstance for him, as she was totally wrecked at St. 
 Andero. The next five years were spent in voyaging in any 
 trader that would ship him, and notwithstanding that he 
 was tw^ce shipwrecked, and once nearly captured by pirates, 
 his ardour for the sea was in no way abated. Being at home 
 in April, 1820, his mother vehemently prayed him to remain; 
 but he — headstrong and hot blooded — vowed that he would 
 ship for a longer voyage than any he had hitherto attempted, 
 and would not return home fur seven years. His vow was 
 fulfilled with interest. 
 
 Going to London on the 1st of May, 1820, he found a 
 cutter of 75 tons, the '• Princess of Wales, ' commanded by 
 Captain William Veale. about to sail on a sealing trip to 
 the South Sean, and instantly, lull ot hope of adventure, 
 entered on board her. The date of this turning point in his 
 fortune was rendered remarkable by the fact that it was the 
 day on which the Cato-street conspirators were executed, 
 and Goodridge, going to witness the brutal ceremony, came 
 nigh being pressed to death in the crowd. The " Princess 
 of Wales" had formerly been a Margate hov, and was 
 
AN AUSTRALIAN CRUSOE. 169 
 
 bought by Messrs. Bark worth and Brook, of 80 Old Broad- 
 street, London, specially for this expedition. The crew 
 consisted of the commander, the mate (Mathias Mazora, an 
 Italian), ten mariners, and three boys. The u agreement," 
 signed by owners and crew, was to the effect that the vessel 
 " was to proceed to the South Seas after oil, tins, skins, and 
 ambergris, each mariner to have his share one out of ev<-ry 
 ninety skins procured, the boys proportionately less, the 
 officers proportionately more." So. with a fair wind, they 
 sailed from Limehouse Hole on the 9th of May, and arrived 
 at Torbay on the 16th. Being weatherbound for three days, 
 Good ridge goes to bid farewell to his family at Paignton, 
 and leaves them with a sorrowful heart, his only sister being 
 ill of consumption, and not expected to recover. 
 
 On the 3rd of July the '• Princess of Wales " arrives at 
 St. Jago, and having watered, crosses the line on the 19th 
 of July, makes for the banks of Brazil, and, meeting the 
 westerly gales, steers for Walwich Bay, on the African 
 coast. Here they. explore in search of water, and fall in 
 with "500 savages, all naked, but armed with spears" 
 These gentry, however, being informed that the white men 
 had not come to enslave them — their sad experience of 
 white men — grew friendly, and a barter was begun. Says 
 Goodridge, " For small quantities of iron hoop, bread, and 
 tobacco, we obtained bullocks, goats, and ivory. The iron 
 hoop was termed by the natives cantabar, the tobacco 
 baccassah." 
 
 They round the Cape in boisterous weather towards the 
 end of September, and failing to make the islands of Mar- 
 saven and Diana, steer for Prince Edward's Islands (lat. 46 
 deg. 40 min. S , long. 38 deg. 3 min. E), which they sight 
 on the 1st of November. Next day they set to work. The 
 operation of sealing as pursued by these mariners is not 
 child's play. There is no harbour for shekel-, and it is 
 therefore necessary that one party go ashore provided with 
 provisions, while the remainder of the crew look alter the 
 vessel and salt the hides already procured. The wind is 
 violent, and chops perpetually, so that scarcely having made 
 all snug under the lee of the island, they would be compelled 
 to slip cable and stand out to &ea. The land, barren of tree 
 or shrub, affords no shelter for the shore-going, party, and 
 their boat hauled upon shore serves them for a dwelling- 
 
170 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 house." Their provisions are salt pork, bread, coffee, and 
 molasses, and upon this hard fare they are compelled to 
 violent labour in hunting and killing the seals. We can 
 imagine that, cold and wet, cut to the bone by the bleak 
 gales, and soaked by the biting brine, Goodridge and party 
 were not in the most cheerful plight. In addition, more- 
 over, to the physical hardship, was the ever-present anxiety 
 that the ship might be driven out to sea by one of the con 
 stantly -recurring gales, and that they should see her no 
 more. 
 
 The fortune of the party was so dismal, that it was 
 resolved to go on to the Crozets, which were made on 
 Christmas Day. The Crozets are about lat. 46 deg. 47 min„ 
 S., long. 46 deg. 50 min. E., and are seldom visited. They 
 are live in number, and form a sort of irregular triangle, 
 the largest being about 25 miles in circumference. Barren 
 of herbage, and almost iron-bound, these rocks of mid-ocean 
 serve only as a home of seals, or a roosting-place for wander- 
 ing sea-birds. The "rookeries" of the king-penguin and 
 the booby-bird abound, extending sometimes for half a mile 
 along the shore, while the rocks, at low tide, are resorted to 
 by large numbers of sea-elephants — a larger kind of seal. 
 In this wild and desolate spot did Captain Veale hope to 
 make the fortune which should rejoice the eyes of his young 
 wife in Devon. The sight of the seals along the shore, the 
 incessant cry of the flocks of gannets and petrels that 
 darkened the air, and the ludicrous aspect of the penguin 
 waddling affrightedly to their nests, inspirited the crew of 
 the cutter, and they landed with high hope. 
 
 On the 5th of February, having already collected about 
 700 skins, it was resolved by Captain Veale that the eight 
 sealers should proceed to the easternmost island, while the 
 l-emaining six should, under his command, take the vessel to 
 a bay in the island first touched at, where she would, he 
 thought, ride in safety. The division was made as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 * The method of thus turning a boat into a house is culled " tus- 
 sicking." The boat is turned bottom upwards, one gunwale is raised 
 three or four feet, by means of a sort of turf wall, leaving an opening 
 sufficiently large for a man to crawl in or out, as a doorway. A fire 
 of sea-elephant blubber is made at this opening, and each man, on 
 retiring, take% his station between the thwarts of the boat, where he 
 usually rows. 
 
AN AUSTRALIAN CRUSOE. 171 
 
 •j The sealing party? — Mathias Mazora, mate, aged 46, in 
 command, Italian; Dominick Spesinick, aged 50, Italian; 
 Einanue] Petherbridge, nged 24. Dartmouth; John Soper, 
 aged 17, Dartmouth: Richard Millechant, aged 16, Dart- 
 mouth ; John Norman, aged 24, London ; John Piller, aged 
 25, London; John Walters, aged 46, London. Eight in all 
 
 In the vessel: — William Veale, aged 28, in command, 
 Dartmouth; Jarvis Veale, his brother, aged 24, Dartmouth; 
 Henry Parnell, aged 17; William Hooper, aged 28; Ben- 
 jamin Baker, aged 16, London; John Newbee, aged 24. 
 Hanover; Charles Goodridge, aged 24, Paignton. Seven in 
 all. 
 
 It was customary for those on the vessel to visit the 
 sealing-party every week with provisions, take on board the 
 skins collected, employing themselves in the meantime in 
 salting those already obtained. The last time such a visit. 
 was made was on the 10th of March, in very boisterous 
 weather. 
 
 On the 17th, a gale came on from the S.E. Veale thought 
 it advisable to gain an offing, and the " Princess of Wales" 
 slipped her cable accordingly, and stood out to sea. Before 
 she had proceeded any distance it fell a dead and ominous 
 calm, the swell still continuing. It was impossible to launch 
 a boat in that heaving sea, and equally impossible to anchor, 
 for repeated soundings gave no bottom. The island presented 
 to their view a perpendicular cliff, with numerous jagged 
 rocks projected into the angry sea, and against this cruel 
 wall they were momentarily drifting. It was midnight and 
 moonless. There was not a breath of air, and the; only 
 sound that met their ears was the roar of the surf that 
 was soon to engulf them. Says Goodridge: — "The sus- 
 pense was, truly awful ; indeed, the horrors we experienced 
 were far more dreadful than I had ever felt or witnessed, 
 even in the most violent storms; for on such occasions 
 the persevering spirits of Englishmen will struggle with 
 the elements, even to the last blast, or to the last wave 
 that may overwhelm them; but here there was nothing 
 to combat: we were led on by an invisible power. All 
 was calm above us; around us, the surface of the sea, 
 although raised into a mountainous swell, was compara- 
 tively smooth ; but the distant sound of its continual 
 crash on the breakers, to which we were drawn by an irre- 
 sistible force, broke on our ears as our death-knell, and 
 
172 OLD TALES OP A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 every moment brought us nearer to what appeared inevit- 
 able destruction." 
 
 [Realers fond of coincidences can compare Poe's account 
 of the noiseless storm at the end of Arthur Gordon Pym^\ 
 
 At length, at a little after 12, the cutter struck with 
 g<eat violence, and was instantly ashore, exposed to the full 
 fury of the waves. Veale desperately got out the boat, and 
 each one flinging into her something he deemed of value, 
 the seven scrambled out of the sinking vessel. A fine rain 
 was falling, the boat was surrounded by rocks, masses of 
 floating kelp impeded their progress, and the nearest shore 
 was a perpendicular cliff of great height. To add to the 
 terror of their situation, an enormous whale, driven in by 
 the storm, rose close to them, and began beating the water 
 " within a few yards of the stern of the boat." From this 
 sea-giant their good fortune preserved them, and by dint 
 of tugging at the oars they succeeded, after four hours' 
 incessant labour, in effecting a landing on the beach. So 
 great was the violence of the surf, that the boat was 
 swamped and nearly carried out to sea. All clinging to her 
 at imminent risk of their own lives, they got her on shore, 
 and turning her bottom upwards, crept under her. and thus 
 sought sleep, " being all miserably cold, wet, and hungry." 
 
 In the morning they held review of their possessions, and 
 found that in addition to the knives, steels, and fire-bags, 
 which each one carried in his belt, they had but a kettle and 
 frying-pan. The fire-bag, as it is termed, is a necessary to a 
 sealer. It consists of a tinder-box and cotton, secured from 
 the damp in a tarpaulin case. In this lamentable state of 
 affairs, they sallied forth to procure food, and speedily 
 despatched a sea-elephant, with whose blubber they kindled 
 a tire by which to cook the more toothsome portions of his 
 carcase. 
 
 Thus warmed and fed, an expedition was made over the 
 rocks to the spot where the cutter had foundered the night 
 before, but it was seen at the first glance that all hopes of 
 saving her must be abandoned. She was lying on the rocks 
 on her beam ends, with a large hole gaping in her lower 
 planks, and the still heavy sea breaking over her rendered it 
 impossible that .she should hold together much longer. Their 
 endeavours must now be addressed to saving such fragments 
 of wood, nails, bolts, &c, as might be made serviceable to 
 them. 
 
AN AUSTRALIAN CRUSOE. 173 
 
 On the following morning (19th March), the boat was 
 launched, and. aespite a rough sea, they succeeded in pick- 
 ing up the captains chest and the mate's chest. The next 
 day they were rejoiced by some crusts of bread, but, as 
 if to mock them, the bread appeared sodden with sea- 
 water, and not eatable. They found also on this day the 
 only shred of paper, or printed matter, saved from the sea. 
 Captain Cox, the agent of the Merchant Seaman's Bible 
 Society, had vished the " Princess of Wales" at Gravesend, 
 and had presented the captain and crew with one of the Bibles 
 provided by the society for distribution. William Hooper, 
 seeing something floating in the water, recognised the gift of 
 good Captain Cox, and crying out lustily, "Pull up! Pull 
 up! Here's our Bible!" the book was secured. ''What 
 made this circumstance the more remarkable," says Good- 
 ridge, " was, that although we had a variety of other books 
 on board, such as our navigation books, journals, log-books, 
 <fec, this was the only article of the kind that we found, nor 
 did we discover the smallest shred of paper of any kind 
 except this Bible; and still equally surprising was it, that 
 after we had carefully dried the leaves, it was so little 
 injured, that its binding remained in a very servicable con- 
 dition, and continued so as long as I had an opportunity of 
 using it." 
 
 The Bible, which was afterwards to afford those pious 
 men of Devon much consolation, was the last thing saved 
 from the wreck. The next day nothing remained of her but 
 the topmast, which was entangled with some weeds. 
 
