Читать книгу History of Australian Bushranging 2 - Charles White - Страница 6

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DEATH OF O'MEALLY.

After Vane's severance from the gang, Hall, Gilbert and O'Meally did not remain long in the Carcoar district, but hurriedly pushed on for their old quarters in the Weddin Mountains. They knew that the Bathurst police, the men who had recently arrived from Maitland under Superintendent Lydiard, and the Carcoar and Cowra police, were concentrating on Dunn's Plains; and while the police were still hunting up their tracks in the country about Caloola, Rockley and Trunkey, the three were again creating a sensation in the neighbourhood of Canowindra.

They entered the town just as daylight was creeping over the eastern hills, a morning or two after the quarrel between Vane and Gilbert. Riding quietly up to the door of the local inn, which was still kept by Mr. W. Robinson, they awoke the landlord and asked if there were any police about: hearing of none, they went into the house and had some grog. They stayed about a quarter of an hour, and on going away asked for two bottles of wine and two of Old Tom, in payment for which they offered a £5 note—doubtless one of the number paid for Keightley's ransom. Mr. Robinson said he could not change the note, and they replied that he must do without the payment in that case, as they had no other money; they then rode away.

Mr. Robinson informed Mr. K. Cummings, a magistrate, who was stopping in the house, of what had occurred, and a messenger was sent for the solitary policeman, who lived about half a mile away. While they were conversing about the affair Mr. Superintendent Chatfield and a party of policemen rode up to the house, heard the news, found out which way the robbers had gone, and started in pursuit, taking a black tracker with them. They very soon got upon the bushrangers' tracks, and after riding six or seven miles the tracker sighted them and the chase commenced. When the bushrangers were first seen a young man named Hurkett was with them; and as soon as they saw the police they galloped off, and, according to Hurkett's account, his horse ran away with him so that he could not stop for some time. However, as soon as he possibly could he pulled up and the others went on by themselves; the police galloped up, dismounted, and fired at Hurkett, whose horse was shot. He had a bad time of it altogether, in fact: he was handcuffed at once—when he got back to Canowindra Sir F. Pottinger threatened him with arrest again, and when Chatfield returned from a fruitless chase the threat was carried out. Chatfield's party followed the bushrangers for about forty miles, in the direction of Bangaroo, but as the darkness came on they could no longer follow the tracks; however, they went on to Bangaroo and on riding up to the hut a little half-caste girl called out "There some men coming." O'Meally and Hall were then in the hut at tea, and had to get out in a hurry and on to their horses and off again. Hall, not having time to put on his boots, carried them under his arm. In the meantime Gilbert had been in an adjoining paddock looking for some horses, and when he rode back for his mates he found the police in the hut. A policeman called out "Who's there?" and Gilbert, turning his horse, rode away: the policeman fired at him, but the result was nil. The bushrangers were not seen again by the police, but on Thursday morning breakfasted at a station of Mr. Icely's, three miles below Canowindra, and on Friday morning were at a station of Mr. Grant's, not far from Carcoar. So sudden was the departure of Hall and O'Meally that they had not time to take all their things with them, but left a coat belonging to Gilbert, in the pocket of which was found with other things a bag containing a quantity of revolver bullets and a bullet mould.

On the following day they stuck up several teamsters between Canowindra and Toogong, but took nothing but some horse feed for their own animals, which they proceeded at once to feed, while the horses were feeding the police were observed coming up, and the bushrangers at once mounted and rode off, pursued by the police. Several shots were exchanged. In crossing a swampy flat Hall's horse got bogged, and the police, had they pushed on, might have made Hall prisoner. O'Meally and Gilbert pulled up and came to his assistance, and the police observing this pulled up and commenced reloading. This proved so tedious an operation that before it was concluded the horse was got out of his difficulty, and the three bushrangers cleared off, pursued at a respectful distance by the police.

On the night of Thursday, 19th November, at about a quarter to nine o'clock, the three bushrangers rode up to Goimbla, about thirty-two miles from Forbes. Mr. Campbell, the station-owner, had made no secret of his abhorrence of the freebooters, and on one occasion had started out in pursuit of them, accompanied by a few of his immediate friends. Mr. Keightley had been paid out for his audacity: now it was Mr. Campbell's turn.

