Short-Lived Bushrangers.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 253, 23 October 1909, Page 15

Short-Lived Bushrangers.

BY CHARLES WHITE

Author of "Australian Bushrangers," "Old Convict Dayß," Etc

No. J. INTRODUCTORY. Ga;;i bn?brau£ing In Australia did not by »li Bfaii! _...d a monopoly of -en.-ational-Uui. ■■;.<! :ts record does not absorb ah the ci ■■::.:.* -i»-r,;s associated wi!n the uieu of tj» riJ and their doings. As a luatti-r of fa-;, -he gangs were often credited with "tirti individual bad '■••!. and The police authorities in e-.L-l ■: the infested d.-tri'-ts were put t'j & g.-ea; d-a! r.f trouble a: various times thr- ".fh the operation* or individual bu=h- ■»:.-■■:- on the very flelde that were being exp.oitwJ by mc bushranger gangs it being a diffiiurt mau-r to decide whether the li.d'.vidual wa.- with the gangs or working -on his uwn," and not a few o: :he latter hud fair opportunity of escaptot foot after tn<? furmer. TMs was the <-d->- priru'-ularly during the reign of Frank Gardiner. Ben Hail, and the ('.ark. concerning whose exploits c.o-t readers of Australian literature must b* faml.lar. The doings of tiie men who "played a love hai;d" in the bushranging ga:n>- are net, however, so well-known, fur most part, chronicled onlr in the localities to whi>~h they were confined, 'the wider publicity given to the operations of the g-aags through newspapers and books not being extended to them. Yet, as I have significant nor devoid of sensationalism: indeed. Mime of them furnished dramatic Equations strong enough for use in romance of a sort more stirring and realistic than much that finds favour with the novel' reading public to-day, and their narration cannot fall to interest those who would occurring In the colonies when the gold fever raced In the land--for the Golden Era and the Bus-hranging Era proper were contempornneous in Australia. Some of the following brief sketches win Illustrate this fact very clearly. I—THE CHINESE HIGHWAYMAN. It is a mistake to suppose that the Sushxangers of Australia were all either exconvicts or reckless and venturesome young majority, certainly; but there were others, find amongst those cithers was an alinonoeyeJ son of the Flowery Land, who rejoiced in the name uf Sana Poo. and who, with other of his cotmtrymen. had found his way to one of the goidfields in the Mudgee district. At this time learly in 15651 the 'VhoW was to be found in numbers large or small upon almost every •'diggings," particularly on those which had already been exploited by Europeans and left by them was quite content to take second place, after the European diggers on the more Important fields had made it plain that they must expect to find standing room on new fields: and they turned over the old workings to some purpose, frequently getting more of rhe precious metal out of the abandoned ground tha-n had heen obtained by ihe white holders of rhe original claims. But Snm Too was not satisfied with his winnings in the dic-cing line on the TaJbragar He had been on more profluctlve £--ids. where he had picked up a good smattering of '"pidgin" English, become acquainted with many of the habits and customs of European diggers, and had learned that, as a profession. tmshranging, if ir.'irp rNky. was sometimes less arduous nud more profitable than delving for gold In abandoned shafts, thrice-cradled tailings heaps, or washed-up river beds. Hence, he turned his almond eyes upon the road, and occasionally practised shooting from his tent door, a blackened tree stump on fhe side of i he ridge adjacent forming the target For some reason or other he had separated from his countrymen, lived in a camp alono, and worked alone as a 'hatter' — as the digger without a "mate" was called. In his solitary state he was looked npon fur some time by the diggers and others in the locality as a harmless crank. aii'l his own countrymen, when asked, ! "TVhai for Snm Too live by himself?" voiced tie <nme opinion in the laconic- answer, "lie n. good-he fool: , ' But, as the sequel there was a roguish method j n hi<s j madness, which assumed a form most | v:.-;ou<. nnd nas followed by results most J e*a.«:rou«. One :n irnins early Sam Poo disappeared ftv.ni his ramp and on the following day the diggers ~v the field were shocked and surprised by a report that a man supposed to be a Chinaman had attempted to outrage J £ woman and her little girl on the Mudgee | roa.i. They did n..t connect Sam Too with that .-rime, however, until later, when reports came in that an armed Chiuaman was baiiiDg up solitary travellers on the Mud-gee-Talbrasar mad. and th»n even the b ys on the field correctly guessed that the offender was "Cranky Sam." The news that a chinaman had assumed the r..le of bushranger, anil was bailing up traveller-, ,-ame as a surprise to the community, wno had had abundant proof of the fact that the Chinese were, in the main, a law-abiding class, even if they were other-wise objectionable, and Mounted Constable Ward. o f Coonabarnbran station, ocald scarcely credit the story when, in Patrolling ;h t . ruad on the Mudgee side of [ Barney's Rt->-f. he met two men, who informed Elm that, "an armed Chinam.iu was about sticking up people." Though doubtful cc etiil a.-ted. and, spurring up his j horse. «.,..n came to the spot Indicated. I there to receive most painful proof that the Story toid by The travellers was correct. I As he cantered smartly along the beaten j track, he espied a Chinaman on foot some distance ahead, carrying a gun. and almost simultaneous;*- the Chinsm.tn saw him. and hurriedly turned off the road and ran into] the bush. Ward at once chased and overtook him. never for a moment anticipating danger 1:, the meeting. Ajs he neared the figirir,. Wnr.l railed out: "What you do? Pnt down your gun!" but immediately j found himself covtred. and heard the! Chinaman cry out: "You policeman! lie L fire:- r To ie-ip from !-.is horse and take out his revolver wa-s the work of a moment, and tin.. -.-,..; tn:lt tne Chinaman really: "leai.: bi|«:r.ess if .r he came nearer, with the =-:in 'till ieveliedi. the constable made *z :■'■ '■•::.p: ;.. ~ri r..u!id the horse, again «llii,- ~;,-; --J..J. down the gun!" himself Br>; < : rhi ■ to lire ; ~'iS liu;ua:ie hesitancy proved his un- °" l: ■-■■ f : Uie L'h.naman followed him quickly and fired, wounding him severely in the shot a: als assailant as he tall, and two Eiore sin,:- a*, he lay on the ground at the torse's feet: bu: cue of the shots took effect, and the Chinaman ran away, reloadHte hi. gun as he ran. Taere had been ao nitness to this tragedy of tie bush, and poor Ward was like to have b e<l co death where he had -fallen. fc nt f..r :be providential passing by of Mr '• F PlankMt. the squatter upon whose j ren :!:.- ... i-urreitce had Mken place, aud j »lio Tvr.s ol: his way to an adjoining sheep I Nation. Mr I'luntett found the wounded I co in a semi-comatose condition, and, I