 During the next three weeks the weather continued so wet 
 and boisterous that it was as much as they could do to procure 
 food for themselves but at the end of that time collecting 
 the materials they had saved, they set about erecting for 
 themselves a sort of hut. They sank a foundation, and 
 rolled fragments of rock together, piling them one upon the 
 other until a rude wall was obtained. This being thatched 
 with grass — let it be remembered that there was not a tree 
 or bush on the whole island — made a tolerable housing pla< e, 
 and to render it the more snug, Veale recommended that the 
 rafters should be covered, where practicable, with the skins 
 of the sea-elephants, which was done. 
 
 The hut was divided into bunks with strips of planks, ;uid 
 one long plank nailed at the foot of these bed-places stcod 
 them in lieu of chairs. Their table was the ground. V. ale 
 
174 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 erected for himself a separate sleeping-place at the end of 
 the hut towards the sea. 
 
 While this rude cabin was in course of construction, they 
 discovered traces of a party of Americans who were known 
 to have visited the islands some sixteen years before, and to 
 have built a hut and other conveniences, but the sea elephants 
 had trodden everything into the ground. John Soper, how- 
 ever, searching for eggs, found a pick-axe, which he brought 
 home in great glee. With this pick-axe they dug up the 
 earth around the ruined hut, and found some pieces of 
 timber, together with several nails, and — most glorious 
 discovery — a part of a, pitch-pot, which would hold about a 
 gallon. By aid of a piece of hoop, this relic was made to 
 do duty as a frying pan, and upon finding a " broad axe, a 
 sharpening- stone, a piece of shovel, and an auger," the party 
 considered themselves over-burdened with ironmongery. The 
 handle of the old frying-pan, which was worn so thin from 
 constant use that it was nearly worn out, was affixed to & 
 handle, and being ground sharp, made a formidable weapon 
 for the killing of seals. 
 
 Let us now consider what productions the island afforded 
 to these Crusoes. The first and great mainstay of their 
 necessities was the sea-elephant. This creature, which 
 appears from Goodridge's account of it to be a sort of 
 walrus, abounded. The largest elephants were about 25 fee^ 
 long, and 18 feet in circumference. Their blubber was not 
 unfrequently seven inches thick. One of these huge brutes 
 " boiled down" would yield, according to Goodridge's esti- 
 mation, nearly a ton of oil. The males made their regular 
 appearance about the middle of August, assembling in great 
 numbers along the beach. Fierce combats took place among 
 them, the which were often witnessed by the castaways} 
 who, recognising the various bulls by notable scars won in 
 past fights, " named them according to their prowess, Nelson, 
 Wellington, Blucher, and Bonaparte." The females have 
 their young early in September, and suckle them for aboux 
 live weeks. The calves when just born are quite black, 
 having beautiful, glossy skins, found to be, says Goodridge,- 
 an excellent material for caps. The females return to the 
 sea in October, having finished nursing their unwieldy* 
 infants; but the bulls often proceed inland for two or three 
 miles, and, sometimes to the number of more than a hundred, 
 live amicably together until December. By that time—: 
 
AN AUSTRALIAN I'UUSOK. I7fi 
 
 reduced almost to skeletons by reason of their long fast 
 they return to the sea. In February they come up again in 
 good condition, and lie huddled together like pigs, occasion- 
 ally indulging in sham tights, regarded by the seamen as pre 
 paratory to the real fights in August. 
 
 The sea-elephants served Goodridge and his party lor meat, 
 washing, lodging, tiring, lamp-light, shoe-leather, sewing- 
 thread, grates, washing-tubs, and tobacco pipes! For food 
 they used the heart, tongue, sweet-bread, snotters (the fleshy 
 proboscis which hangs over the nose, and gives the creature 
 its name), and the tlippers. The flesh was not unpalatable, 
 and the flippers boiled into a jelly, together with some egg.s 
 and a pigeon or two, made a soup that might not be despised 
 by a gourmet. For the " washing tub " they turned the 
 elephant on his back, and, having removed the intestines, 
 allowed the blood to flow into the cavity, and washed their 
 linen dipped in the blood, as a washerwoman would in soap 
 suds. After rinsing it two or three times in the running 
 brook close by, the linen was cleansed as well as if they had 
 used the best soap for the purpose. " Grates " were made 
 of the bones placed crosswise, upon which pieces of blubber 
 were laid. Lighted "lamps " were constructed of pieces of 
 rope yarn drawn through lumps of blubber (which could be 
 obtained in masses of a foot square) and it was found that 
 the firm grease melted slowly. " Shoes " were composed of 
 strips of skin cut to the shape of the foot, and drawn round 
 the ankle with thongs, while — great achievement — excellent 
 tobacco-pipes were made of the elephant's hollowed teeth us 
 bowls, perforated by the wing-bones of the water-fowl as 
 stems. As a substitute for tobacco they smoked dried grass. 
 
 Second on their list came seals. These were not plentiful, 
 and their flesh was, moreover, found to be rank. The dog 
 seals are called Wigs, the female seals Clapmatches, and the 
 young seals Pompeys. Anybody with a taste for research 
 can amuse himself by discovering the origin of these remark- 
 able expressions. 
 
 There was no lack of fish or fowl upon the island. Sea- 
 birds frequented the place in vast numbers. Four varieties 
 of penguin are mentioned, to which Goodridge gives the 
 names of King Penguins, Macarooneys, Johnnies, and Rock 
 Hoppers. The last named arc described as being somewhat 
 larger than a duck, build their nests among the cliffs and 
 rocks, congregating in numbers of thr^e or four hundred 
 
176 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 together. The Johnnies and Rock Hoppers suffered them- 
 selves to be robbed of their eggs without attempting resist- 
 ance. The King Penguin, however, is more pugnacious, 
 and uses its winglets as flappers, wherewith to box the ears 
 of the assailant of its nest. 
 
 In addition to these were "Nellies" — a sort of goose — 
 albatrosses, petrels, eaglets, divers, teal, and pigeons. The 
 albatross build their nests on the plains, and live in clubs of 
 about 200 members. If the ground be at all marshy, they 
 raise their nests about two feet, by digging a trench round 
 them and throwing up the earth in the middle. It is to b3 
 presumed that none of the castaways had read The Ancient 
 Mariner, or that if they had, they did not share the super- 
 stition of that single-speech sailor. " On Sundays," says 
 Goodridge, " our dinner consisted of giblet soup, prepared 
 from the heads, feet, &c, of the albatross, which were first 
 scalded in boiling water, and then cooked in our best stle." 
 The pigeons were caught with nooses and baits, as the New 
 Zealanders catch the mallee hen. 
 
 The only vegetable on the island was a plant resembling 
 a cabbage in appearance. William Hooper, who had sailed 
 in the South Seas, thought this plant a great prize, having 
 eaten one resembling it when on his whaling trips, but on a 
 first trial of the enticing vegetable it proved bitter and 
 uneatable, and it was not until they boiled it for some hours 
 they could stomach it. 
 
 Fortunately they were able to vary their flesh diet by fish. 
 " Our mode of fishing," says the narrator, ' ; was certainly a 
 novel one. One party used to take long strips of the sea- 
 elephant's blubber, and, putting one end close to the water, 
 a fish resembling a gurnet would come and nibble at it, and 
 then, by drawing it gently up the sloping rocks, the fish 
 would follow it far eaough for another person, watching his 
 opportunity, to strike it a smart blow with a club, and thus 
 knock it sufficiently far up the rock to enable him to secure 
 it. They had, however, in course of time, become so shy, 
 that they were not to be taken in this way, and we were 
 obliged to have recourse to a more scientific method; for this 
 purpose we took out the rings that were attached to our 
 sharpening steels, and, having sufficiently heated them in the 
 fire, we bent them into the shape of fishing-hooks, and then 
 gave them good points with the sharpening stone we so fortu- 
 nately found in digging where the previous visitors to the island 
 
AN AUSTRALIAN CRUSOE. 177 
 
 .had formed their hut. Having now fishing-hooks, our next 
 affair was to manufacture li.es. and this we soon managed 
 by untwisting portions of the cordage we had saved from 
 the wreck; and by retwisting the oakum into small threads, 
 and those again into cord, we were fully equipped to make 
 war on the finny tribe; the blubber also forming a very 
 enticing bait, we had soon a plentiful supply; and fish, flesh, 
 and fowl frequently smoked on our board at one meal — even 
 an epicure could have found but little fault with a dinner 
 where two of the courses were soup and fish." 
 
 Imagining themselves cut off for ever from civilisation, 
 they determined to spend their lives hopefully and with good 
 cheer. Mr. Veale having preserved his watch, they were 
 able to regulate their time with tolerable accuracy, and 
 marked out for themselves a course of life suitable to their 
 condition. They rose at eight in the morning, and break- 
 fasted at nine. After breakfast some of the party went 
 catering for the day's provisions, while others remained " at 
 home" to cook and wash. " We dined at one," says Good- 
 ridge, " and took tea about five." "Tea" was simple, con- 
 sisting of raw eggs beaten up in water. This mess they 
 called " Mocoa." On grand occasions they added to their 
 Mocoa the brain of the sea-elephant, which was very sweet 
 and palatable. A chapter of the Bible having been read by 
 Veale, they retired to rest at ten. 
 
 Even in this society of outcasts, religious differences found 
 a place. Mathias Mazora, the mate, was a "professed 
 atheist," and set himself to deride and make sport of the 
 religious exercises of his honest comrades. It is gratifying, 
 however, to find that the atheism of Mr. Mazora was 
 promptly snuffed out. The free-thinker laboured under the 
 disadvantage of not knowing much Euglish, and therefore, 
 however convincing his arguments may have been, he was 
 unable to deliver them with the force he could have wished. 
 " Befng extremely ignorant," says Goodridge, " not being 
 able to read, at least not the English language, and having 
 no one to second him, his conduct did not disturb the 
 general harmony that reigned among us." Moreover, a 
 4< marvellous conversion " is related of this atheistical ma- 
 riner. It is probable that his brain was never very strong, 
 and that solitude and anxiety did not tend to strengthen it. 
 He is either a great liar, or his atheism — which one can 
 presume him to have professed, as being a less troublesome 
 
 N 
 
178 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 creed than any with which ho was acquainted — turned to 
 " insanity." Through much listening to Scripture, he strove 
 to enact the story of Saul of Tarsus in his own person, and 
 forthwith indulged in a " vision " of a most orthodox and 
 gratifying nature. One evening, when alone, seeking for 
 birds' nests, darkness overtook him before he could reach 
 the hut; the ground round about was full of huge pits of 
 slime made by the sea-elephants, and Mazora, being afraid of 
 tumbling into one of these, sat down despairingly. In this 
 plight, and considering earnestly his desperate needs, he 
 betook himself vigorously to prayer. In a few moments a 
 bright light appeared about him, and he was enabled to 
 reach the hut in safety. To those familiar with such mar- 
 vellous narrations, it is superfluous to add, that from that 
 moment Mathias Mazora became a true believer. 
 
 Thus with superstition, or imposture, already engendered 
 among them, the little troop ate their elephants and lived 
 monotonously on for nine months. A fire, which nearly 
 burnt their boat-hut, was their only diversion. On the 13th 
 of December, however, they were unexpectedly cheered by 
 meeting with their lost companions. 
 
 The staling-party — left, it will be remembered, on the 10th 
 of March — had come to the conclusion that the "Princess of 
 Wales'' had been wrecked in the storm. Moving from place 
 to place, as the fortune of food compelled them, they had at 
 last determined on visiting the island where there com- 
 panions had, all unknown to them, found refuge. The 
 meeting was joyous, and the new comers having, not silver 
 and gold, but a frying-pan, nails, and hammer, the comfort 
 of the little colony was materially increased. 
 
 Before the two parties had met, the terror of death in that 
 solitude had seized the marocned men. and they had solemnly 
 marked out a grave-yard, and fixed each upon his own grave. 
 Now life stirred strong within them. 
 They resolved to build a ship! 
 
 This was an arduous undertaking, for save sonic gig-antic 
 trees (upheaved, the simple men thought, by an earthquake) 
 they had no timber. Their stock of nails was scanty, and 
 they had but their boat sails as canvas. Loth to destroy 
 their boat, they determined to make use of the logs of wood, 
 and after many long consultations, resolved on their course 
 of action. 
 
