GOLD-SEEKERS OF THE FIFTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2359, 11 May 1899, Page 45

GOLD-SEEKERS OF THE FIFTIES.

THE ROMANCE OF DIGGINGS LIFE. THE MIVOR GOLD ROBBERY. TREASURE TROVE. Melbourne Argus, April 22. Two vehicles amongst the many that threw mud and dust behind them on the old gold-fields roads always excited the interest of the wayfarers. One was Cobb and Co.'s red coach ? rolling on its leathern braces like a ship in a cross-sea; the other the gold waggon and its escort of mounted troopers. The main escort left Bendigo •weekly or fortnightly as occasion required, and the output of Forest Creek, the M'lvor and other fields was picked up en route. At first heavy wooden gold boxes were used, portentously sealed all over, but the labour of unloading and re-loading these when the gold waggon bogged, as it often did, was great, and a more convenient round iron box was afterwards adopted. The oval lid when clamped and screwed down required only a single seal. The /irst great escort was at the end of 1852, when the late Mr Rafpdon Greene — who took up country on the Gulf afterwards and died there — contracted to carry the gold, and went up to Bendigo with his own waggons and horses, taking about a ton and a-half of gold on his first trip. As much as two tons has been brought out of the Bendigo by one escort. Although the guards for the Government camps on the gold-fields were chiefly old pensioners, none but smart young fellows, good riders, and good shots were engaged on escort duty either for the Government or the private companies, who, later, ran in opjjosition. On dangerous parts of the road there were always scouts thrown out to guard against an ambush, and the troopers rode with their carbines at the hip ready for action.

Considering the number of bushrangers who ruled the road, and the domination obtained by men like Black Douglas and his gang in and around the Black Forest, it is remarkable that the gold escorts were not more frequently attacked. Their treasure was often worth from £80,000 to £100,000 — a tremendous temptation to the hordes of old Vandemonians who hung about the diggings. With 10 or a dozen well-armed men on escort, however,' there was a large amount of risk* and some certain' bloodshed -in the enterprise, and these fellows found an ' easier ' prey lii solitary diggers or small parties, who must have disappeared in scores without anyone knowing or troubling as to their fate. There is an old saying, " Murder will out "' — a convenient sentiment, perhaps, to encourage amongst the criminal and deprav*ed. But murder must be discovered, and scores of men murdered for their gold were never found. Their boues are rotting to mould to-day under many a grass sod between Melbourne and Bendigo. The " Missing Friends' " column of The Argus of that day is eloquent in its magnitude. It was a feature of the paper. Some pf the successful diggers convoyed their own gold, but that was always a dangerous experiment, though the devices to foil the bushrangers were ingenious. One of the Bendigo pioneers tells ho%v he managed it. " One of our drays needed repairing, so I had the bed of the axle taken into my tent, and while my mates kept watch, I carved out with the chisel und hammer four chambers in the wood, in which I placed the chamois leather bags containing all our gold. We fitted them with lids, and plastered the joints over with stiff clay, keeping a little loo.se gold to hand over if the worst came. Near Oarlsruhe we saw three rough-looking fellows spying on us, and that night as we were about to turn in we heard the hoof beats of horses approaching the camp, and a voice in the distance s.iy. ' They are down Ilus way,' somewhere.' The dogs were turned loose, we seized our arms, and ran to meet the bushrangers, but the row we made and the discovery that we were ready to fight for the right of way caused them to change their plans suddenly, and gallop off through the bush. That night the same gang ' attacked another "camp of returning diggers, who also showed fight. One of the diggers was shot dead, and three others seriously wounded. Further down the road we met a detachment of troopers, who told us that on the previous night they had surprised the bushrangers while ransacking the Macedon Hotel, and that everyone of the gang, with the exception of Black Douglas himself — who escaped after a hand-to-hand encounter — had been captured."