having hurriedly sought assistance, had him conveyed to his homestead at Talbra£ar, where every effort was made to astuage his sufferings, and minister to his coujfurt pending the arrival of a doctor, fur whom a well-mounted messenger had been despatched a distance of nearly fifty miles. But when the doctor arrived, on the day following, poor Ward was beyond the need of aid. lie had paesed into the Great Beyond, forming another In Lhe ioug .ine uf those to whom death has come in lhe performance of duty.

Mr. I'luukett, in a few sentences, subsequently told the pathetic story i>f Ward's piissing, thus:—"l'oor Ward died on the day following. I spoke to him repeatedly; he said he knew he was dying, aud a=ked wife and family. He made a full statement to mc of the encounter with the Chinaman, which statement I took down in writing. He was quite satisfied" that hewas dying when he made the statement, and asked mc to play for him. He was a member of the Church or England, and I read a form of prayer for the sick from the Book of Common Prayer, »hich was very beautiful. I read the whole of Uie service, aud a part of it is for a person at the point of death. Ward died after asking that his wife aud family should be sent for, and they did not reach my place until after he was buried." Meanwhile, the hue and cry had been raised, and the whole countryside was on 'the look-out for the Chinaman. Ail the available police took horse and scourea the bush for miles around the scene of the outrage, but they could not find the murderer, thouirh traces had been left by him in the shape of camp fires, and at ilr. Plunkett's sheep station some flour, spilled when the empty but was being raided for provisions. Oα the fifteenth day after the murder, an aboriginal half-caste named Harry Hughes, working on Cabbora station, volunteered to go with the police as a tracker, and. his offer being accepted. Troopers Todd, Burns, and McMahon started out wrth him into the bush. The keen eye of, the black speedily discovered the trail, and the -quartet of hunters pressed steadily forward until a point was reached where it was considered best for the party to divide. Burns and McMahon taking- the scrub, and TodJ and the tracker keeping to the river which skirted it, arranging to meet at a given point some miles distant.

Burns and McMahon first caught sight of the fugitive, who had been concealed in a gully. He fired at them as they passed, and then plunged into the scrub and disappeared. The troopers returned the fire as soon as they saw him, but Sam Poo was too quick for them, and got away where they could not follow with their horses, and as they were fearful That he might escape if they lost time trying to penetrate the scrub, they galloped forward to M'Vicar'e, some three miles distant, where they met and told their sftory to Todd and Hughes. The whole party then hastened Back to the gully, where Hughes soon got to work, and noiselessly followed the tracß until he came across the quarry hiding in the thick scrub.

The Chinaman saw Hughes at the same moment, and immediately raised his gun and fired, the charge passing through Hughes' hat The trucker's alarm sounded simultaneously with the discharge of the gun. and the troopers rushed forward. Their appearance was the signal for more firing, for the Chinaman, whose movements were very rapid, loaded his piece and discharged it several times from behind the could get a shot at him. At last Todd saw a fair opening, as Sam Poo exposed himself for the purpose of taking aim at Burns, and, seizing it. he emptied his shotted gun with good effect, the charge entering Sam Poo's head, neck, and body. Burns then rushed forward to secure him, and as he did so the Chinaman, reetlng himself on ono arm, raised his gun to fire; but Burns was too quick for him, and struck him down with the butt end of his rifle, tT3« blow breaking the stock of the piece and cracking rhe murderer's skull. The troopers returned io M'Vlcar's that night, and next morning proceeded to Mudgoe. where Sam Poo was treated In the gaol hospital, his Injuries being so severe as to cause his captors to believe that, after all. the gallows would be deprived of its prey. But In due course he recovered sufficlently to permit of his removal to Bathurst, where he was subsequently tried, convicted, and hanged, nine months having elapsed between the arrest and the execution. Shortly after Ward's death, a public mee'tinjr was held at Mudgee. and a goodly sum of money was raiser] for the support of the widow nnd children, who had been Chinaman that has ever been known In Australia to take to the road as a bushranger.