 The vessel should be 20ft. long, of 12 tons burden, and 
 
AN AUSTRALIAN CRUSOE. 179 
 
 Ingger-rigged. They would build her out of the wood used 
 for the huts and the timber left by the American patty. 
 They would make sails for her of sealskin. When she was 
 completed, a solemn casting of lots should be had with 
 prayer, and the five thus chosen should put to sea in the 
 hope of falling in with some ship and bringing succour to 
 their companions. Accordingly, early in the year 1822 they 
 set to work. They were divided into two parties, one to 
 obtain provisions, while the other worked. The poor fellows 
 presented a strange appearance. Their clothes had worn out, 
 and they had attempted to make themselves garments of seal- 
 skin. These were little more, than bags buttoned on, in true 
 bush and sailor fashion, by slips of wood in lieu of buttons. 
 The all-purveying sea-elephant supplied these, as well as 
 oakum for the boat and stores of provisions for the voyage. 
 The topmast of the cutter formed the keel of this wonderful 
 vessel, and her sides were patched with heaven knows what 
 artfulness of planking, cut with iron hoops, burnt out with 
 fire of seal-blubber, nailed with wooden rivets, and caulked 
 with fur run together with tallow. 
 
 In nine months, that is to say in January, 1823, the 
 " vessel" was in a fit state for launching. '' Such as she 
 was," says Goodridge: "one ship-carpenter working with 
 ordinary tools might have made her in two months." 
 
 All hands were now summoned to assist in the launch, 
 when an accident occurred which came near to overturning 
 all their plans. The hunting-party, returning to the huts in 
 their boat, met with a storm which beat in the stern of their 
 craft, and cast them ashore. It was necessary that they 
 should waste more precious time in repairing this damage. 
 Without tools they toiled many days to make the boat sum 
 ciently seaworthy to enable them to rejoin their companions. 
 One day Dominick Spesinick, who was an elderly man, left 
 them to stroll along the shore. In a short time he returned 
 gesticulating with vehemence, but speechless. Rough Veale 
 asks, " What the devil is the foolish fellow at?" and at hwt 
 comprehends that Spesinick, being on a high point of land, 
 has seen a vessel. The party had been so often deceived by 
 the appearance of large birds, which, sitting on the water, had 
 all the form of a distant ship, that they declined to believe 
 the story, and, afraid of the cruel disappointment, refused to 
 follow Spesinick. His impassioned entreaties, however, at 
 last prevailed, and it was decided that John Soper should 
 
180 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 go with him, carrying a tinder-box in order that he might 
 make a fire if necessary, and attract the notice of the crew. 
 The pair started. Night fell and they did not return. It 
 was suggested that they had seen the vessel, and got aboard 
 her. Others, more charitable in their conclusions, affirmed 
 that the vessel was but the phantom of the old man's brain, 
 and that he would return with his wearied comrade before 
 morning broke. The day dawned, however, upon that sleep- 
 less night, and yet no sign of the scouts. "It's all a dream 
 of his," said Veale; "we had better go and look for our food, 
 lest our friends fail f to launch the newly-built boat, and we 
 perish here alone." 
 
 They had already spread themselves along the shore, when 
 Millechant gives utterance to a wild shout, and runs whoop- 
 ing like a madman along the sand. A boat full of men 
 cheering in English is coming straight to them over the 
 sparkling sea. Down go eggs and blubber, and the rescued 
 maimers, stumbling forward, caper and weep in extravagance 
 of joy. ^ 
 
 Spesinick and Soper had chased the phantom all night. 
 The old man sank at last overpowered with fatigue at the 
 summit of a cliff, from which they could both see a schooner 
 sailing smartly from the island. Soper tries to kindle a tire, 
 but fails; runs down into a valley, and loses sight of the 
 vessel; finally fires the fern in despair, and sends up a 
 smoke like ^Etna. The schooner lays to, and sends a boat; 
 but sees no one. The sailors go ashore to explore, and on 
 returning find a wild figure clad in skins clinging to the sides 
 of the boat. It is old Spesinick. 
 
 The schooner is an American, the " Philo," Isaac Perceval, 
 master, bound for the South Seas on a whaling and trading 
 voyage. Perceval receives them all aboard, and the next 
 day they quit the Crozets, leaving their ship still on the stocks. 
 
 The captain had some disinclination to taking on board all 
 the party, but eventually consented to do so. It was agreed 
 that the rescued men should be landed on the Isle of France, 
 and that in the meantime they should assist the crew of the 
 " Philo" in seal-fishing. This arrangement having been con- 
 cluded, the "Philo" sot sail for St. Paul's Island (about 1100 
 miles to the north-east of the Crozets), and arrived there on 
 the 3rd of February. The venture of the " Philo" was suc- 
 cessful. The coa.st abounded with fish, and seal were plenti- 
 ful. They continued at their work until the 1st of April. 
 
AN AUSTRALIAN CRUSOE. 181 
 
 Towards the end of March the shipwrecked men began to 
 feel the restraints of such rude civilisation as they had 
 imposed upon themselves. Soper and Newbee, indeed 
 desired to remain on one of the islands, offering to take 
 their chance of a vessel arriving to rescue them. As 
 Amsterdam Island is situated in the direct track of all 
 vessels going to JS"ew South Wales, there was not so much 
 madness in the pi'oposition as might at hist be apparent. 
 Captain Perceval agreed, making them first sign a document 
 stating that they were so left by their own expressed desire. 
 The two self-reliant mariners having been then left to their 
 own devices, a dispute arose between the refugees and the 
 crew. Mazora, the whilom mate, declared that the captain 
 did not allow him sufficient clothing, and vowed that he 
 would report the negligence to the authorities of the Isle 
 of France. The captain, justly incensed at this ingratitude, 
 took a severe course : he put Master Mazora ashore. The 
 sympathies of the refugees being with their comrade, nine 
 of them came aft in a body, and said that if Mazora was 
 put ashore they would go with him. The captain would not 
 budge from his determination, and all but the brothers Veale 
 and Petheridge left the schooner. 
 
 Thus landed for a second time upon a desert island, the 
 plucky fellow r s did not despair. There was for them a toler- 
 able house, built by former seal-fish ers, and the island was 
 not far out of the usual track of shipping. They hoped to 
 be soon picked up by a passing vessel, and to have in the 
 meantime accumulated as many sealskins as would pay their 
 passage home. So for two months they lived, eating craw- 
 fish, wild hog, and seal. Some former occupant of the place 
 had sown turnips, the tops of which served to flavour their 
 soup. 
 
 On the 3rd of June, at daybreak, as seven of them were 
 lying in their hut, John Piller, who lay opposite the door, 
 started up, crying, "A sail! a sail!" They kindled a signal 
 fire, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing the vessel 
 approach the land. The weather was boisterous, and it was 
 not until the next day that a boat came ashore. The vessel 
 was the " Success," a sloop of 28 tons burthen, and was 
 tender to the " King George," Captain Bryant, whaler. It 
 had previously been agreed between the masters of the two 
 vessels, that if they lost each other they should steer for St. 
 Paul's or Amsterdam as a rendezvous. The " Success" 
 
182 OLD TALE8 OF A \oUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 having missed her mate, was now fulfilling lier part of the 
 contract. Mr. Anderson, the master of the sloop, found 
 upon examination of his provisions that he could feed but 
 three more mouths, and it was agreed that lots should be 
 drawn by the exiles. Three were away fishing, but the 
 remaining seven cut up pieces of paper, and having marked 
 three of the pieces with the letter "P," put them into the 
 bag and drew. The three prize-holders were Goodridge, 
 Barker, and Piller. The two latter, however, feared to 
 embark in so small a craft for so long a voyage, and gave up 
 their chance to Hooper and Walters. Walters was eager to 
 go, recognising in the " Success" a craft which he himself had 
 helped to build in South Georgia some years before. 
 
 The " Success" brought news of Soper and Newbee. 
 Soper, who had been a wild fellow in his youth, and had 
 run away to sea, took a notion in his head that his grand- 
 mother, who lived at Dartmouth, had died and left him 
 money. Being impressed with this idea, his desire to remain 
 on the island vanished, and the " Success" coming in sight, 
 he and his companion nailed together a few boards, and put 
 off to her. Anderson agreed to take him, but Newbee, 
 unwilling to leave his " skins," refused to go, and after some 
 conversation Soper resolved not to abandon his companion.. 
 The two strangely-mated men shook hands with the crew, 
 and stepped again upon their frail raft with intent to reach 
 the island. Those on board the " Success" watched them 
 until near the shore, and saw a monstrous wave suddenly 
 engulph them. The fury of the surf forbade all attempt at 
 rescue, and the adventurous pair perished. 
 
 After a stormy passage, during which provision and fuel 
 ran so short that the eleven mouths had but 5 -J ozs. of pork 
 and a raw potato apiece daily, the " Success" arrived at 
 Hobart Town. Hooper recognised a shipmate of his named 
 Richard Sands, who had been transported for smuggling, 
 and asked him for assistance. Sands being in the boat's 
 crew of the port officer, Dr. E. F. Bromley, begged that 
 gentleman to aid the shipwrecked mariners. Dr. Bromley 
 — a good Samaritan -fed and clothed them, and by-and-by, 
 the sale of their sealskins placed them in tolerable comfort. 
 Goodridge now began to write a narrative of his adventures, 
 and was in the midst of his work when a curious incident 
 occurred. Mr. Brooks, one of the owners of the " Princess 
 of Wales" arrived from Ri island. 
 
A* AUSTRALIAN CRUSOK. 1 8-3 
 
 Brooks was asked to dinner with Dr. Bromley, and happen- 
 ing in the course of conversation .to mention that he had 
 lost a vessel in the South Seas, Bromley slapped his list on 
 the table, and bid a servant call up the men who were below. 
 Goodridge appeared and told his story; "at which," says he, 
 "Mr. Brooks was delighted, as it gave him an opportunity 
 to prove the loss of the vessel, and thus recover the in 
 surance." 
 
 The captain of the vessel that brought out Brooks ottered 
 to take the three back to England, but Walters only accepted 
 the offer. Walters had a wife in London, but upon reach- 
 ing home discovered that she had married again, thinking 
 him dead. The vulgar Enoch Arden did not die. Like a 
 prosaic man, he returned again to sea, and left the lady in 
 peace with her spouse. 
 
 Hooper and Goodridge remained at Dr. Bromley's for two 
 months, when Hooper shipped on a whaling voyage, and 
 Goodridge hired a boat from Mr. Bethuneand began trading 
 in tire-wood. The Crusoe had now settled down to earn a 
 civilised livelihood, and his story for seven years is that of 
 an industrious and hard-working man. He entered into the 
 service of Mi*. Austin (who kept the Roseneath Ferry), near 
 New Norfolk, and eventually hired the ferry-boat from him, 
 and made money. He became acquainted with Mr. Austin 
 through a man named Davis, who was transported for robbing 
 adwellinghouse at Torbay, and had been employed in Austin's 
 service. Mr. Austin proved a firm friend to Goodridge, who 
 became a sort of retainer of the Austin family, and in the 
 year 1831 went home to England in the same vessel with 
 Mr. Josiah Austin, the nephew of his patron. Goodridge 
 gives some interesting particulars of the kindness and 
 shrewdness of the Austins, and ends by remarking that the 
 nephew of the ferry proprietor had in 1838 " settled at Port 
 Phillip, New South Wales, where he had flocks of sheep to 
 the amount of 8000 or 10,000." The gentlemen who talk at 
 public dinners about "pioneers of civilisation,*' might with 
 propriety study the history of Goodridge's worthy patron.* 
 
 * Mr. Austin — the present representative of the family — is the 
 owner of Barwon Park, one of the finest estates in Victoria. He 
 is noted for his acclimatising successes, having achieved hare-, 
 pheasants, and deer on his square mile of purchased land. The 
 Duke of Edinburgh was entertained by Mr. Austin, and host and 
 guest went li pheasant shooting'* together. 
 
184 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Little more remains to tell. Arrived in England, Good- 
 ridge found his father and mother yet alive, and was recaived 
 with kindness by them. He married in his native village, 
 but fell into ill health, and seems to have subsisted by the 
 sale of the book from which I have compiled this paper. 
 