Another pioneer tells the story of the robbery of the M'lvor e&cort : — " Immunity from attack led to a false sense of security both {imnngst the Government and private escorts, and the lesson came when the private escort from M'lvur was suddenly fired upon and robbed at the Mia Mia on the 20th of July. 1853. They had 23000z of gold and some £820 in cash — treasure worth £9500 — and were travelling from M'lvor to Kynelovt to catch the main Bendigo escort on its way to Melbourne. The escort was in command of Superintendent Warner, with Sergeant Thiins, four troopers, and the driver. Duins was riding in front, and as they came lound a bend of the road by the Mia Mm he found a tree felled across the track, forming a sort of barricade. The trap had been well planned. Some of the branches had been cut away, and thrown with apparent carelessness by the rondside, but behind this screen two of the gang had taken shelter, so as to cut off any possibility of retreat. The others ■were hiding behind trees on the lull slope commanding the roadway. While four of the robbers arranged the ambuscade, two others went up the road to watch for the coming of the escort. Sergeant Duins was riding at its head, and the fallen tree, as he suddenly came upon it, seemed to escjto lus suspicion. He held up his hand,

and cried ' Halt ! ' That was taken a3 the signal to fire. The bushrangers jumped from behind the trees and fired a volley — having loaded their their guns with a double charge — a bullet and heavy shot. Four of the escort — Davis, Boeswater, Fookes, and Morton — instantly fell, seriously wounded. Davis was shot in the neck as he tried to unstrap his carbine, and another of the wounded men was pinned down by his dead horse. Sergeant Duins dashed his horse through the barricade, being repeatedly fired at, for the robbers carried horse pistols as well as guns, and one of them, George Melville, had a revolver. Two bullets lodged in the flanks of Duin's horse, and both he and Warner exchanged shots with the gang until their ammunition was exhausted, but at too long range to be effective. Warner gave up when his horse was shot in the jaw, and the sergeant galloped to the nearest police station for assistance. It was all over in a few minutes. The wounded men were left on the ground just as they lay. and while two of the bushrangers galloped out to exchange shots with Duins and Warner the others took the gold and cash, overlooking, howeve^, one packet of £120, and rode away through the bush. They had disappeared , while the smoke of their guns still floated over the box trees.

"The number of men who took part in this raad has never been absolutely known. They multiplied and dwindled, like FalstafFs men in buckram. The first estimate was 20, then 15, while the wounded troopers themselves, when able to give evidence, made it 10. Two brothers named Francis, both ex-convicts, who were amongst the gang, turned informers afterwards, and even their accounts varied strangely. George Francis, who was arrested at the Rocky Waterholes, said that 12 men took part in the exploit, and gave tho names ot several, who were arrested and afterwards released. On his way to Melbourne, Francis managed to get hold of a razor at one of fche inns by the way, and while still handcuffed cut his throat and died. His brother, John Francis, who later on turned Queen's evidence, said that only six men were concerned in the raid These were Gray — who organised it and escaped scot free — the two Francises, Melville, Wilson, and Atkins.

" The" daring of the attack roused both police and diggers to the necessity of immediate action, ana volunteers were plentiful. In a few days 400 men were scouring the bush, and arrests were being -made in all directions, for there was no lack of suspicious characters. The punts on the Murray and Goulburn were simultaneously watched, and, though £3000 reward was offered, the gang got to Melbourne unchallenged, and some of them nearly succeeded in escaping from the country "with their booty. Rumour apprehended them meanwhile in every corner of Victoria, after encounter's more or less dramatic and desperate. At the point where the troopers were shot down two pannikins were picked up, one marked Richard Maxfield and another W.N. These were the only definite traces.

" According to the confession of John Francis, the bushrangers rode to a dense part of the forest on the Gampaspe River, threw their guns into the water, keeping only the pistols, which they could easily conceal ; and, having divided the gold equally— with a uowdor flash as a measure —decided to separate. Gray, who had the skill and daring to plan the raid, bad the wit to know that, while these desperate criminals — most of them had been transported — were just the men to aid him in the robbery, they were not to be trusted afterwards. John Francis had once before turned Queen's evidence. Gray determined to trust none of them, but cut himself clear at once, and was supposed to have gone to Adelaide. George Francis stayed in the M'lvor district, and the other four choosing as a rendezvous a cottage owned by John Francis on Collingwood Flat, found their Avay by different roads to Melbourne. No suspicion * attached to a man having gold for sale; therefore they had no difficulty in getting rid of part of the spoil, though some of it was afterwards found in their possession. Indeed, one digger was able to identify a particular nugget, shaped like an eagle, which had the dent of a pick in it.

