UNKNOWN

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 205, 1 September 1886, Page 3

UNKNOWN

r> pp-isow for giving his ;;;{ wipi. _omi_ sggs.

Stranso Career

TlluitK is an odd little workshop in the rear of tho building at 111, Centre Avenue,

Chicago where men who were once im

prisoned criminals but are now free made brushes. Among these men is one whoso strong figure is stooped with hard work and ago ; a man whose countenance is a study— a faco with tho mouth and chin of a crafty criminal and tho eyes and forehoad of a Christian philosopher. Occasionally this man sings softly to himself in a querulous, drawling, minor key, tho following song. It may not possess much iiterary worth ; its rhythm and rhyming muy not be perfect and olegant but that make* no difference to him who Bings it so softly and earnestly. It brings to tho mind of the singer memories, not pleasant perhaps, of tho days when bo was a convict at tho penal station at Port Arthur, Tasmania. Tho soufr was composed forty yours ago by ''Shatty" Costello, an Irish convict at Port Arthur, and was sung by him wilh what was considered by hia audience great success : Hold Cavanaiifth, Cash ard Willia-n Jones, All dangrr of ucornieir. let what would resume; Thoy made their way to the Den vent Land, In spite of all their foes. It wa9 ag'.in at the Wool P.ick. Jj.. my oonelalilea did thorn att iok. And being tlirco t»ono wore sure The prizo to them it waa secu c. But Marlln to his picco did cling. Aud three of them did quickly wing. buying: "L!o you thoro, yon cowardly dogs; Of us you mado too sure." It waa ugain at tho Salt Paw plains. Some co-stables did take gn at piinß— ' Surrencar, Martin!" one did cry : ' No. never, till the (lay I din I" Said Ih'.a valiant eon of Kri i'u i.lo. Where tho spriic and the shamrock grows. But now tliesj throe men aro taken And two c ..ndemued to die. ITai-j 5 ou well, faro you well, my true friend. forever; Only look ba-K on tho days of your childhood, And r<member the tyranny of Pott Arthur b.iy, Whereon bread aud water were fed. With r. sore back and an imply bod, Whiloia tho ooMu whero we Wire led. While lying at Port Arthur. „ Martin Cash emigrated to Yau Diomen's Land in ISI.I, tuking with him hia wifo and two babies. He wout to Hobart Town, the capital and tho largest placo on the island. Martin was an English labourer and an honest man, but ho found no work in Hobart Town. After a month of idlotioss, ho invested his few remaining shillings in a peddlar's pack, und, leaving his wifo in the town, ho struck into the country, p:ddling.

Van Diomen's Land then, Tasmania now, was not a populous island in IS 13, counting out tho fourty or fifty thousand English convicts imprisoned at Fort Arthur, Campbelltown, and othor penal Btationa. Tho convicts at tho timo constituted nearly one half of the island's population. Besides the important port of Launceston a fewsmall towns were scattered over Tasmania. There were a considerable number of plantations an I stock rangos worked by convicts, whoso laboir waa let to tho farinor, but immigrants woro not oncouraged to livo outaido tho moro populous towns, for tha " buah " waa full of rangors —escaped convicts - who wero industrious and daring in their robberies.

For moro than a year Martin wandorod over the island, soiling his goods and returning occasionally to his wife and bab'os iv Hobart town. He became thoroughly acquainted with tho country, its pooplo, and the bushrongors. Ho know them all —their haunts, their methods, their secret caves and bidinc placea—and ho found in them his best friouda and customora ; but the lifo was hard, and whon tho Rev. MrFry of Campbell to ivn offered Martin and his wifo positions in his household aa gardener and cook Martin bade tho bushrangers gcoilbye and toik hia family to Mr Fry's houso.

Somo months passed. Martin ond his wife wore honest and industrious, aud Mr and Mrs Fry were well pleased with their sit-rvicos. After a timo the minister went on a visi*" to Hobart Town, and during his absence Martin's wifo fell sick for a fow days. Ono afternoon, while Mrs Fry was shopping in Campbolltown, tho roeidonoo being two milca from tho village, Martin's sick w.fo craved for somo eggs to cat. No one waa present to give Martin authority to take any, but thinking Mrs Fry would not • bject, ho gathered all tho egg? in tho henhouse— stvon in number—and cooked them for hia wifo and himself.

It happonod that o visitor came in tho atternoon, and whon Mrs Fry returned she ordered Martin to prepare supper and to serve some eggs. He told her how ho and bis wife bad eaten all the eggs, but ho offered to go to tho town and buy more with his own nionoy. Mrs Fry How into a pssiiou, and at once despatched a noto to the police at Campbelltowti, charging Martin with the theft of tho eggs and demanding his arrest. An hour later he was handcuffed and thrown into prison. Tho island was then governed by martial law, and thoro wero none of tho law's delays iv dealing with offenders, Tho next morning Martin was condemned to seven yenr3 at hard labour for stealing ißeveu oggs. Ho was n>t allowed counsel or timo to prepare hia defense. Ho waa sentenced to Port Arthur, the worst of the penal institutiona. Aa ho was carried away he threatened (he officer that if ho over escaped and gained " bush " ho would bo a terror to tho island.

