DAYS OF DANGER

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1375, 3 September 1895, Page 2

DAYS OF DANGER

[Copyright.] NARRATIVES OF THE BDSHRANGIRG TIMES IN VAN DIEMAN’S LAND-

by captain lacie.

PERIOD, 1824 to 1830. THE MACQUARIE GANG. — . (IN FIFTEEN PARTS.) PART VII. The schooner was nearly three hundred yards away when the soldiers became reckless, and a man named Felix Theaurs was talking to Lieutenant when a bullet pierced his heart. The shot was probably a chance one, but it showed that those on board the Derwent were yet dangerous. This was the first life lost during the attack, and, it might also be added, the only one, for as night came on the schooner drifted further and further away until she was lost in the gathering mists of evening. The bushrangers, though foiled in the main object for which they had run such a desperate risk, had nevertheless come off most successfully, and they had every reason to be proud of their, exploit. The fame of it long ran throughout the island, and to this day, the capture of the Sorell settlement is regarded as one of the greatest bushranging exploits that ever took place. It at once stamped the Brady gang as a desperate one, and the government offered a substantial reward for its capture. As Lieutenant Gunn will not again appear in this narrative, it is as well to mention that his courage and self-sacri-fice did noc go unrewarded. A pension was given him by the government, and in addition a grant of land was made. The colonists subscribed a large sum of money for him and publicly presented it—and, in short, the loss of Gunn’s arm proved a blessing to him instead of a curse. ■■ When night fell Lacey sent word to Hobart Town of what had taken place in the hope that some steps would be taken to intercept the escapees. The messenger did not arrive until late next morning in Hobart Town in consequence of losing his way in the darkness, and when bis news was given to Governor Arthur he at once ordered a boat to be sent to Storm Bay in pursuit of the outlaws. ,In the meantime it is necessary to follow Brady and his comrades in their venture. The little bay running into Sorell is a comparatively sheltered one, inasmuch as Tasman’s Peninsula on the east side and the mainland and islands on The west and south break the force of the rollers from the Southern Ocean, Jn spite pf this fact at some seasons the surrounding coast is a dangerous one and one dreaded by navigators. Storm Bay, which includes the open water, to the south of Soreltyis at times lashed to fury, and woe betide the vessel that was driven on the cliffs of Tasman’s Peninsula with a south-west wind. It was fortunate for Brady and his followers that the weather was exceedingly favorable when they left the Sorell jetty, or they would have been soon engulfed. None of them were expert sailors, but they knew enough to be able to manage the little craft under such favorable conditions. The night fell dark but calm, and by dint of keeping the vessel’s head due south and a sharp look out the night was successfully passed. At daylight land was seen on the left, and it proved to be an island. Further along the outline of Tasman’s Peninsula could be noticed, and it was Brady’s desire to round this and get on the east coast. A fresh breeze was beginning to blow and it made a choppy sea; but that did not affect the outlaws who were inured to the sea by the recent voyage in the open boat. As they went further south the sea became worse, but there was plenty of room and the bushrangers knew their position. Away to the right lay the long, »low outlines of Bruin Island, while the scowling ironbound coast of the peninsula lay on the left. Cape Raoul, with Tasman’s Isle opposite, was only a few miles to the south-east, and Brady hoped, if the wind continued favorable, that he would be able to round it before night. In that hope he was doomed to disappointment, for the wind fell to a dead calm and it was j next morning before they could make : any progress. \ The idea of the bushrangers was a ; common one in those days. They thought in theii ignorance that the coast of South America could be reached in about a fortnight’s sail from Van Dieman’s Land. Once there, of course, liberty was before them; but they had little or no conception of the difficulties and dangers of crossing the Pacific Ocean. The schooner had sufficient provisions . to last the gang more than a fortnight; but the outlaws knew very little of navigation, and had they carried out their intention it is beyond doubt they w-.ould never again have been heard of. That would certainly have been better for many persons as the sequel will show. During the day the southermost point of Tasman’s Island was rounded and a northerly course shaped. From an old chart that Brady found in the cabin he got a rough idea of the Van Dieman’s Land coast-line, and also an inkling of the coast from what is now called Wilson’s Promontory in Victoria to Cape Howe. He and his companions fcad resolved to keep within sight of land as long as it was possible to do so, *(or they felt safer than when out of sight M terra firma. So far they had been singularly fortunate in not meeting ■with any vessels which would, without doubt, have been hostile.