"Having arrested George Francis, heard his confession, and lost a valuable witness in his sudden suicide, the police hastened to Melbourne, and were just in time. The ship Madagascar, lying in Wobson's Bay, was on the eve of sailing fsr England, Wilson had takeu his passage by her, but the night before she sailed he created a disturbance on board, and drew a pistol. The police made this the excuse for his arrest, and brought him s shore. On the way he asked them to pull under the stern of the ship Collooney, shortly to sail for the Mauritius, when lie asked Melville to look after his wife. The hint was sufficient. Melville was the very man they most wished to meet, so the/ dropped upon him suddenly next day. Atkvns Wi's found at a hay and corn store in Elizabeth street. He had on him ;i draft for £400. his wife Agnes had £80 in cash, and sewn up in the lining of her plaid dre*\s the police afterwards discovered a draft for £700. In George Melville's trunk on board the Collooney the police found two bags of sovereigns — £720 in all— while he had £100 on his person. Melville had married a handsome Frenchwoman, who was said to have money, and the solicitude of thu one for the other was a feature of the subsequent trial, that created much public interest. Even in those days, .when every second prisoner at the assizs court was charged with 'robbery under arms,' the trial made a great sensation, the late Mr R. C. Ireland and Mr (now Sir Archibald) Michie, two of the leading barristers of the day, appearing for the defence. George Francis saved his life by turning Queen's evidence, but George Melville, George Wilson, and William Atkins were found guilty and hanged. When asked whether he had anything to say before the sentence of death was passed, Melville made a remarkably able speech, attacking rather the method of the trial than offering excuses for himself. In the midst of a savage attack oa John. Francis, the informer, who

had been deathly pale as lie gave his evidence, Melville was advised by the late Mr Justice Williams — father of the present judge — to prepare himself for death by divesting himself of all feelings of malice towards men, difficult though it might be in the case ef an informer. Melville's mood instantly changed, and he exclaimed, ' Then may God forgive me as I forgive John Francis !' He listened to the death sentence, with his eyes turned towards his wife in the gallery, but the agony in his drawn face deeply impressed those who watched him.

"Although large sums of money were found in the possession of the men arrested, there has always been a strong impression that portion of the gold was planted in a paddock near the scene of the robbery, often pointed out to travellers on that road. Every hollow tree and likely hiding-place in the vicinity has been ransacked time and again for the hidden treasure, but if found the secret was well kept."

This oldtime crime was revived lately in a somewhat curious way. While Air Panton was in his office a few weeks ago a man called to see him. " You remember the M'lvor gold escort robbery in 1853? " he asked. " Perfectly," was the reply. I was on Bendigo at the time it occurred." "I wish to know," said the visitor, " whether, in the event of my being able now to recover a portion of the gold stolen on that occasion, it would belong to me or to the Crown. I have very good reason for believing that part of the gold was buried near a culvert not far from the place where the escort was robbed, and that it was never afterwards removed." The police magistrate laid down for the inquirer's benefit the laws relating to treasure trove, and gave the stranger a hint in the suggestion that a man equipped with a miner's right might dig for gold where he pleased. Nothing has been heard since of the treasure-seeker, and the quest so strangely revived after a lapse of nearly half a century.

At the time of the murderous raid the impression was general that some of the gold was planted not for from the place where the escort troopers were .shot down. It was strengthened by the fact that the money recovered when members of the gang were arrested did not represent anything like a fair proportion of the treasure seized. It was thought that the weight of gold would have hampered the robbers in their flight, but it was only a little over 2001b in all, apart from the coin, and there were six men to carry It. There are many reasons against theory of a treasure plant in the mia rnia paddocks. Men of such a character would hardly trust each other with a common cache, separating as they did s«on afterwards. No mention was made of it in either of the confessions, and rhe three men sentenced to death would hardly have kept silent on so important a subject in order that John Francis, the man who saved his. own neck by betraying them, might in after years obtain, the treasure. Gray, the leader of the gang, was a daring man, and he escaped. In due time he would certainly have returned to secure a prize so well worth the risk. All things considered, therefore, it seems unlikely that a judicial interpretation of the laws of treasure trova will ever be required in connection with the famous M'lvor gold robbery.