 The Veales and Petheridge were landed in the Isle of 
 France, and finally made their way to England. An account 
 of their shipwreck and adventures is given in the Morning 
 Herald of November, 1823. The elder Veale went again to 
 sea. A gentleman whom I met the other day told me that 
 some years ago he saw him in a shipping-office in London — 
 " A regular old sea-dog!" Jarvis Veale went to America, 
 where he married. Petheridge, in 1852, was sailing a small 
 craft in and out of Dartmouth. The others who had been 
 left at Paul's Island met with some further adventures. 
 They collected sufficient skins in twelve months to freight 
 a vessel that happened to call at the island. In her they 
 proceeded to South America, and with the proceeds of the 
 sale formed a settlement on an island near Japan, and culti- 
 vated cotton and rice. It is thought that Millechant even- 
 tually became owner of the property, and died a rich man. 
 
 So much for the fortune that befel the captain and crew 
 of the " Princess of Wales." 
 
 ?m^ 
 
THE FIRST QUEENSLAND EXPLORER. 
 
 On Friday, the 27th of February, 18 16, the barque " Peru- 
 vian," bound for China with a cargo of hardwood, left 
 Sydney Harbour. 
 
 The " Peruvian" was commanded by George Pitkethlv, 
 and had a full complement of passengers and crew. The 
 captain's brother was first mate, and the captain's wife was 
 also on board. The names of the other passengers were Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wilmot, child and nurse, and Mr. J. P. Quarry 
 and his little daughter. The breeze was fresh, and all had 
 hopes of a successful passage. On Sunday night, however, 
 the wind increased to a gale, and on Tuesday the '• line- 
 weather " sails were blown out of the bolt-ropes. On Friday 
 every stitch of canvas was taken off, and the vessel drove 
 under bare poles. On Saturday, however, the weather 
 moderated a little, and that night, during the first watch, 
 the mate made more sail. The captain held consultation 
 with his brother, and calmed the fears of his wife and the 
 lady passengers by telling them the worst of the danger was 
 now over. It seemed, however, that during the gale the 
 ship had been driven out of her course, for Pitkethly said 
 that she was in the neighbourhood of the Horseshoe Reef, 
 and desired the hands to keep a look-out for broken water. 
 Thus, having got all things snug, Sunday night passed over. 
 Between three and four o'clock on Monday morning, how- 
 ever, an unexpected calamity happened. A man named 
 James Murrell had been at the helm from twelve to two, 
 and had been relieved by the eldest apprentice. The second 
 mate was officer of the watch, and the brothers Pitkethly 
 were below asleep in their bunks. The night wa.s cloudy, 
 and from out of the dusk a-head of them the second mate saw 
 suddenly rise something that was " either land or a dark 
 cloud." He ran down to the captain and returned as quickly 
 as possible. Just as he reached the deck the vessel struck 
 upon a rock, and a terrific sea sweeping over her stern, 
 
186 OlA) TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 carried him overboard, and " he was never seen again." 
 The shock awakened all on board, and the captain and crew 
 ran up in great confusion, many still in their night-clothes. 
 A glance explained the position of the ship. The "Peru- 
 vian" was fast on the rock; and the sea running high, 
 nothing could be done but wait for morning. This the 
 shivering wretches, crouched under the lee of the cuddy, 
 resolved to do. 
 
 When day broke, the full danger of their position became 
 apparent. No land was in view, but as far as the eye could 
 reach, the points of the rocks pierced the white surf. The 
 " Peruvian" had run upon the very centre of an impassable 
 reef. The captain ordered the boats to be got over the side, 
 and the jolly-boat was hung in the tackles and lowered. 
 The moment she touched the broken water she went to 
 pieces. The long-boat was old and shaky, but she was their 
 only chance. They launched her over the side, intending to 
 keep her there until they could get the women and pro- 
 visions into her, but the sea ran so high that she was filled 
 as she hung in the tackle. The situation was now indeed 
 desperate, and when the captain, who seemed beside himself 
 with anxiety, ordered some hands to jam}) in and bale out 
 the water, they refused. The condition of the old and 
 battered boat was such that none Avould risk their lives in 
 her, except one man — the captain's brother. The younger 
 Pitkethly commenced to bale, but as lie lifted the second 
 bucket to the gunwale, the heaving of the sea jerked the 
 stern-post out of the boat, and the fore-tackle getting adrift, 
 she was carried away from the wreck on the next wave. 
 Lines were thrown to the unfortunate man, but none reached 
 him. He saw that his case was hopeless, and bidding good- 
 bye to his brother and his brother's wife, sat down in the 
 bows beside a live sheep that had been penned there, and 
 calmly waited for his death. It was not long. In a few 
 minutes the long-boat sank, and he went down in her without 
 a cry. 
 
 Upon this — the last chance being gone — the captain called 
 all hands into the cabin and prayed. This course of conduct 
 was productive of good. The spectacle of women and chil- 
 dren who needed their aid calmed and sobered into self- 
 reliance the excited sailors, and the women and children 
 were encouraged by the sight of so many sturdy and brave men 
 ready and willing to help them. Going on deck again, the 
 
THE FIRST QUEENSLAND EXPLORER. 187 
 
 propriety of making a raft was discussed, and though it \v;is 
 gloomily admitted that the chance of being picked up was 
 an extremely remote one, it was resolved to try this last 
 expedient. They cut away the spars, and hound together 
 first the mizen, then the mainmast — a difficult task, for, says 
 Murrell, '■ they came down with the sails all flying." Work- 
 ing in imminent peril of his life from every sea that washed 
 over the wreck, Pitkethly at length gave the last blow to tin- 
 last nail. The masts and spars lashed together, and braced 
 with a sort of platform in the middle, formed a rude raft, 
 and with infinite toil they got the unwieldy thing afloat by 
 middle-day Sunday. AH this time the sea was pouring over 
 the torn and mangled bulwarks, and the ship was literally 
 bursting with the water she had swallowed. Each instant 
 it was thought that she would go to pieces. 
 
 Provisions had been previously collected for the boats, bin 
 when search was now made for them, it was found that the 
 bread had been spoiled by the salt water, and nearly all the 
 preserved meat washed overboard. All that the poor wretches 
 could muster were nine tins of preserved meat, a small keg of 
 water, and a li'.tle brandy. This scanty store being stowed in 
 the safest portion of the raft, with the captain's instruments 
 and charts, blankets were spread for the women and children, 
 and the vessel abandoned. There were then on the raft three 
 women — Mrs. Pitkethly (the captain's wife), Mrs. Wilmot, 
 and the nurse-girl. The rest of the crew were Wilmot and 
 Quarry, the captain, the carpenter, the sailmaker, the cook, 
 four able seamen, four apprentices, and two negroes — stow- 
 aways who had been detected the night after leaving Sydney 
 Heads. It was intended to hold by the ship for a day or so, 
 and if possible build a boat out of the boat-planks aboard ; 
 but in the middle of the first night the strength of the 
 current swept the raft from her moorings, and carried her 
 out to sea. When morning broke, the deadly reef was just 
 visible on their lee, with the wreck sticking on its back like 
 a slug on a black bough. 
 
 Left thus face to face with the ocean and their fate, the 
 little company made a compact among themselves. The 
 stores should be divided equally, and there should be no 
 drawing of lots " to take each other's lives." At tirst 
 matters seemed rather cheerful. The captain directed the 
 course of the raft, and by the aid of their sail they made 
 fortv miles a-dav. They' were in high hopes of reaching 
 
188 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 land. Three tablespoonfuls of preserved meat a-day were 
 served out to each person, and the water was measured in 
 the neck of a glass bottle — four such drams — one in the 
 morning, two in the "middle of the day, and the other in the 
 evening — being allowed to each Occasionally a few birds 
 came on board, and the raw flesh and hot blood were looked 
 upon as delicacies. This lasted for twenty-two days. 
 
 Then the usual agony began. On the twenty-third day 
 they saw a sail, which kept in sight for four hours, but 
 finally disappeared. " This," says Murrell, " greatly disap- 
 pointed us." The preserved meat began to run short. The 
 allowance of water was decreased day by day. The poor 
 women, crouched under the lee of the platform, were told 
 that in a few days there would be no meat and no water. 
 These days became hours. One morning the last morsel was 
 devoured, and still no land appeared. 
 
 Mr. Quarry, who had been a long time ailing, told the 
 man next him that he would die now, and did die the next 
 morning. His little daughter was yet alive, and cried over 
 the corpse Fearfully mindful of their " compact," the sur- 
 vivors stripped the body instantly, and threw it overboard ; 
 the sharks tore it to pieces before their eyes, and the captain, 
 who seems to have been a God-fearing man, read the burial 
 service over the great graveyard on which they floated. That 
 evening they caught a rock cod-fish with a line and hook 
 baited with white rag, and cut it up into equal parts. Two 
 more days passed, and they caught a fish each day. Then it 
 rained, but the exhausted creatures seem to have neglected 
 to secure as large a supply of water as they might have done. 
 The two children now died. Mrs. Wil mot's baby went first, 
 then little Miss Quarry, and lastly Mrs. Wilmot herself. 
 Her husband " took off what clothing she had on, which was 
 only a nightdress, and threw her into the sea; but he told us 
 if we were men we would not look at her." The body of 
 this poor lady floated near the raft for more than twenty 
 minutes. During the next day two more men died, and 
 " then," says Murrell, " they dropped off one after the other 
 very rapidly, but I was so exhausted myself that I forget 
 the order of their names." 
 
 The condition of the survivors was terrible, yet, true to 
 their promise, they abstained from cannibalism. The captain, 
 however, suggested a method of procuring food that seems to 
 well-dined folks sitting beside cheerful home fires almost as 
 
THE FIRST QUEENSLAND EXPLORER. 189 
 
 repulsive. The sharks swarmed around the raft; if they 
 had but a bait they could catch them. There was really bait 
 enough. They cut off the leg of a man who had died, and 
 tied it to the end of an oar. Half-way up the oar was 
 a running bowline, through which the fish must put its head 
 to take the bait. One man held out this hideous fishing- 
 rod, while the other held the bowline. A shark came, and 
 was caught. The carpenter killed him with his axe. and 
 cutting the monster into strips they made a hearty meal of 
 him. This plan was pursued with success for same days. 
 At last they espied shore, and were driven down the coast. 
 Twice they attempted to land, and twice did an adverse 
 breeze drive their unhappy craft out to sea. At last, at 
 midnight on the forty-second day since they abandoned the 
 wreck of the ''Peruvian," they landed on what is now known 
 as the southern point of Cape Cleveland. Of the twenty- 
 two souls who had left the wreck, only seven remained — 
 Mr. Wilmot, James Gooley, John Millar (the sailmaker), one 
 of the boys, James Murrell (the narrator), the captain 
 and Mrs. Pitkethly. 
 
 An attempt was made to get water, but it was not suc- 
 cessful, and wearied out, the seven lay down on the sand 
 and fell asleep. That astonishing run of good fortune which 
 had followed them during their terrible passage across the 
 sea, and had supplied them with birds and fish, did not yet 
 desert them. It came on to rain in the night, and in the 
 morning the holes of the rocks were full of fresh water. 
 When the sun got up, the captain took a glass out of a tele- 
 scope which he had preserved, and lighting by its means a 
 piece of rag, kindled a fire, at which lumps of shark were 
 boiled and greedily devoured. In the course of the day 
 oysters were found by the captain, who appears to have 
 divided them between himself and his wife, for Murrell says 
 that " the others" were compelled to crawl and get some for 
 themselves. On this desolate rock might was right, and the 
 captain had the axe. In a few days Mr. Wilmot and 
 Gooley gave up the fight. They were too sore and sick to 
 crawl to the oyster-bed, " so they lay down by a waterhole 
 and died, nobody being equal to provide for more than 
 themselves." 
 
 For five days more this torment continued, and thon the 
 captain, " in his rambles," came across a native canoe con- 
 taining lines and spears. Millar, the sailmaker, determined 
 
190 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 to go away in this canoe, and try to reach civilisation. In 
 vain did his comrades attempt to dissuade him. He was 
 determined. A quick death in the breakers was preferable 
 to a long torture on the barren reef. He started, and the 
 sea he had defied so long swallowed him up. His body was 
 afterwards found on the shores of the next bay. 
 
