A HIGHWAYMAN'S HISTORY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8100, 27 August 1904, Page 4

A HIGHWAYMAN'S HISTORY.

LUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RICHARD I BURGESS. ; - — ! An account of the Maungatapu murders . ar which Burgess and two acco-apUces ] .-ere hanged at Nelson, on October 6, ] 866, appeared in the "Star" 1 of July 2, j nd the opening chapter of Burgess's autoiography was published on July 9. J [Aix Rights R_m._sbv__d.] No. VIII. CAPTU4ED. [ I had not gone far— about half a mile — vhen I came out on the beaten road z prodding on which I sighted a trooper coning in my direction ; he observed me also. hi reaching the spot where I wwats t we .alufced each other. I started on my road, vhen he stopped his horse right close to ne. Ho told me two men Sad "disturbed Vlr Burgess's station last night, their inicntion, from their conduct, being to stick ip the said, and from tpe descriptions riven you answer to the description of one .f them; so will you have any objection :o accompany nic thither?" At this a .tockrider came up, when ths trooper said, •Have you* any av/tis about you?" I remarked,' "I'll let you see!" Afc that I railed out my revolver, and in doing so he ia-pt on the top of me. We had a struggle .or life and death. In jumping off _ liis horse he caught my pistol with his right iand. We were thus struggling when the stockrider came to his rescue. Luckily for .he trooper he did, for I cert « inly should liave mastered him. I was captured by .hem nud taken to -Mr Burgeea's station, fhe stockrider went in another direction, [or it appears, after we got disturbed in :-he manner described, the owner of tho .tation rode into Echuca and gave information to the police of what had occurred, f hat caused them to 'start out there and -hen. At the place where I met the troop?r, it was distant sixteen miles from Echuca. On reaching ,Mr Burgess's station [ was 'recognised, and my Wellington boot taken off, to see if it answered the footprints round his own verandah, for I had been round the house, to see which was tbe best way to enter. Not long after they brought my' mate in ; they chained us to the manger of the stable, that being the first time ever I was made a horse of. We were forwarded to Echuca, on the. banks of the river Murray. The two troopers who arrested us had a present made tc them by the station-holders round the neighbourhood. It appears my comrade, had made an out-station likewise, and was. there stopping, anticipating my coming, when who should walk in but a trooper and a, stockman. He was then seemed. IN GAOL. On arriving at- thf. station, the sergeantin charge put me in. handcuffs, notwithstanding I was shut up in an iron lock-up. In the evening I asked him to relea_e mo while I took off my coat. In doing ro he left the key iv them, which I secreted. The next day I was tried before Mr Sturfc and Mr Kelly, the latter being the Evident "Magistrate of- Deniliquin. I was acquitted for attempting to stick up the station, because the evidence was defective, iv that it took place at night in the dark, and they could not swear it was us. But I received- twelve months for ■ carrying firearms and was fully committed for trial for attempting tho life of the trooper. And Mr Kelly preferred a charge against me for sticking up Mr Warren and the trooper, and to bs -forwarded to the Sydney Government at the expiration of my time. They brought my companion out, and gave him twelve months on the supposition that he was my mate. On the same night he was taken away, and I thougjit within mys-elf that the Magistrates had thought better of itand recalled his sentence. On the following morning he came in, when I asked liim where be had been to. He said, "In tlie sergeant's place all night." He further told me there was a stranger there who wanted to know very badly who I was, and if he would tell them he might get out of his sentence. I felt vexed afc what he told me. The day arrived we were to be forwarded on to Sandhurst, to be tried at the forthcoming trials. Having posses-ion still of the handcuff key, I was determined to escape, or lose my life. The first station we stopped at was the one on the Compaspe, called the Runnyniedc Station, of which a Yankee had charge. Now we were conveyed in a chaise cart, for which the man was to receivo ten pounds; so when we arrived here it was du.k. The Yankee took us under his control, while the troopers took the saddles off thoir horses; we were then taken into tho guard-house, for they had no lock-up. After the troopers and civilian had hnd tea/ they relieved- the Yankee from his charge ; wo were still, handcuffed together. While we were sitting in the room, the