The first notification he had of their presence was the sound of footsteps under the front verandah of the house; suspecting the true cause of the sound, he sprang towards the chimney corner, seized one of two double-barrelled fowling pieces which were ready loaded there, and ran into the next room, where he confronted one of the bushrangers, who stood at an outer door of the same room that opened upon the verandah. After an ineffectual exchange of shots the fellow rejoined his mates, who proceeded deliberately to set fire to the barn and stabling, which formed two sides of a quadrangle. As the barn contained a large quantity of hay, the whole structure was quickly in flames, which raged so fiercely that the premises in the immediate vicinity were brilliantly illuminated; and a favourite horse of Mr. Campbell's was roasted to death.

MR. AND MRS. CAMPBELL.

In the meantime Mrs. Campbell had with great bravery and at the risk of her life secured the second fowling piece and some ammunition, luckily unhit by a volley which the gang fired at her through the window. She and her husband then posted themselves in the passage leading from the house to the kitchen, where they could command all approaches, the lady reconnoitring every now and then. Presently she reported that a man with a cabbage-tree hat stood watching the flames. Mr. Campbell rushed round the house to the front corner, took deliberate aim at the fellow's throat, fired, and returned to load his gun.

Just before this several shots had been fired, but now there was a dead silence. At half past eleven he cautiously approached the spot where the man had stood, and on the opposite side of the fence, found a carbine and cabbage-tree hat; at daylight he and a constable who had arrived followed a track into the oaks, and discovered the body of the man, who was wounded in the neck.

Early on the following morning word was sent to the Police Magistrate at Forbes, who at once started for the spot to hold a magisterial inquiry over the body. Mr. Campbell was not yet certain whether it was O'Meally who had fallen before his fire.

As Saturday dawned upon the smoking ruins, the place presented a melancholy spectacle. Everything combustible inside and around the tottering walls and barns and stables had disappeared, and the charred remains of the dead horse, swollen to nearly double its natural size, lay inside the inclosure. No vestige of nearly £1100 worth of property remained save the crumbling shells of the two buildings. Under the verandah of an out-building hard by lay the disfigured corpse of the dead bushranger, the body covered by part of a woolpack and the face by a towel. It was clad in a pair of strapped breeches, high boots with spurs, and three Crimean shirts, and underneath the neck lay a white comforter. The frame was athletic, the arms muscular, the hands as small and delicate as a lady's. The lower limbs were light and apparently well knit, and the figure as a whole gave the impression of activity and strength combined in more than an ordinary degree.

It was at first intended to remove the remains to Forbes for interment, but the heat of the weather rendered this impossible. They were interred at Goimbla, on the near bank of the Eugowra Creek. Subsequently, however, they were removed by relatives and friends to Forbes and there interred amidst much ceremony, as though they were those of a hero who had lost his life in the performance of a noble duty.

The following letter from Mrs. Campbell to her mother after the occurrence will further illustrate the fact that the danger which threatened her and her husband on that awful night was exceptionally great; and it will also show how empty was the boast made by the bushrangers and their friends that in all their raids Hairs gang were careful to treat females with the utmost consideration and respect. Writing on the 21st November Mrs. Campbell said:—

You will be anxious till you hear direct of our safety. It is indeed owing to the great mercy of God that the lives of David and William are spared. So many people have been here taking notes, that I doubt not you will read a most truthful account of all in the papers. I need not therefore weary you with another. We had no time for fear. The most dreadful part was the burning of the barn and stable. They are not much farther from the house than your stable; and at one part an outhouse, which is connected with the man building, is only divided by a road. You cannot imagine my agony while the flames were towering above us. Had the wind only blown towards the house all must have gone. The ground between the stable and outhouse was strewn with straw from the haymaking; there was also a large heap of woolpacks and a cart, all of which were set on fire. I was in such deadly fear of its catching at this point, that I rushed out and succeeded in getting the road cleared with the assistance of the cook. By this time the roofs had fallen in, so that the danger was passed. I imagine the ruffians had also retreated. Mr. Campbell had ventured out to the spot where he had aimed at the man. He found his gun and hat, but not the body, for his mates had dragged it some distance away, and his idea at the time was that the man had merely been wounded, and would return for his things. A short while after we heard a rustling as of some one creeping stealthily through the oats, and were afraid to go out again lest the bushrangers should be lying in ambush. The men in the huts had now recovered from their panic, and came up to see what was going on. David stationed them at various posts, and they watched till morning. It was by this time 3 o'clock. I was very tired, went to bed and managed to sleep a little: but was awakened before dawn by the arrival of the police. They found the body, and I cannot describe to you the state of my feelings when I heard of it— heard that the unhappy man had been shot by the light of the fire which he had helped to raise—for at the moment he fell the country round was as light as day. It appears the ruffians retreated to one of the huts, where they were cursing and swearing in a most fearful manner that they would yet have revenge; and I am grieved to add that a female servant heard one of them regretting not having shot the woman—meaning. I suppose myself; but his comrade called out to him to hold his tongue, and mind what he was about. When the alarm took place, William rushed to the back door, not knowing that Mr. Campbell was in the house, and that the shots had been fired at him. William there received a charge of slugs in his breast, four wounds in all, but fortunately not deep. Startled, he staggered on, got outside of the place, and could not find his way back. He is now all right.