 The little company, now diminished by three, received a 
 still further shock. As Murrell and the captain were 
 crawling over a hill into the adjoining bay, they saw a full- 
 rigged ship running down the inside channel. They had no 
 means of signalising her, and sitting clown on the rocks 
 watched her slowly disappear — with what bitterness of 
 spirit one can easily guess. They then came upon the 
 tracks of natives, and followed them as far as they could, 
 but the rain had rendered the footprints illegible to their 
 inexperienced eyes, and after dragging themselves a little 
 further they returned wearily to camp. 
 
 Two days after this, poor Mrs. Pitkethly said that she 
 heard the blacks " whistling and jabbering round about 
 her;" but she was in a very low state of health, and her 
 assertion was treated as the hysterical fancy of a nervous 
 woman. She was right, however. It appears that the 
 natives believe that falling stars indicate the presence of an 
 hostile tribe, and that over the place where the poor ship- 
 wrecked creatures had been fighting with death many stars 
 had appeared to fall. The natives, observing this circum- 
 stance — the wandering shepherds of old would have called 
 it a " miracle "—came down to the rocks, and one of the 
 boys, who was limed by boils on his legs, was seen by thera 
 crawling through the shingle. Mrs. Pitkethly persisted in 
 her statement, and at last went out on the rodvs to see for 
 herself. On the cliff above them were a number of natives. 
 " Oh, George," cried the poor soul to her husband, "we have 
 come to our last now; here are the wild blacks!" 
 
 But the intentions of the natives were friendly. They 
 came down holding out their hands in token of amity, and 
 snuffing curiously round the strangers, felt them all over 
 from head to foot So affectionate did they become, indeed, 
 that ten old men insisted on sleeping in the cave with them. 
 hi the morning a further discussion arose. Murrell and the 
 lad were claimed as "jumped up whitefellows " belonging to 
 a tribe at Mount Elliot, while poor Pitkethly and his wife 
 were similarly claimed by a tribe living at Cape Cleveland. 
 
THE FIRST QUEENSLAND EXPLORER. 191 
 
 This dispute seemed likely to end in an awkward quarrel, 
 but was ultimately adjusted by a division of the spoil of the 
 raft. The natives- — as usual— dressed themselves in the 
 coats, trousers, and other garments saved from the wreck, 
 and some even tore the leaves out of the few books and 
 fastened them in their hair. Having thus seized everything 
 of value, they commenced to strip the prisoners, but the hoy 
 begging to be permitted to keep his shirt, and endeavouring 
 to impress them by pointing to the sun. that unless he was 
 so allowed he would infallibly be roasted, they graciously 
 gave him back the garment. The captain was, however, 
 stripped completely naked, and it was only with the greatest 
 difficulty that poor Mrs. Pitkethly was allowed to retain her 
 scanty garments. 
 
 Some roots, seemingly of the truffle order, were now 
 brought, and the natives signitied their desire for the 
 strangers to join with them in a. corrobboree. This was 
 impossible, but Murrell. by way of compromise, as gentlemen 
 at evening parties transmute the '•' singing a song " into the 
 " telling a story," san^ them a hymn— 
 
 •• God moves in a mysterious way. 
 
 His wonders to perform " — 
 
 at which they were much pleased. The sight of the grinning 
 savages surrounding the four poor shipwrecked creatures 
 singing a hymn about the providence of God must have been 
 a strange one. 
 
 Received into the cam}), they gradually recovered their 
 strength and learned the language. Immense corrobborees 
 were held over them, and natives crowded from all parts to 
 see them. Murrell expressed a wish to go back to his 
 white friends, and it was agreed that the natives should let 
 him know whenever a ship was seen near the coast. Yet 
 their kindness was rough at times. They seemed to regard 
 their captives as pretty and curious toys to be shown to the 
 best advantage, and the attendance of the " white men" was 
 demanded at every corrobboree. Murrell gives an interest- 
 ing description of the ceremony of the Boree. or making the 
 lads men, which is too long to quote here. It consists prin 
 cipally in undergoing various torments dosigned to test 
 courage. Cane rings are put on the arms of the youths, 
 and tightened so as to impede the circulation of the blood. 
 " Their arms swell very much, which puts them in great 
 agony. They pre then left in that torture all night. Their 
 
192 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 cries are terrible to hear. To keep their fingers from con- 
 traction and thus deforming them, they sit with their hands 
 and angers spread out on the ground, with the heels of their 
 feet pressed closely on them. In the morning they are 
 brought out in the presence of then- mothers, sisters, and 
 relatives, and just above and below the mark of the cane 
 ring on their arms they make small incisions to let the blood 
 flow" — a curious way of celebrating a coming of age, and, if 
 possible, more unpleasant than the many unpleasant cere- 
 monies practised by all savage tribes. In happy Europe the 
 " heir" only gets drunk. 
 
 The Queensland blacks appear to differ but little in their 
 customs from others of like race. They burn their dead, and 
 carry the ashes about in a sheet of bark for twelve months, 
 when they throw them into a waterhole. Their religious 
 belief is of the most negative character. They say that their 
 forefathers witnessed a great flood, and all the people in the 
 world were drowned except some half-dozen, who went up 
 into a high mountain — Bibbiringda (inland to the north 
 b-iy of Cape Cleveland). Murrell thinks that this is some 
 dim recollection of the Noachian deluge. It is strange that 
 aboriginals who have no tradition of their many wars, and 
 whose memory is so slight as to tell them nothing about 
 their father's father, should invariably hold the most 
 orthodox recollections of the Noachian deluge. They live 
 on roots, fish, fruits, and birds. The men have several wives, 
 and imitate the example of the sententious Cato in their 
 treatment of them. 
 
 For seventeen years Murrell lived among these fellows. 
 His companions died. The boy went first, and then the 
 captain. Unhappy Pitkethly could endure his position no 
 longer. He and his wife were there in the midst of savages, 
 almost without clothes, and compelled to conform to the 
 barbarous practices of the country. He seems to have felt 
 more for his unhappy wife than for himself. " Up to this 
 time," says Murrell, speaking of two years from the date of 
 the landing, "she managed, by dint of great difficulty, to keep 
 herself partially covered, but he knew it could not last 
 much longer; and the thought of her having to come so low, 
 and her utter helpless condition, was too much for him — he 
 sank under it." Four days afterwards poor Mrs. Pitkethly 
 followed her husband, and both bodies were buried, by Mur- 
 rell's request, in the sand together. Unhappy creatures ! It 
 
THE FIRST QUEENSLAND EXPLORER. H)3 
 
 is difficult to imagine a more dreadful death for a carefully - 
 nurtured wonia n . 
 
 The slow years rolled on with Murrell, until, like Buckley, 
 he had all but forgotten his own language, his own name- 
 all save the memory of his native hind. At last ships began 
 to appear. A vessel came to the .shore while Murrell was 
 absent, and the sailors gave shirts to the natives. Then 
 another ship was seen, and the natives, remembering their 
 companion's wish, attempted to attract the attention of the 
 crew; but the Englishmen, not understanding their wild 
 shoutings and veilings, tired at them, and drove them away. 
 
 Not long after this a white man with two horses came 
 upon some natives lamenting the death of an old man, and 
 raising his gun shot the old man's son, who Avas lying on his 
 father's body. For this act of treachery he was, not unjustly, 
 massacred by the tribe. Murrell says that this man was a 
 Mr. Humphreys, of Port Denison, who was out looking for a 
 "new track." After this several white men were seen, and 
 also tracks of cattle, and Murrell determined to make an 
 effort for liberty. He told the tribe that his countrymen 
 fired at them because they did not understand their language, 
 but that he would go and explain to them. After some 
 demur they consented, and the man who lived with Murrell 
 sent his gin with him to approach a white man's hut, which 
 they had discovered some miles down the coast. Getting 
 clear of the scrub, the exile saw the smoke of the chimney, 
 and the sheep feeding on the grass. The sight of these 
 strange animals so terrified the gin. that she ran back alone. 
 Murrell went into a waterhole, where he washed himself a.-, 
 white as he could, and then, " standing on the fence to keep 
 the dogs from biting him," he hailed the hut. There were 
 three men living there, but one, the shepherd, was looking 
 after the sheep." Another one came out, and one cried, 
 "Bill, here's a yellow man standing on the rails, naked. 
 He's not a black man— bring the gun." Poor Murrell, in 
 terror, cries, " Don't shoot ! I am a British object, a ship- 
 wrecked sailor." "Of course," he adds, "I meant subject, but 
 in the excitement of the moment I did not know what I 
 said." The two men, whose names were Hatch and Wilson, 
 received him kind! v. and heard his story. They asked him 
 if he knew what day and date it was? He said he did not. 
 "Sunday, the 25th January, 18G3. You have been lost 
 seventeen years." He tried to eat bread, but it choked him, 
 
194 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 and he had lost relish for tea and sugar. By-and-by the 
 shepherd Creek came home, and Murrell unfolded his plans. 
 He would go back to the blacks as a sort of ambassador of 
 peace and goodwill. The three white men accepted this 
 conclusion, adding, as a sort of rider to Murrell's original 
 proposition, that if he did not come back in the morning, 
 they would put the black trackers on -his trail, and shoot 
 him. 
 
 Arrived at the camp, Murrell did his best for his country- 
 men, and by exaggerating their numbers and strength, in- 
 duced his protectors to promise an " equitable division " of 
 the country. The natives implored him to remain with 
 them, but he reminded them of the threat of the "trackers," 
 and was firm. The parting, as Murrell describes it, was 
 affecting. " When I was coming away, the man I was 
 living with burst outcrying; so did his 'gin' and several 
 of the other ' gins ' and men. It was a wild, touching 
 scene. The remembrance of their past kindness came full 
 upon me, and quite overpowered me. There was a short 
 struowle between the feeling of love I had for my old 
 friends and companions, and the desire once more to live 
 a civilised life, which can be better imagined than de- 
 scribed."' He returned to the hut, was fed and clothed, and 
 returned to his right mind. At the end of a fortnight he 
 was taken into the newly-made town of Bowen, where a 
 subscription was raised for him. Thus snatched from bar- 
 barism, he ran the usual little round of tea-parties. People 
 were eager to hear this newly-caught lion roar. From Port 
 Denison he was passed to Bockhampton, and from Bock- 
 hampton to Brisbane. At Brisbane a pious Baptist got 
 hold of him, and " publicly baptised him on a profession of 
 faith in Christ." He was received as a " lion " at Govern- 
 ment House, and eventually accepted an official crumb in 
 the shape of a keepership of bonded stores. Upon the 
 strength of this appointment he married, and lived comfort- 
 ably, becoming possessed of freehold property. He was a 
 general favourite with the inhabitants, and was popularly 
 known as " Jemmy." In appearance he was short and 
 thick set, with sunken eves, and a wide mouth. His teeth 
 were worn down to the gums, " for," says his biographer, 
 Mr. Gregory, " they were his only knife for years." His 
 hardships had told upon his health, and he suffered greatly 
 from rheumatism. Nevertheless, he was active and cheerful, 
 
THE FIRST QUEENSLAND EXPLORER. 195 
 
 and not without a hankering after his old life. He offered 
 his services to the Leichhardt party, but they were not 
 accepted — the Port Denison Tim?* thinks to the injury of 
 the expedition. Ho was born at Heybridge, near Maldon, 
 and was bred to the sea. and his first voyage to the colonies 
 was made in the •• Ramales '' to Hobart Town. He died at 
 Port Denison on the 30th October, 18G5, at the age of 41, 
 leaving a wife and one child. His death was considered 
 almost a public calamity, and was thus spoken of by the 
 local press: — 
 
 " It is our mournful duty/' says the Port Denison Times, 
 '-' to record the death of the pioneer white man in the north 
 — James Murrell — which took place on Monday, 30th 
 October. For some time he had been suffering from a 
 wound received in the knee during his sojourn among the 
 aboriginals, which had been attacked with rheumatism, and 
 ultimately brought on inflammation and fever, which re- 
 sulted in his death. . . Jemmy was devotedly attached 
 to his wife and child, and during his late illness, when his 
 mind passed, as in a dream, through the scenes of misery 
 and care of his exile, he always returned to his wife and 
 child, and his only care seemed to be that they should in 
 future be provided for. He was a general favourite 
 throughout the district, and when his death became known 
 in the town on Monday, the whole of the flags at the ships 
 in harbour, and at the various stores throughout the town, 
 were lowered to half-mast. The funeral took place yester- 
 day, and was attended by a large number of mourners, 
 including manv of our influential citizens. The men belonor- 
 ing to the pilot station had asked and obtained permission 
 to act as bearers to their old comrade's remains. The police 
 also attended, and moved in the procession next the hearse; 
 then came the mayor and the police magistrate, followed by 
 a long string of vehicles, horsemen, and pedestrians." 
 