They were in the track of boats trading to Sydney, or running to Oyster Bay; but, of course, they were few and far between. The weather also had been propitious, for, bad seamen as they were, a slight squall even might have proved fatal to them. When darkness closed in they were abreast and to the east of Tasman’s Peninsula, and the southerly breeze drove them through the water at a spanking rate. A care ful look-out was maintained during the night, but before morning the wind had risen so much as to occasion some apprehension. When daylight broke they found that there was every indication of a storm, and a short distance to the west they could see a small bay, the shelter of which they decided to seek. These men, who had so recklessly faced death but a couple of days previously, dreaded to face a stormy ocean. They found excellent shelter in the small port which was but a few miles to the north of Oyster Bay. The wind did not blow more than a few hours, and next morning broke calm. Brady and his comrades again put to sea, and steered north keeping the coast in sight. Next afternoon they sighted land right ahead and decided to make it as it was probably the southern coast of Australia. Lying off during the night and riding at anchor, as soon as day broke they sailed to the new land and found no difficulty in getting ashore as the beach was a shallow one. There was no one to be seen when they landed, except a few aboriginals, from whom they got a little information, To their surprise they found that two of the blackfellows could speak a little English, and Brady had no difficulty in making out that they had reached an island and not a mainland. They had, in fact, landed on Flinders Island, and as the outlaws learned that there was no white men on the place at the time, they decided to remain for a few days before proceeding on their voyage. The blacks soon became very friendly and the day following that on which the bushrangers landed Brady, with two companions, made a tour of the island. From an eminence they could see other islets in the Straits, and away to the south could be discerned the outlines of the Ben Lomond mountains. The day was favorable to vision or they could not have thus seen the mainland of Van Dieman’s Land. The Straits were in a rather turbulent mood, and as Brady looked to the north he almost decided to abandon his idea of seeking liberty in other lands. It began to dawn on him that such an enterprise simply meant death, for the short trip along the coast under the most favorable circumstances had given him sufficient insight into the deadly risk which would attend a voyage into unknown seas with men ignorant of navigation or seamenship. The same evening he expressed his views to his comrades, and contended that it would be better to return to Van Dieman’s Land amongst civilization than, perhaps, be driven ashore amongst bar barous and cannibal people. His companions were altogether opposed to going back to the convict island, and rightly argued that they could expect no mercy from the settlers there. Finding that all the men were against him Brady turned to their views, and it was agreed that as soon as the weather was favorable they would continue their journey. There was about thirty blacks on the island, and they had nearly all come from the mainland. Some of them were on the place for many years, having ventured across in crazy boats to escape the war of extermination thai had been waged against them from 1806. Their lives were miserable enough, for the island was a barren one as was also its adjacent islets. Fish and mutton birds constituted nearly all the food of the aboriginals, and the small presents of food which the outlaws gave them whetted their appetites lor more. So far Brady had treated the blacks in a humane fashion not generally adopted by the whites either free or bond. The usual practice was to look upon them as wild beasts, and treat them accordingly. They had been four days on the island when the incident occurred which precipitated their departure. Not satisfied with the presents which had been given them, the blacks had become clamorous for more and had to be refused. Prudence and necessity both urged the outlaws to be economical of their food, for they had no idea where they would get another supply when their stores were exhausted. Not to be denied, the natives resorted to theft to gratify their desire for the luxuries which the white men had in the schooner. They were adepts at the work of stealing, and before Bradydiscovered what was going on a considerable quantity of the stores were taken. More than that, the blacks had filched five muskets and a quantity of ammunition, and no doubt they knew how to use the firearms. Several of them had been servants to white settlers and they were not ignorant of the use of the arms. The leader of the bushrangers was enraged when he found the way his supposed sable friends were treating him, and he determined to summarily prevent further thefts and at the same time demand the restitution of the firearms. To this latter request the aboriginals turned a deaf ear in so far as complying with the request was concerned. Each and all of them professed entire ignorance of the theft, and Brady found that unless he resorted to extreme measures he could do nothing. After his patience was exhausted he called the blacks together and told those who understood English that if the muskets were not returned next morning he would shoot them. The natives appeared to be profoundly concerned at this, and one of them expressed his determination to have the stolen property restored. Since the outlaws had reached the island they had mostly remained on shore, having formed a comfortable

camp for that purpose. Hitherto one man had stayed on board the schooner at night to keep watch, but from the thefts that had been committed it was evident that the watch had not been a good one. The night following the interview with the blacks Brady himself decided to guard the Derwent and to shoot down any marauder that would be foolhardy enough to attempt to loot the vessel.