troopers beiran talking about the new uniform jacket-, 0 which caused one of them to lay his revolver on a bed, in tbe opposite angle ta where we were sitting. It there remained until the Yankee came back, and resumed his duty over us. He pulled oufc his revolver, and laid ik by his side on the table in front of liim, and side on to us. Not long after he began writing m a book, when the troopers proposed giving their horses a clean down. They rose to go to the stable for the purpose, which wera , some sixty yards from the guard-house ; they went, leaving the pistol still m the same position. j A DASH FOR LIBERTY! ; When they left, the civilian stretched himself on the bench opposite to us, with his feet nob far from the loaded pistol. At this I gave my companion the handcuff key to loos* himself, as I was fast by the right hand, and he had his at liberty. Jf motioned to him as well as I was able (foi tho man that, drove ua down was doz.ag) for him to open the door, and I would secure the pistol. With this I made a bound and got it. In,the meantime Dave uot the door open, on attaining winch, he Mb me with these two men confronting nie. After I had gained possession of the pistol, I turned round, when the \ankee was picking up his revolver to fire a. me, when I made him put it down again, though he had told me a little .bit of his life in California; he was nothing but a braggadocia Lot » fellow, not havnig the mettle of his confrere on the . tganey side of the Murray. What was I to do, in conaequenoe of my companion living me the way he had done? Now, had he only have stopped as he ought, we should have been able to ha>ve *gone to the stables and' etuek the troopers up, for they had no arms, and we were m the place where they were kept. Another thing, we should have taken their horses, and the money and valuables taken from us, arid escape we nrast,. beyond » dra**- No, he thought only of himself. What else could Ido besides' what- 1 did, which was this: — Wto*n the Yankee put his pistol down I nulled to tho door, and went to the back of the guard-honso and began to put distance between us. In so doing the wife of the Yankee saw me, and screamed out; this alarmed the staiico:. RECAPTURED. I was still proceeding at good speed when I was precipitated into the bed' of the Compaspe, which at the time was only a chain of water-holes. The height from which I k'll was about thirty feet, but my fall was broken -in the descent. "I was stunned by tho faill, and quit© unconscious for a fewminutes. When I recovered- myself the i Yankee was firing at ine 'from the height—

the woman telling Wm whereabouts I fe . I was rendered hon de combat by this fall, so that I was an easy capture They carried me up and- handcuffed mo to the stanchion, of the benches. While m that position Air Yankee showed his cowardice by inflicting a scries of blows on a prostrate wretch that could not avenge himself ; he beat mc fearfully about the head with hiss carbine till I was knocked senseless. Dave escaped, their attention being occupied- in nn- recapture. The trooper stationed with t. the Yankee rode to where the Inspector of t : the district- was stopping, for my escapade p with the trooper 'on the Goulboum had Q brought him up. In the morning he took me in his own gig, with handcuffs round mv ankles and tied to the back of the gig. *■ Thus I made any advent at M'lvor. On 6 arriving there' l was chained to the logs, n On tho Monday morning I was taken and a tried for attempting to escape, for which I a reoeived tweive months. I was then fully I committed for trial for endangering the a trooper's (Mr Yankee's) life. At the end c of this examination Mr Recce, the inspector g mentioned, wa.s kind enough 1 to receive my 'statement relative to the manner I in which I was disabled from the treatment * I received at the Yankee's hands. I was a I perfect fright- to look at, and with all their a blandishments I could not be prevailed upon to wash fche blood from my person till I was a tried. EEVENGE. t The result of my complaint was that Mr j Stanley (for such waa Lis name) got dis- t chargc-d from the service. I was sent to t Bendigo, where I had to 'be tried for these offences. I lay there for nearly four months, 1 during all which time the authorities did £ ::ofc identify me, because I was very much ' a!t-mJ in appearance, and under the name T o: Charles Harris; so when the country r officials telegraphed my description as I \ appealed, they did not know ifc -was Dick ] Hi!!, my name in the Victorian records. ' I was anxiously waiting to hear from Dave all this time, but still no news. * This hurt me very much ; my friendship towards him. he knew, resembled a modern Damon : but as for him. the nigra te « s he proved himself, lie did not re-c-iprorat-e the feelings I felt for him. I bitterly swore thafc if ever I caught him I would shoot him like a dog. At the sessions held in Sandhurst, in the month of July, I -ivas tried. At my arraignment, au incident occurred that was very benefici.tt to me, inasmuch as it left an impression behind thafc I was wdl con-i)_.