 Such is the strange story of the first Queensland explorer, 
 and it is given — with details necessarily omitted here— in a 
 pamphlet, edited by Mr. Gregory, and published at the 
 Courier Office, Brisbane, in 1865. 
 
 
JOHN MITGHEL'S ESCAPE 
 Jtom Mm gicmcivs % mxb. 
 
 At two o'clock in the afternoon of the 7th of April, 1850. 
 the convict ship " Neptune" cast anchor in the Derwent. 
 The fortunes and freight of the " Neptune" were uncommon. 
 She had come from Bermuda to the Cape with convicts, but 
 the inhabitants of Cape Town refused to allow the prisoners 
 to land ; refused even to supply fcod for them, and the 
 " Neptune," after some red-tapery, was compelled to set sail 
 for Van Diemen's Land. On board her, rejoicings prevailed. 
 While yet at anchor in Simon's Bay, despatches from Lord 
 Grey were read, which, u in compensation for the hardships 
 of their long voyage and detention," graciously extended to 
 all the prisoners Her Majesty's conditional pardon, " except 
 to the prisoner Mitchel." So on the 8th the prisoners land 
 in high spirits (after an eleven months and seventeen days' 
 cruise in the " Neptune," land of any sort is pleasant), and 
 twelve of the most powerful ruffians are straightway made 
 constables. The " prisoner Mitchel," however, yet remains 
 on board, ignorant whether he will be returned to that 
 solitary confinement that had held him at Bermuda, or 
 clapped into the cells at Maria Island in company with the 
 other prisoner, " William Smith O'Brien." 
 
 The sufferings of the " prisoner Mitchel" up to this point 
 are interesting enough, but this is not the place in which to 
 enlarge upon them. Suffice it to say that he was one of 
 those Irish exiles, those " rash and most unfortunate men," 
 who, agonised at the struggles of their unhappy country 
 choking in the red-tape bonds of English misgovernment, 
 attempted to cut the knot with the sword, and failed. The 
 Alexander of Ireland had not yet come. 
 
 Yet, looking back for a moment upon that most miserable 
 time, I cannot see what else remained to the Young Ireland 
 party. They had carefully planned a revolution of moral 
 force. Ireland was to be regenerated. Irishmen were to be 
 
MITCHELS ESCAPE FROM VAN DIEMEN S LAND. 197 
 
 educated out of their prejudices. Ireland was to recover 
 what she had lost by the Union, and claim for herself the 
 right of legislation. The Nation (brilliant meteor, now 
 quenched in the blackest of Irish bogs) was the lever by 
 which the world was to be moved. The Nation spoke the 
 voice of the leaders of the people, and, conducted with sur- 
 prising- ability, made itself a power almost before men were 
 aware of its existence. Like the infant Hercules, it began to 
 strangle serpents in its cradle. But this " moral force" met 
 with an unexpected check. From universal peace, Europe 
 named suddenly into war. France and Austria almost 
 simultaneously shook with revolution, and in the excitement 
 of the time the prudent leaders of the Irish people lost sight 
 of prudence and " moral suasion." If ever there was a time 
 to strike for Ireland, it would seem to have come then ! If 
 ever the Irish people were to be free, then did Freedom 
 appear to hover nearest them! All was arranged, all 
 planned. France and America both gave hopes of assist- 
 ance; the people, famished and despairing, called out to be 
 led against their oppressors. The " rising" was fixed for 
 September, and had it occurred then it would have in all 
 probability succeeded. But the Irish camp swarmed with 
 traitors, and the minutest intelligence concerning the pro- 
 jects of the Confederation was borne to the English Cabinet. 
 On all sides the enthusiasts were cheated and betrayed — 
 their most trusted agents were in reality spies, hired witli 
 English bank-notes. 
 
 Having made itself master of the designs of the " rebels," 
 the English Parliament determined to force the Revolution 
 to a premature birth, and so abort it without further trouble. 
 The instrument used was a Treason and Felony Bill, which, 
 passed through both Houses in one night, was transmitted 
 to Ireland by the next packet. The arrest of the conspirators 
 was resolved upon. The tallest poppies were eropped the first, 
 and the Confederation saw with dismay its best men plucked 
 from its midst and lodged in gaol. A hurried council of war 
 was held in the cell of the Enjolras of this Irish Rue St. 
 Denis, and it w^as resolved to strike at once. Better to 
 perish with arms in hands than to be silently and igno- 
 miniously handcuffed. War was declared, and the " rising " 
 took place. But English policy had been successful. The 
 people were unprepared, foreign assistance was withheld ; 
 the stores, dependent on the harvest of September, were not 
 
108 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 yet arrived ; the very leader was a makeshift. Mr. Smith 
 O'Brien, a country gentleman of moderate fortune and high 
 social standing, was forced into the position of general of 
 these ragged forces. He was brave and enthusiastic, but 
 
 CO ' 
 
 utterly unfitted for the position in which the turn of fortune 
 had placed him. It was necessary, however, to have a name 
 at the head of the movement, and " O'Brien" was a watch 
 word as dear to Irish hearts as had been " Stewart" or 
 " Montrose" to the Highlanders of Scotland. Thus the 
 " revolution" began — we know how it ended amid a savage 
 horse-laugh from all in England. 
 
 There is to me something most pathetic in this Irish 
 rebellion stifled in its birth. If the patriots — for no man 
 will, I trust, deny them that title — had been shot down in 
 the heat of battle, or executed on the scaffold, the world 
 would have accorded to them the respect they merited; but 
 to raise an insurrection which is put down by a corporal's 
 guard, to light the torch of revolution only to see it extin- 
 guished by a bucket of water, to be captured in a gooseberry 
 garden and put in a Tasmanian corner like a naughty boy — 
 most miserable ! Poor Ireland's poverty has ever made her 
 ridiculous, and to the sensitive, the torture of merited 
 ridicule is of all tortures the greatest. In the day of defeat 
 there was scarce a writer of any note in England who had the 
 manliness to refrain from a sneer at the defeated. Even 
 Thackeray — whose genius should have restrained him — 
 rhymed in stinging couplets about " Meagher of the swoord," 
 and " Shmith O'Brine." Everything connected with the 
 brave and foolish Irishmen which should have been respected, 
 was cruelly sneered at, and held up to laughter. Their 
 names, their accent, their patriotism, their ancestors, their 
 affections, and their nationality — all were assailed in turn. 
 The high aspirations, earnest labours, patriotic enthusiasm, 
 and unhappy fate of these men, seemed to the English press 
 the best joke in the world. The jokers did not scruple to 
 invent lies even, and to this hour the malignant fiction of 
 poor Smith O'Brien's cabbage-bed is devoutly believed by a 
 variety of respectable Philistines. 
 
 But to return. John Mitchel, originally an attorney 
 practising in the north of Ireland, had 1)}' some writings of 
 his attracted the attention of the editor of the Nation, who 
 invited him to Dublin, and placed him on the staff of that 
 journal. The reckless impetuosity of the man — unable to 
 
MITCHELS ESCAPE FROM VAX DIEMEN'S LAND. 100 
 
 recognise that moderation, when used as means to an end, is 
 always more damaging to an enemy than ill-judged outbursts 
 of futile anger — could not understand the apparent sloth of 
 the Nation s movements. He quarrelled with the editor, 
 and set up for himself an opposition paper, the CniteO Irish 
 man, which became the recognised organ of the headstrong, 
 and which, I am afraid, assisted by its senseless kicking 
 against the pricks to exhaust the strength of the Young 
 Ireland party. When the blow fell, he was among the first 
 of the captured, and was sent to Bermuda, where he was 
 treated with respect and consideration, but put into solitary 
 confinement. A man of ardour, taste, and education, his 
 soul sickened at this horrible seclusion from his kind, and he 
 would have become as insane as one of the hermit-saints. 
 His nature was fiery, impetuous, and kind; his abilities were 
 imitative and acute. His "Prison Journal" (from which 
 this narrative is in part compiled), though drenched with a 
 perverse conceit, is a remarkable production. Though in 
 style slavishly imitative of Carlyle, and overlaid with that 
 tawdry ornamentation which is at once the blot and the bril- 
 liancy of Irish eloquence, the book is marked by passage- ot 
 extreme beauty of imagination and vigour of thought. The 
 fact that it was evidently written with an eye to publication, 
 and that the writer, in the midst of his most unreasoning 
 outbursts of passion and savagest denunciation of British 
 tyranny, has ever before him his own figure bowing in the 
 character of a martyred man of genius to an admiring 
 reader, tends to raise a doubt as to the trustworthiness of 
 the information conveyed. In this journal the slow torments 
 he suffered at Bermuda are all set down. I take up the 
 thread of the narrative with the landing in Van Dieinen's 
 Land. 
 
 The " political prisoners," as they were called, were per- 
 mitted to reside at large in the police districts, out of 
 communication with each other, on condition of reporting 
 themselves to the police magistrate once a month. ,l This 
 condition of existence," says Mitchel, "is, I find, called a 
 ticket-of-leave. I may accept it or not, as I think proper, or 
 having accepted I may resign it; but first of all I must give 
 my promise that so long as I hold the said ticket J shall not 
 escape from the colony." Smith O'Brien refused to give 
 this promise, but Martin, Meagher, and the rest did so. 
 Mitchel being in ill-health did not think it necessary to 
 
200 OLD TALES OP A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 emulate the self-denial of Smith O'Brien, and so was sent to 
 Bothwell, a charming village on the Clyde, there to reside 
 on parole. The reason of Mr. O'Brien's apparent Quixotism 
 was this. It was decided by the poor fellows that they 
 would treat England as a hostile power, and instead of pro- 
 testing against the severity of their sentence, exclaim with 
 all power of body and breath against what they considered 
 the injustice of their trial. " The whole of the proceedings 
 are monstrous," was in effect their plea. " We are not 
 traitors, for Ireland has been usurped. If you imprison us 
 with convicts, Ave will not tacitly acknowledge ourselves 
 criminals by purchasing indulgence at the expense of sub- 
 mission. "We regard ourselves illegally in duress, and we 
 will escape when we think proper." 
 
 Plots to escape were numerous, and Smith O'Brien was 
 twice nearly torn out of Maria Island. The treachery of 
 those who should have befriended him, however, caused the 
 failure of the best-laid scheme, and he was removed to Port 
 Arthur, where a little hut was set apart for his reception. 
 The story of this attempted escape makes a pendant to that 
 of Mitchel himself. The friends of O'Brien in Hobart Town 
 had bargained with a man named Ellis, the captain of a 
 small schooner, to hover about the island until a fitting 
 opportunity arose for the sending on shore a boat which 
 should pick off the prisoner. O'Brien was at that time 
 permitted to walk over the island attended by an armed 
 constable, and his friends having succeeded in communicating 
 to him their plans, it was decided that when the boat came 
 ashore he should elude his warder and scramble aboard her, 
 when Ellis would make all sail for San Francisco. Ellis, 
 however, had sold the details of this desperate plot to the 
 Government, and the gaolers at Maria Island were in full 
 possession of every particular. Every step of O'Brien's daily 
 walk was watched, and his eager glances towards the sea- 
 board noted with grins and jerkings of elbows. At last the 
 boat appeared, and O'Brien, having, as he thought, seen his 
 warder safely into the bush, ran down to the beach, and 
 plunging into the water, waded towards his rescuers. The 
 water was shallow, and thick with tangled weeds. He could 
 not climb into the boat without assistance, and while leaning 
 over- the gunwale, the constable appeared with his musket. 
 "The moment he showed himself," says Mitchell, "the three 
 boatmen cried out together, 'We surrender!' and invited him 
 
) 
 I a 
 
 mitchel's escape from van diemen's land. 201 
 
 on board, where he instantly took up a hatchet— no doubt 
 provided by the ship for that purpose— and stove the boat." 
 O'Brien saw that he was betrayed, and on being ordered to 
 move along with the constable and the boatmen towards the 
 station, refused to stir, hoping, in fact, by his resistance to 
 provoke the constable to shoot him. However, he was 
 seized, and carried to his cell. Removed to Port Arthur, 
 he afterwards gave the required parole, and was set at liberty. 
 Master Ellis was caught afterwards at San Francisco by 
 some of the O'Brien party, and being brought out of his shij 
 by night, was tried then and there by Lynch law, witl 
 view to instant hanging, but was "acquitted for want of 
 evidence." 
 