He kept his word and mado his escape a year later, but not until the third attempt For the first effort to gain his freedom ho was put in tho "solitary" for ninety days on brend and water. For the second he receivod 150 lashes. He escaped with William Jones and Lawrence Cavanaugh. They secretly built a boat of limbs of trees, forming its bnttoin oi nnall pieces of canvas sewed togethor and tarred. In thia boat they crossed tho " nock " s»parating tho penal station f.om the " Ponvent Land." That night they robbod a farmer, taking hia money, guns, clothing, and three horse?. In the morning thoy started for tho " bush," stopping for breakfust at tho Wool Pack, a saloon and eating house on tho highway. All night the police had beon searching for the three men. The police wore convicts who held their prjsitions by reason of good behaviour. While Cash and his companions wero at the Wool Pack n squad of nine policemen approached. Cash waa guarding the door while his friends were eating. Seizing the three guns, he wounded three of the policemen. The others dropped their arms in terror and surprise While G-vnaugh and Jones covered the bix policemen with thoir guns. Cash manacled them together with their own handcuffs. Then he mounted his horse, drove the policemen back within a short distance of the penal station, and dashed away. The six policemen were given a year each in the coal mines for cowardice, Then followed many daring and succassful robberies by Cash and his partners. Cash was known as the king of the bufhmen, and he was regarded with a fear akin to awe by the people of the island. . He appeared when and where he was least expected, and by his daring and skill would overcomo a score of men as easily as ono.

The Government offered a reward of £100, a pardon and free transportation to any part af the world to any convict who would capture either of the three highwaymen, dead or alive Squads of armed convicts were sent out to hunt for them, but the sympathies of the prisoners were with Cash and few had any desire to capture him.

Cash and his men were of the gallant, heroic sort of robbers. They had the reputation of never robbing a woman or a poor farmer. When they sacked a house Cash would collect all t v e jewellery, and placing it on a tray, would carry it among the ladies of the household, telling them to select what was theirs.

On one cccasion tho three rode up to tho house of " Nobby " Lewis, a largo farmer on Bread Marsh, who employed forty convicts to work his plantation Lewis greeted the strangers and invited them to dismount. They did so, and joined him and his three sons on the piazza.

" Have you seen or heard anything of Cash?" inquired I owis. Thia was the prevailing question of farmers to each other at that time.

" I have not scon him," replied Caah, "but he will bo along this way soon. I hear he is in tho neighbourhood." Lewis thanked him for the information, and invited the strangers to put up their horsea and have aupper. A pleasant evening was passed, and Lewis finally invited the strangers to inspect his houso. When all the men wero in one room Cash drew his weapons and compelled Lewis and his sona to hold up their handa. Thoy were robbed, the house waa searched, and all the money and jewellery was taken, C_«b, as usual, returning to the ladies their jewellery. Whilo Jones guarded the poople in the

house Cash and Oavanineh went to the tou~ huts orf-n;' ■'■ '•■ "c -.cinvi'.-r." together. Tlioi, the party '<"■: liireu of l.t .vis's !•!.>..■! r>re-f-r,v-e- •■'• .1 ro io ■ •::-.. Coßhtn«i, pl:ir:ntv.!i. Kriii,'-- ! .:>c rv.!>io> ho carried out alone. A line of stage coicno*, oM-neii by Airs Cox, a fat widow, ran between Launcostoti and ILobart Town. One mooallght night in tho harvest time Cash stationod himself by the roadside, having with him twe hats, a lot of red tlannel nightcaps and threa rillo*. He placed twe shocks of wheat clceo to the fence along tho road, resting a hat on the lop of each, and sticking into each the stock of a jjud, so that tho muzzle would point across the fence toward the road. These wore to re present Cavanaugh aad Joneß. Then he tied a rope across the road and waited for the etago. It soon came. Tho leaders of the team fell over tho rope aud tho stage stopped. It contained twelve passenger.-?, among whom was the widow Cox herself, riding on top. Cash presented his gun aud said, addressing the two shocks of wheat : " Don't tiro til! I give tho word !" Then he cried to the pas sengers : " I'm Martin Cash Every man throw hia hatdowu !"

The uame filled them with terror and they obeyed at once. He ordered Mrs C-jx tj get off tho coach. Sho did so, climbing down unaided for tho first timo in her lile Ho made her produce all her money and jewelery, and then ordered her to give him hor pistol. Ho had guessed correctly, Sho gave it to him reluctantly. Ho put it in his pocket, gave her back her jewelery, fitted a red night-cap on her head, and assisted her back to tho coach. Then he mado each paaeengor put on a night-cap and ordered the driver to go on to Hobart Town. Soon after this Cash und bis men robbed a houso. Whilo Cash was upstairs Jones took a babe iroin its mother's arm* and dashed its brains out because tho woman would give bim no more money, Ho had eoizod tho woman aud was about to put her on the fire, whan Cash came downstairs and shot Jones through the arm. Jones iled and never joined Cash afterward. Bad luck now followed tho trio. Cavariaugh was captured in the " bush." A woman fell iv with Jones and by her aid he too was surprised in his hiding place. Ono of tlio capturing party shot him in the faco with line bird-shot, and destroyed his eyes, lie was hanged blind. About this time a falso friend told Cash his wife was in trouble in Hobart Town. Ho went to tho to.vn to see her. Ho was recognised on the street and pursued. Iv his llight ho ran into a short sheet that was closed by a wall, Hero ho was cornered and taken after he had killed a negro who attempted to sei/'j him.

Cash, Cavanaugh, and Jonos wero tried together and sentenced to be hanged, but a petition eignod by nearly all tho women in tho ia'and saved tho lives of Cash and Cavanaugh. Their aeutonces were commuted to lifo imprisonment. After a fow years' imprisonment at Norfolk Island Cavanaugh headed a mutiuy of tho convicts. Iv iho outbreak soventoon officers wore killed, and Iho lifo of (lovornor Price waa barely saved by the soldiers forming a square about him. It was learned by tho ollicera that tho mon had urged Cash to load tho rebellion, but ho refused. For this ho waa ap poititod an ollicer in tho Campbolltown barracks, and hold hia position honourably until his death. — " Chicago Nowa."