-ynd. ]t was this:— On the iurv beuig empanelled, the Crown Prosecutor" objected to one of the jurymen, asserting he' was cither a relation or an acquaintance of mine. He was dismissed the jury. For tlio first offence the Judge advocated mv case, in that the jury were led to believe that he arrested me without sufficient warranty, so that they made a common assault case of it, and for which I received only one month's imprisonment. Being in legal custody when the other took place, I was held responsible for .what I did. For this I received six months. After the trials were over, I was identified, which, had i. being known some few days previous, I should have gob fifteen years at the very least. Tho newspapers gave ifc me, but they were a day behind the lime. I was sent to Melbourne directly. On arriving, there was an ovation on the occasion, which showed itself when I reached tha gaoJ. A DEATH SENTENCE. While there, an old acquaintance of mine received the tsnlenra of death for throwing tho overseer over tho quarry, not hurting I him much, for which be was about to sufj for. At the reading of his death warrant, hs requested permission to sco me. I saw him three days prior to his execution. I pitied him in his then awful position, not thinking that- I should some day be in a similar one ; but it is co. I left the poor fellow to bs hanged the next day, and went to Collingwood Stockade. There I was put in tiie separate cells, then forwarded to Pentridge. Tlie model prison, had just opened, so that I was one of the first placed in ifc. Whilo here, I thought I should do the whole of my time thus, for the authorities had a great spite against me. Th. discipline was very strict. The prison held some hundred and sixty prisoners. It was fourteen years since i went inside the wall of a model prison. On looking hack at my first model life, and contrasting it with the one I was then enduring, how different were my feelingsThen, I was recliiimr.ble. 'Now I was a hardened wretch and murderer, in whom there was no reclamation. What did I do while immured here? Why, review my deficiencies, in not being more fortunate in my predacious life. I remained an inmate of this establishment nearly twelve months, all of which time I saw no one but those connected with the model. GOOD RESOLUTIONS. In my secret communings I had resolved to have nothing to do with anything in future but what would reward rae for my trouble. I have before mentioned that these establishments were not fit places for men who are well versed in all sorts of crime, because here they are nice and clean, and aivay from all kinds of hard work, so that they consider themselves the gentlemen prisoners. During all the time I was here I never saw any clergyman. It's true tlie regulation board specified that any prisoner wishing to see tne chaplain has only lo make his request known to the warder on duty. and it would be attended to. Now, I consider, and do still, there is too much formality in this — no Christianity. The religion "of Jesus Christ, from what I have learned, is far different to that. Christ, while on earth, bid his disciples go into all the world aijid preach the Gospel. What move fitting place to go to than where crime and sin abide? It is the clergyman's business, if he is a disciple of Christ, to go, and not wait till sent for, which in unnumbered cases would never be. Who knows but on one of his visits the Lord might reward him for his labour, by convincing even a wretch like me of the need oi the Saviour. Such was the system in vogue at. the time I speak of. I remember the question being asked by one of the members of the Committee of Enquiry, whether thero was* any reformation taking pladp in any of tho prisoners confined on board the hulks. The answer was no. So, likewise of your models, for on the hulks crime was engendered to an enormous extent. There were men there who entered .the Government- not having been prisoners before, who left tlie Government confirmed criminals. I left aftor being y_ere the time I have mentioned, and was removed to the lower stockade, where there are some five hundred prisoners always kept- There was nothing of* consequence happened to me while I wa* doing the remainder of my time. Ths murdering days, as we used to call them, were passed. (To be continued next Saturday.)