As soon as the excitement had somewhat subsided, the public began to discuss how best Mr. and Mrs. Campbell's bravery could be rewarded, and their losses made good. Public meetings were held, laudatory speeches were made and subscriptions were raised. The reward of £1000 offered by the Government was, of course, handed over to Mr. Campbell, but the value of the property destroyed by the fire raised by the bushrangers was estimated at nearly double that amount, and although a goodly sum was raised, and every reputable person in the colony applauded them to the echo, the response was really not at all what it ought to have been. Mr. Campbell did not count the cost to himself, however, when single-handed he defied the common enemy, and he earned the gratitude, poorly expressed though it may have been, of every decent man and woman in New South Wales.

The two remaining members of the gang made no attempt to avenge the death of their comrade, but stripped the body of its valuables and disappeared in the darkness, making haste to reach a place where the police would not be likely to look for them for a day or two. Thus it happened that while the bush round Goimbla was being scoured by the authorities, Hall and Gilbert were many miles away laying their plans for future operations. After a few days' quiet they resumed operations on the road near Burrowa, in the Southern district, and some twenty cases of sticking-up were reported in one day.

About this time the gang was joined by a young fellow named Dunleavy, and a man named Gordon, generally known as the "Old Man." Of the latter's history previous to his association with Hall very little was known, and as he was captured soon after joining the gang he did not have many opportunities of distinguishing himself as a freebooter. Dunleavy was a smart young fellow, about twenty years of age, who up to the time of joining the gang had lived with his mother on a station in the Forbes district. He was well known about Bathurst, where in his youth he had attended one of the public schools, and those who knew him were greatly surprised when they heard that he had cast in his lot with the gang.

They were engaged with Hall in six highway robberies of the usual type, the road between Bathurst and Blayney being the scene of several. They then pushed on towards Cowra, stopped five drays which were on their way to Forbes, and ransacked the residence of Mr. T. P. Grant, J.P., soon afterwards leaving the Carcoar district for the Lachlan.

Shortly after this the gang came into collision with a party of police under Sir Frederick Pottinger, near Forbes, and shots were exchanged, when both Hall and Dunleavy were wounded, the latter severely, having his wrist shattered by a bullet, but the former not very seriously. The bushrangers lost their horses, but managed to escape. Two months afterwards the "Old Man" was pressed very closely and escaped from Wheogo to the Murrumbidgee, and was cleverly tracked by two policemen and Billy, the black tracker, and arrested in a public house. He was brought back to Forbes, and it is said that Hall watched him being taken into town by the police. He was subsequently sent down to Bathurst, where he was tried and convicted and sentenced on three separate charges—for the first offence, ten years' hard labour on the roads, the first three in irons; for the second offence ten years: and for the third offence five years, the sentences to be cumulative.

The brush with the police appears to have intimidated Dunleavy, and a report was circulated that he had asked Hall's permission to give himself up, as Vane had done, but that Hall had refused to consent. Whether this was a fact or no, certain it is that Dunleavy did follow Vane's example, and voluntarily surrendered himself to the Rev. Father McGuinn, who was at that time labouring in the Carcoar district. He sent a message to the priest saying that he desired to see him, and the priest answered the call, when Dunleavy said he was sick of bushranging life and wanted him to go with him to Bathurst and deliver him over to the authorities. The two then rode into Bathurst and the bushranger was incarcerated in the gaol. The two men were called up together at the Circuit Court in April, 1865, at which Judge Wise presided, and each of them pleaded guilty—the "Old Man" to six and Dunleavy to five charges of robbery under arms.

These rather rapid developments from the choice of a bushranging life to surrender, trial, sentence, and the entrance upon an almost life-long term of imprisonment, formed a powerful deterrent to other young men who may have been enamoured of the lawless life in the bush. Henceforth there were no more fresh recruits in the Western District Banditti, and one by one the remaining members of the gang established by Frank Gardiner came to the inevitable goal—the grave or the gaol for long-sentenced prisoners.