THE KELLY HAUNTS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 246, 8 December 1880, Page 4

THE KELLY HAUNTS.

TBE FORTIFIED HUT OP THE GANG. The following is a description of the fortified retreat of the Kelly gang:— Leaving Melbourne one day Isßt week, Itook train to Lorgwood, and frcm thence coached it to Mansfield, the township wbich derived so much notoriety through the outbreak of tbe Kelly gang. Procuring a horse well nsed to rough country, and obtaining the services of a guide, who, I may state, waß intimately connected with the Kellys end their friends, and had undertaken to conduct me to eeveral of their haunts, I started etrly in the morning from Mansfield, and so as to avoid observation, made a Blight detour ■before finelly getting on the direct track to tbe Wombat ranges. Thence we made our way across country to tbe scene of tbe police murders, whicb, I was informed, was near to the fortified hut of tbe outlaws. Traces of the murders are still visible; on every side are bullet-marked trees, ond a few old posts of Walter Lyncb'a but can be noticed almost in the centre of the cleared Bpace, which the Kellys and their confederates approached by creeping up under tbe shelter of the tufts oi epear-glaes. Whether Kennedy was aware of it or not, all tbe time he was retreating and dodging from tree to tree, firing as best he could, and sternly contesting every inch of ground, he was making in almost a direct line for the but in which the Kellys and their mates had lived for many months before they committed tbe crime whioh caused tbeir . outlawry. A ride of about half a mile from the Bpot where Kennedy's body was found brought me and my companion to the stronghold of tte Kellys, situated on a email rise in tbe midst of a basin, bounded on the east by Ryan's Creek, on the west by a very high and steep mountain, forming part of the Wombat Ranges, on tbe north by a email creek flowing down from between the bills, and on the south by a medium sized ridge, which, however, is high enough to effectually conceal the but from view fn that direction. Reining in my horse on the crest of this ridge, and staking a glance at the scene whicb l»y before me, I could not but be struck ■with wonderment that such a perfect settlement should have existed so long within half, a dozen miles of selections without its existence being discovered. A farmer named Jebb lived within four miles, and another named Harrison, within six miles of it, and yet neither — at least so tbey assert—were even aware tbat the Kellys were ih the locality, although the latter must bave lived ou this spot many months, or they could never have .got matters into such an improved state. The plateau contains altogether, I should say, shout, 7o acres, and this is fenced ih on three sides (north, southland east) by a sapling dogleg and brush fence, the west side requiring.no fencing owing to the steejnses of the hill which constitutes its boundary. Immediately surrounding the but some 20 acres have been cleared, the trees ringed, and the timber — principally swamp gum and peppermint — placed in heaps ready for burning. The ground has even been raked, so as to give every chance for tbe grass to grow, and the aspect of the whole place denotes that the Kellys had lived in this secluded retreat many* a long day before the Wombat murders took place;

and as a proof that someone knew of their existence, I may mention that on a large peppermint tree within a er)ort distance from lhe hut the name "J. Martaiu " bas been carved in the sapwood of the tree after tbe sheet cf bark had been taken off to put on tbe roof of tbe but. In the creek flowing to the north of tbe hut a considerable amount of gold, digging has been done, sluicing being the principal' means employed, snd from appearances gold bas been got in payable quantities, «nd the workings are of such an extent tbat it would be utterly impossible for any four men to carry tbem on under a period of several months. Perhaps, however, the most striking sight of all is the appearance of the hut and its immediate surroundings. Imagine a houße erected of bullet-proof logs, fully 2ft iv diameter, one on the top of the other, crossed at the endß j after the faEhion of a chop and log fence, and with a door 6ft high by 2ft 6in wide, made of stiff slabs, and plated with iron nearly a quarter of an inch in thickness, which was loopholed \o fire through. The door is on the north side, opptsite the gold-workings of the ! creek, a well-built log chimney occupies the greater part of the west end of the hut. Such was the home of the Kelly gang for some months before the police murders. Its interior was fitted j up just as substantially es its exterior, and, in a manner, calculated to stand a long siege — there having been every provision made fcr the storage of flour, beef, tea, sugar, and other necessaries of life ; and to show that in fresh meat at least they were not wanting, we dis- j covered portions of several carcases, I together with seven or eight beads of cattle, with bullet holes in the centre of the forehead, lying outside the hut, which may have belonged to either v scrubbers" out of the ranges, or the fat bullocks of some not far-off distant gqualter or farmer, but moet probably tbe latter. Empty jam and sardine tins, old powder fls6ke, cap- boxes, broken shovels, old billy-cans, glasfc bottles, door binges, and a great variety of other articles were to be seen all round tbe but. But the crowning point of all, was the evident pains taken by the Kellys to improve themselves as marksmen. In eveiy direction, taking the hut as a standing point, we saw trees which were marked with bullets, from five to 50 having been fired in 1 6 each, at ranges varying from 20 to 400 yards. The bullets being afterwarde chopped out were melted down, and converted again into thejr fprtner.state. Ou one small tree a circle o t f charcoal 6in in diameter bad, been traced, anjl into this two or three revolver bullet's bad been fired, one striking itbe iblac^ dot'meant to represent the bull's eye ih the centre, and the other two ibeinp close to it. Some of the bullets bad gone to a depth of 4in. in jthe trees, and '"consequently "a good deal of chopping tad to be dooe to getithem out, and there was abundant evidence too,, tb prove that tbe more practice this outlaws had, tbe more they improved in the use ot the rifle and revolver, the shootiog at some matks on the Jrees. being very wide, and. on others remarkably straight and dead into the bull's eye.