 John Mitchel having got over the first agonies of separation 
 and contumely, found life in Yan Diemen's Land pleasant 
 enough. He had money and friends. Liberated on parole, 
 he rode, walked, fished, shot, and hunted. Around him 
 were many of his old friends ; Martin, Meagher, and Doherty 
 were living within a day's journey of his house, and forbidden 
 meetings were frequent. The squatters, and even constables 
 and gaol officials, treated the "political prisoners" with 
 respect. When passing a chain-gang of poor devils who, 
 failing the dignity of revolution, had earned their misery 1 >y 
 shooting a hare or snaring a partridge, the overseers 
 "touched their hats" to the well-mounted, well-dressed, 
 exiles. Yet the fact that they were prisoners — that a slight 
 deviation from the rules laid down for them, that a momen- 
 tary outbreak of passion against a "man in authority" — 
 would condemn them to share the fate of the ruffianly hare- 
 shooters, and desperate snarers of pheasants, rendered the 
 thinking hours of the Irishmen heavy with angry regrets. 
 They were free and merry, but the fabled sword yet hung 
 suspended, and a caprice might at any time give them over 
 to the coal mines of Port Arthur, or the travelling sheds of 
 the road-gangs. That fortune had not cursed them with the 
 companionship of those monsters among whom the poachers 
 and rick-burners learnt to curse God and live, was much to 
 be thankful for; but believing in their detention as infamous 
 and unjust, nothing short of absolute freedom would content 
 them. At every hour, in every place, the thought of their 
 captivity embittered their pleasures. Did Mitchel ride afield, 
 or read at home, gallop (in the company of the wife who had 
 joined him) through the summer bush, or float with Meagher 
 
202 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 and Doherty on the bosom of the crater-lake Sorell in the 
 fastnesses of the mountains, the same thought was present — 
 he was a prisoner. Every page of his journal breathes the 
 same sentiment. 
 
 " The spring day lias been most lovely, and the mimosa is 
 just bursting into bloom, loading the warm air with a rich 
 fragrance which a European joyfully recognises at once as a 
 well-remembered perfume. It is precisely the fragrance of 
 the Queen of the Meadows 'spilling her spikenard.' At 
 about ten miles distance we descend into a deep valley, and 
 water our horses in the Jordan. Here, as it is the only 
 practicable pass in this direction between Bothwell and the 
 Oatlands districts, stands a police station. Two constables 
 lounge before the door as we pass, and, as usual, the sight of 
 them makes us feel once more that the whole wide and glori- 
 ous forest is after all but an umbrageous and highly perfumed 
 dungeon." 
 
 Again — " We approach the brow of a deep glen, where 
 trees of vast height wave their tops far beneath our feet, and 
 the farther side of the glen is formed by a promontory that 
 runs out into the bay, with steep and rocky sides worn' into 
 cliffs and caves — caves floored with silvery sand, shell-strewn, 
 such as in European seas would have been consecrate of old 
 to some Undine's love — caves whither Ligeia, if she had 
 known the way, might have come to comb her hair; and 
 over the soft swelling slope of the hill above, embowered so 
 gracefully in trees, what building stands'? Is that a temple 
 crowning the promontory as the pillared portico crowns 
 Sunium, or a villa carrying you back to Baia3 1 Damnation ! 
 it is a convict barrack." 
 
 But help was nigh at hand. On the 3rd of January, 1853 
 (three years out of the fourteen having passed), the following 
 entry appears in the journal: — "A new personage has 
 appeared amongst us, dropped down from the sky, or from 
 New York. When I arrived in Hobart Town two or three 
 days ago, I went first, of course, to St. Mary's Hospital, 
 where 1 found St. Kevin in his laboratory. He opened his 
 eyes wide when he saw me, drew me into a private room, 
 and bid me guess who had come to Van Diemen's Land. 
 Guessing was out of the question, so I waited his revelation. 
 
 "Pat Smyth!" 
 
 " Transported]" 
 
 " No, my boy — commissioned by the Irish Directory in 
 
MITCHELS ESCAPE FROM VAN DIEMEN's LAND. 203 
 
 New York to procure the escape of one or more of us, 
 O'Brien especially, and with abundant means to secure a 
 ship for San Francisco, and to provide for rescuing us if 
 necessary out of the hands of the police magistrate aftei 
 withdrawing the parole in due form."' 
 
 Smyth was to meet O'Brien and Kevin at Bridgewatet 
 that evening to arrange plans. Thither went John Mitchel ; 
 but some mischance delayed the coach, and the hour ap- 
 proaching when O'Brien and Kevin must return to theii 
 " registered lodgings," Mitchel was left alone. By-and-bye 
 the coach arrived, and amongst others a young man alighted. 
 Mitchel guessed that the stranger must be the Smyth of 
 whom he had heard, so walking round the coach, he abruptly 
 accosted him. Smyth at first took him for a spy, but soon 
 was convinced that he was one of the men he had been sent 
 to seek. The next evening, at O'Brien's lodgings at New 
 Norfolk, the plot was unfolded. Smyth was hopeful -and 
 acute. He had himself passed through many perils, had 
 agitated in Ireland, escaped in peasant guise to America, 
 fulminated there with newspapers, raised friends and money, 
 and' now adventured his head a second time in the noose. 
 He was well provided with letters of introduction, and with 
 current coin. The sudden "gold-fields" excitement had 
 brought to Australia many bold spirits ready to venture a 
 ship in such a cause, and by dint of bribery and stratagem 
 it would be easy to get the exiles aboard her. But Smith 
 O'Brien would hear of but one mode of escape — to resign 
 the parole, and then trust to fortune. Mitchel suggests that 
 the four should place themselves in such a position as to be 
 arrested all together, and then rescue themselves by force of 
 arms, or that the parole should be simultaneously with- 
 drawn at all the police ofiices ; but this notion is overruled. 
 O'Brien's sentence being for "life," it was pressed upon him 
 to avail himself first of the services of Smyth, but he refused. 
 " I have had my chance," he said, " and it has failed ; tin- 
 expenses incurred have been borne by public money; this is 
 your chance — take it." It was then decided that Smyth, 
 or " Nicaragua," as he was termed among the conspirators, 
 should lend his best aid to rescue Mitchel, on condition that 
 Mitchel gave up his parole, and did not make use of the 
 liberty it afforded him to assist his escape. 
 
 All being decided upon, Smyth departed for Melbourne, 
 there to obtain a ship and crew. John Mitchel began also 
 
204 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 to make his preparations. Mr. Davis, the police magistrate 
 of the district, owned a white horse, " half Arab, full of 
 game, and of great endurance." Mitchel hearing that this 
 horse might be bought, purchased him. " I don't know the 
 precise work you want Mm to do" says Davis, u but you may 
 depend upon his courage." Mitchel, with an inward smile, 
 stables his new purchase at Nant, and waits for news. On 
 the 18th of March came a letter from Melbourne, and on 
 the 24th Nicaragua himself arrived at Lake Sorell. All was 
 prepared. The brigantine " Waterlily," owned by John 
 Macnamara of Sydney, was to come to Hobart Town, clear 
 thence for New Zealand, and then coast to Spring Bay (on 
 the east side of the island, about seventy miles from Both- 
 well), and lie there for two days. Mitchel was to go to the 
 police-office at Bothwell, accompanied by Nicaragua and 
 live others, all armed, and having delivered up his parole, 
 gallop on his new horse midway to Spring Bay, where a 
 relay would be provided, and reach the shore by midnight. 
 A boat sent by Macnamara would pick him up, and if the 
 police at the Spring Bay Station attempted a rescue, so 
 much the worse for them. 
 
 On Sunday evening, however, a friendly resident at Both- 
 well informed the six that " all was known," the Governor 
 had for a fortnight been informed of Nicaragua's intentions, 
 the "Waterlily" was purposely allowed to clear out of 
 Hobart Town, the police force at Spring Bay had been 
 doubled, and two constables were on watch at Mitchel's 
 cottage. In Mitchel's own language, "the plot was blown 
 to the moon !" and the party dispersed with heavy hearts. 
 
 On the 12th of April an incident occurred which, appear- 
 ing at the time unfortunate, proved ultimately the aid to 
 escape. Nicaragua, going to Spring Bay to send off the 
 " Waterlily," was arrested as John Mitchel. He was carried 
 to Hobart Town, and there lay sick. Mitchel went to see 
 him, and the two determined to seize upon the first oppor- 
 tunity to escape together. It was not, however, until the 
 6th of June that such opportunity offered itself. Then 
 Smyth found a ship about to sail for Sydney, the captain of 
 which would receive his friend on board. A week after this, 
 Mitchel and Smyth started from Nant Cottage to make 
 their desperate venture. Nicaragua rode Donald the Arab, 
 and Mitchel a half-bred mare named Fleur-de-lis. 
 
 A quarter of a mile from the house, Mitchel's boy coming 
 
MITCHEL S ESCAPE FROM VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. 205 
 
 at full gallop from Both well met them. He bore a note 
 from the shipping agent. The ship had gone — it was 
 impossible to keep her longer without exciting suspicion. 
 Nevertheless, it was resolved to give np the parole as agreed, 
 and to hide in the mountains until a means of escape pre- 
 sented itself. With this last hope, then, the two galloped 
 to Bothwell. They overtook a Mr. Denniston, who chatted 
 agreeably about agricultural matters, and asked Mitchel if 
 he meant to put any of his land in crop for the ensuing 
 season. Mitchel answered truly enough that he " did not 
 know." At Bothwell their companion left them, and the pair 
 rode leisurely down the main street. At the police-barrack 
 on the hill were eight or nine constables armed, " under- 
 going a sort of drill, 1 ' while at the door was as usual a con- 
 stable on guard. A Mr. Barr, " a worthy Scotch gentleman 
 and magistrate of the district," was standing close to the 
 gate. The two boys had by this time reached the township, 
 and flinging the reins to them as agreed upon, Mitchel and 
 Smyth walked into the police-office. Mr. Davis, the magis- 
 trate, was sitting at a table in the court-room. His clerk 
 was with him, and a constable was in the police-office itself. 
 
 " Mr. Davis," says Mitchel, " here is a copy of a note 
 which I have sent to the Governor." 
 
 Davis cast his eye over the note and looked up at Mitchel . 
 Nicaragua planted himself at his friend's side with a men- 
 acing gesture, one hand thrust into his breast feeling the butt 
 of his revolver. Mitchel held in his hand a heavy riding- 
 whip, and had two pistols in his breast-pocket. 
 
 The note ran as follows : — 
 
 " Bothwell, 8th June, 1853. 
 " To the Lieut. -Gov., &c. 
 
 " Sir I hereby resign the ticket-of-leave, and withdraw 
 
 my parole. I shall forthwith present myself before the 
 police-magistrate of Bothwell, at his office, show him a copy 
 of this note, and offer myself to be taken into custody. 
 "Your obedient servant, 
 
 "John Mitchel." 
 
 Mr. Davis, feeling doubtless pretty certain that if lie ac- 
 cepted Mr. Mitchel's offer he would be shot dead upon the 
 spot, stared speechless. 
 
 "You see," says Mitchel, "my parole is at an end. I 
 offer mvself to be' taken into custody." 
 