Shortly after dark he got on board and took up a position aft to keep watch. A slight breeze was blowing from the north, but not enough to make the sea rough, and the outlaw rather enjoyed the undulating motion of the vessel. As hour after hour passed the vigil became rather monotonous and sleep began to have an attraction for the chief of the outlaws. Time after time he shook the desire for slumber off, for he was resolute to keep faithful watch. At last he sat down near the foremast and relapsed into a dreamy state. It was not sleep, but perilously near it, for it was now approaching daylight and he felt that there was no probability of the black thieves coming on board that night. The lap, lap of the water sounded musically in his ears, and he was almost in a state of unconsciousness when he was rudely disturbed by the rough and powerful embrace of more than one arm, and before he could raise a cry of alarm or attempt to defend himself he was lifted from the deck and flung overboard. The water rapidly shallowed, and in half a minute he had swum far enough towards land to permit him to wade ashore. The brief time he had after the unexpected seizure was sufficient to show him that there were at least half a dozen blacks on the schooner, and several more were clambering on board. Within five minutes of being pitched overboard the leader of the bushrangers had aroused his companions, who were now standing on the edge of the watet in dismay. They scarcely knew what to do, for they could not reach the craft without swimming, and if the natives resisted they would be helpless to carry the vessel. Thinking that plunder was the sole object of the attackers, Brady reluctantly ordered them to wait until daylight when decisive measures could be taken. It wanted but half an hour to that, and the outlaws withdrew to the camp and got the spare muskets ready with the object of slaughtering the daring aboriginals who had behaved so badly to them. They were soon back on the beach, and as the hue of day began to deepen on the night the eager men discerned dimly through the haze which rose from the sea the outlines of the schooner sails unfurled. Then the truth flashed on them. The blacks were stealing the schooner. There could be no doubt of that, for as daylight became stronger it was seen that the Derwent was slowly moving away under the influence of the northerly breeze. Seeing this the bushrangers waded cut as far as they could and tried to shoot down those who were on the schooner, but the blacks kept well in shelter and were not harmed. Indeed, they returned the fussilade so well that Brady saw it was best to retire, and as the Derwent moved farther away he led the men back to the camp, from which they ruefully gazed at the fast vanishing vessel. It was a terrible and unexpected blow to them, for they were now on a barren and inhospitable island without provisions. It was true that they had a little food and could eke it out with the fish and birds which could be obtained, but that was not what they had calculated on doing. All the plans which they had arranged for the future were now swept away, and they found themselves in a much worse state than if they had remained on the mainland. The Derwent, with some twenty aboriginals on board, was making in a southwesterly direction, but the outlaws could not imagine what those in charge of her were going to do —in fact, it mattered little or nothing what course they pursued if they did not return, as it would neither benefit or injure the discomfited outlaws. ‘‘ Well, cap’n, what is to be done now ?'’ one of the men asked. This was addressed to Brady, who stood silently watching the receding schooner as she became smaller and smaller. “ We must get away from here, at any rate. If we stay in this place we will either die of starvation or be taken without being able to defend ourselves,” answered the leader. “ Then, why not cross over to the mainland in those two boats over yonder?” spoke Sinclair, pointing towards a high cliff to the east. The mention of boats seemed to revive the spirits of the outlaws, and they turned their eyes in the direction indicated. “ Do you think we could get across in them ?” asked the leader. “I suppose so, forjthose black rascals got over in them, so they said. I have not examined them yet, but they ought to be good enough for a forty or fifty mile pull if the sea is not too rough,” replied Sinclair. The suggestion of the lieutenant was at once acted on, and the whole of the bushrangers started down to the little cove where a couple of boats were moored. These boats had, in fact, been originally stolen from vessels that had touched at George Town, and the blacks who took them had got off to Flinders Island. For a time they had been cleverly concealed by the ingenious natives, but after a time were brought out as the whalers from whom they had been taken had gone away. They had been pointed out to the outlaws, but they had taken no interest in them as they were not required under their previous circumstances. Now, however, the aspect of affairs had undergone a very marked change, and the men looked to the boats as their salvation. They were each about fifteen feet long and strongly, though roughly, built. D D 32 (to be continued )