206 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 Still the magistrate and clerk gaped. 
 
 "Good morning!" says Mitehel, putting on his hat, and 
 moving to the door. 
 
 The movement, which probably brought the hands out of 
 those dangerous breast-pockets, broke the spell. 
 
 "No, no, stop!" cried Davis; "stay here! Rainsford! 
 constables ! 
 
 But it was too late. The constables had heard nothing 
 and knew nothing, saw only the " ticket-of-leave prisoner, 
 Mitehel," accompanied by his friend, walk out into the 
 court, and — any suspicions they may have had silenced by 
 Smyth's "judicious bribery" — only ran against each other 
 in confusion. The pair leaped into their saddles, and nodding 
 to a few " grinning residents of Bothwell," who " knew the 
 meaning of the performance in a moment," dashed down 
 the street at full gallop. A mile deep in the forest the 
 fugitives changed horses. Smyth riding due north to Nant 
 Cottage on Fleur-de-lis, intending to make for Oatlands, and 
 thence by coach to Launceston. Mitehel, a mile further, 
 
 met a friend, T H , who undertook to guide him to 
 
 Lake Sorell through the mountains. All night they rode, 
 only to lose their way in the thick darkness, and camp on 
 the edge of a precipice in the wildest part of the ranges. In 
 the morning they reach the hut of "old Job Sims," the 
 friendly shepherd of Mr. Russell (Job had assisted already at 
 the escape of Meagher), and there Mitehel wrote to his wife 
 telling her of his fortune. The next day he fell in witli 
 friends, and received the hospitality of a gentleman who 
 had a " large and handsome house at the base of the 
 Western Tier." Mitehel calls him " Wood," and says in a 
 foot-note that " Wood is a fictitious name." At the farm- 
 house of a Mr. Burke, six miles from " Wood's," he lay 
 concealed, waiting for news of Nicaragua and a chance of 
 escape. 
 
 In the meantime Nicaragua had done well. Galloping 
 furiously to Oatlands, he inquired eagerly for "horses to 
 Spring Bay," slipped out of the hotel, climbed the wall, got 
 round to the road, met the coach, and went by it to Laun- 
 ceston, lying hid there duly shaved and disguised. Seven 
 mounted police despatched by Davis to " scour the country" 
 find Mitchel's Fleur-de-lis reeking witli sweat in the stable 
 at Oatlands, and hearing that a gentleman had been asking 
 for horses to Spring Bay, make desperately in that direction. 
 
mitchel's escape from van diemex's land. 207 
 
 The Westbury police are patrolling day and night, though 
 bets are freely made in Hobart Town that Mitchel has left 
 the island; Davis is laughed at a good deal; Sir William 
 Denison repudiates all notion of the prisoner's letter; the 
 constable who was on duty at Davis's door is dismissed for 
 having been " bribed," and, getting amazingly drunk that 
 evening, loudly expresses his hope that Mitchel is safely out 
 of the island. In the meantime a strict watch is kept upon 
 all '-'suspected persons." 
 
 So matters shape themselves until the 20th, when a friend, 
 riding to Burke's form-house by night, brings a letter from 
 Nicaragua. That indefatigable conspirator is at Hobart 
 Town, openly walking about unarrested, and is negotiating 
 with Macnamara, of the "Don Juan," brigantine. Two 
 days after this, another message arrives. The " Don Juan" 
 is secured, and will call at Emu Bay on the 27th. Mitchel 
 must by hook or by crook be there to meet her. The floods 
 are up, and to cross to Emu Bay by land is impossible. All 
 the river mouths, moreover, are watched by police constables 
 furnished with written descriptions of the prisoner Mitchel. 
 In this dilemma a new arrangement is effected. A trusty 
 messenger hurries to Launceston, there to tell the captain of 
 the "Don Juan" to lie off a " solitary beach" to the west of 
 the mouth of the Tamar, somewhere between West-head and 
 Badger-head. To this place Mitchel can get without crossing 
 any river but the Meander. 
 
 On the night of the 24th a start was made. The weather 
 was gloomy and foreboding, the flooded meres and marshes 
 now sheets of thin ice. Mitchel having despatched two 
 letters, one to his wife, one to his mother in New York, gives 
 himself into the hands of his guides and body-guard. This 
 last is of considerable number, consisting of the two Burkes, 
 
 Mr. "Wood,"' and his brother O'K -, O'Mara, Burke's 
 
 brother-in-law, and Foley, "a gigantic Tipperary boy." All 
 day long prudent Mrs. Burke occupies herself with prepara- 
 tions for the journey, and "amongst other things," the good 
 CTeature gets some lead, and judiciously casts bullets. 
 
 After two days and nights of the Hooded bush, scrambling 
 up mountain-sides, fording swollen creeks, and shivering 
 benighted among winter woods, the party readied Badger- 
 head, only to find the brigantine departed. Wearily wait- 
 ing, at length another brigantine appeared, but, despite all 
 signal-fire and smoke, held on her course. Something was 
 
208 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 wrong, and Mitchel's escort determined to place him for 
 safety in the hands of a Mr. Miller, who owned a station on 
 the shores of Port Sorell. Miller — a hater of Sir William 
 Denison — promised to do his best for the fugitive, and Avith 
 him Mitchel stopped four days, waiting for the " Don Juan." 
 Sick to death of this hand-to-mouth liberty, he urges upon 
 Miller a variety of desperate schemes, and at last hits upon 
 one that seems to have in it some gleam of sense. Four 
 miles down the river lies the " Wave," about to sail for 
 Melbourne with a cargo of sawn timber, and Mitchel shall 
 sail in her as Miller's brother. All is arranged, the chief 
 constable who " clears" the vessel unsuspicious, when a 
 message arrives that changes all their plans. Mr. Dease, a 
 merchant of Launceston, has secured for Father Macnamara 
 a passage in the steamer to Melbourne. So Father 
 Macnamara, in the person of Mitchel, bids farewell to the 
 Millers, and in the dress of a Catholic priest gets to Laun- 
 ceston through pouring rain. Mr. Miller's brother will not 
 sail this trip. 
 
 But the haven is far from won. Rumours of the fugitive's 
 midnight rides are afloat, and the captain of the steamer says 
 that the rigour of searching has been so much increased of 
 late that he durst not take the holy father aboard. Macna- 
 mara must risk his cloth and life in an open boat to the 
 mouth of the Tamar, there to lie until the steamer in passing 
 can fling him some unseen rope. The night sets in wet and 
 stormy, and drenched, weary, and despairing, Macnamara 
 arrived just before dawn at a point of the river seventeen 
 miles from George Town. There a man named Barrett was 
 to take him aboard another boat, and get him to the steamer. 
 Lying hid on the banks of the Tamar, the false priest saw 
 the steamer pass, pause, then make direct for the heads, and 
 then pause again. Barrett had gone across to George Town 
 to make some excuse for bringing out his boat, and did not 
 return for an hour. The steamer could not wait, and after 
 fifteen minutes got up steam. Father Macnamara sitting 
 in the stern of Barrett's returned boat, and pulled by four 
 strong men desperately down the bay, saw her suddenly 
 sweep round the lighthouse and disappear. There was 
 nothing for it but to get back to Launceston with all speed. 
 
 Lying hid in the well-bushed banks again until night, the 
 hunted wretch made the passage up the river. The night 
 was as black as pitch, the rain poured in torrents, the woods 
 
mitchel's escape from van diemen's land. 200 
 
 .groaned and shrieked; nothing was visible but the glimmer 
 of the white foam on the water. Four times was the boat 
 driven ashore, and the fourth time, when sixteen miles from 
 Launceston, the boatmen refused to proceed further, and 
 exhausted and disheartened;, flung themselves on the wet 
 banks, and slept under the pouring rain. Desperate Mitchel 
 now resolved to trust to his disguise, and go to llobart Town 
 by the public coach, so, getting into Launceston by midday, 
 lie walked coolly down the street to the house of a friend, 
 and having eaten, took passage as Father Blake by the night 
 coach. He accomplished his journey safely, notwithstanding 
 that he had a fellow-passenger, the Hon. T. M'Dowell, then 
 Attorney-General, who tried to get him into conversation 
 about his "bishop." At Green Ponds, where every creature 
 knew him by sight, he had a narrow escape. The chief- 
 constable, on " special business," looked in upon him ; but 
 Father Blake, with one hand on the farthest door-handle, 
 and the other grasping the butt of a pistol hidden beneath his 
 cassock, met the inquiring gaze unflinchingly. At Bridge- 
 water Father Blake alighted, feeling that to brave the " door 
 of the Ship Inn in Hobart Town, crowded with detectives," 
 would be madness. He spent the day walking by the river 
 bank, and took passage by the night coach to Hobart Town. 
 In the centre of the town he made the coachman pull up, 
 and walked to Conellan's house in Collins-street. The door 
 was opened by Nicaragua himself, the first time they had 
 met since they changed horses on the banks of the Clyde 
 five weeks before. Father Blake was among friends at last. 
 
 Half an hour sufficed to arrange their plans. Conellan's 
 house was watched and was unsafe, so Mitchel, as " Mr. 
 Wright," was to lie for a week at the house of Mr. Manning 
 (Macnamara's agent), and then take passage; in the passenger 
 brig " Emma," for Sydney; Nicaragua to start for Bothwell 
 in the morning, and bring down Mrs. Mitchel and the 
 children, who would go on board the "Emma" openly, 
 " Mr. Wright " being picked up in the evening by a special 
 boat. 
 
 On the 19th of July the "Emma" cleared out of Hobart 
 Town, and the next day a Mr. Wright, who has appeared 
 on board, makes casual acquaintance' with Nicaragua and 
 some of the other passengers, and sits down to smoke and 
 chat. Mrs. Mitchel with her children — the object of com- 
 passion to many worthy souls aboard — watches Mr. \\ right 
 
 p 
 
210 OLD TALES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY. 
 
 eagerly, but does not speak to Mm. On the 23rd of July 
 Mr. Wright, under the name of " Warren," is domiciled at 
 the house of James Macnamara, in Sydney, waiting for a 
 vessel, and in the meantime lionises Sydney, "a seaport 
 town of 80,000 inhabitants," says he, " and there's an end." 
 
 At length a cabin passage is secured for Mr. Warren in 
 the " Orkney Lass," bound for Honolulu, and on the 2nd of 
 August that good ship was cleared at Sydney Heads, and 
 John Mitchel, at five o'clock in the evening, saw the " coast 
 of New South Wales a hazy line upon the purple sea, fading 
 into a dream." 
 
 Of his further adventures, until he landed on the 29th of 
 November, 1853, in Brooklyn, it is not my province to here 
 relate. His family followed him, and in America his 
 faculties found scope for expansion. Among the Confede- 
 rates his name is almost famous. 
 
 A word, however, about the manner of escape. It is hard 
 to say that Mitchel broke his parole, but I am afraid that at 
 best his escape was due to a melodramatic quibble. He 
 certainly gave up his " ticket-of-leave" before he attempted 
 escape, but he made all the arrangements for escape by virtue 
 of the liberty which that ticket-of-leave afforded him. His 
 parole obtained him interviews with Smyth, freedom to plot, 
 money, horses, and arms. To march like a stage hero into a 
 police-office, and with hand on pistol (purchased by virtue 
 of the parole) disdainfully ask an unarmed police magis- 
 trate to take him into custody, was not an honest withdrawal 
 of his plighted word. To fulfil the terms of his contract 
 with the Government, he should have placed himself in the 
 hands of the constables in the condition he had been in when 
 the parole was granted him — namely, unarmed, a prisoner, 
 with bars and stone walls around him, and no fleet horse 
 waiting at the door to carry him to safety, or bold com- 
 panion at his side ready to withstand attempt at capture. 
 Poor Smith O'Brien, eating his heart in his cell at Maria 
 Island, better understood the nature of the promise of a 
 gentleman. I am willing to believe, however, that Mitchel 
 — perpetually posing as a hero — was blinded by the melo- 
 dramatic heroics of the proceeding to a true comprehension 
 of its merits. 
 
 MASON, FIRTH, AND M'CUTCHEON, PRINTERS, FLINDERS LANE WEST. 
 
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