Читать книгу Old Convict Times to Gold Digging Days - William Derricourt - Страница 18

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I was kept in the Tench until the cutter regularly employed in carrying prisoners to the different stations arrived. Soon she came into the harbor, and I was taken from my cell with the others bound for Port Arthur. Guarded by prison constables on each side we were driven down, some of us with, and some without, chains, to the craft in waiting. I was wearing simply the long watchman's coat and nothing else. On boarding the vessel we were put down in the hold, where there was stretched a long cable, one end of which was passed round the capstan. To this cable we were fettered. Passing the Iron Pot, a small island down the harbor, we all began singing, shouting, and making a great noise. We were told that if we did not quieten when told we should be forced to do so. We still persisted, when two or three turns were given to the capstan, tightening the cable, and we were held up by our fettered feet, and with our heads downward, until we promised good behavior.

As an instance of the peculiar feeling prevailing among prisoners at that time, I may mention that, as we were all ranked up in line before going on board, the hang-man came along shaking hands and taking leave of departing prisoner friends. On coming, however, to a man who, although he was really a flogger, was known as "Hangman Thompson," the regular hangman hung back, saying "I can't shake hands with you. When I have to deal with a friend I finish him off in a decent manner; while in your line he would be tortured to death."

This man Thompson, I heard and believe, was afterward himself tortured by bushrangers somewhere in the territory that is now known as the colony of Victoria. He was torn limb from limb, horses being fastened by traces to his legs and then driven different ways.

Nothing of importance occurred on our passage to Port Arthur after we had once been reduced to order by means of the cable. On reaching Port Arthur we were thoroughly washed and supplied each with a new magpie suit, pannikin, dish, spoon, bed, blanket, and two shirts. The suit of slops was supposed to last six months. The custom was for two men to go into partnership and save a pair of trousers each when new things were given out. When opportunity offered these trousers were given to the tailors, of whom there were always several among us. The tailors would separate the two colors, and by joining black to black and yellow to yellow, make, instead of magpie garments, one pair of black and one of yellow. The former would be sold to the soldiers and the latter dyed with some material found in the bush, and the numbers removed with soft soap and turpentine.

I was now told off to what was known as Morris's slip gang, and employed carrying knees, planks, and other timber for the building of a vessel called the Lady Franklin. Our usual load was to each man 75 pounds before dinner, and 70 after. When we had to remove a long heavy beam, all the bearers were ranked up on each side, and, at the word "lift" being given, all hands laid hold and raised the beam shoulder high. The sub-overseer would then tell a number of men to step from under, leaving the rest to carry the burden, upon the top of which he would always ride. When on his perch he would prevent the men steadying themselves by putting their hands on the top, instead of at the side of the beam, by giving severe and often damaging raps on the knuckles. These beams had sometimes to be carried a mile or a mile and a half through the bush, over rough and smooth, up hill or down, at times throwing such a weight on the bodies of the wretched men as almost to force their eyes from the sockets. Should any man stumble or fall down, his number was taken and he was had up for punishment under some pretext or another. When leaving the settlement to fetch timber some men were in irons and some not. The gang was always headed by two men in comparatively light irons, the more heavily ironed being, if possible, forced to keep up with their leaders. New hands at the work of course suffered most, and, through my irons being rusty and not traversing as quickly as the others, I was generally among the "crawlers," or men particularly bullied by the overseer, who would threaten to leave all laggards at "the green door," that is the commandant's quarters.

At times we were removed from the dockyard work, and told off to carry bricks or mortar, the cheerful order being given, "Knock off work and carry bricks." I have known men just fresh from the lash ordered to shoulder a load of unslaked lime, and this coming in contact with their raw and bleeding fresh would produce the most horrible torture.

In Port Arthur there was a church to which we were marched on Sunday mornings. On arriving at the door, the word was given "Halt; Roman Catholics fall out." The unfortunate Catholics were then obliged to stand in rank, were it sunshine or rain, until the end of the service. At this time there was no priest stationed at Port Arthur; but one used subsequently to visit. At this place we were never allowed to see a friend, and no letters could be written or received by prisoners.

Crushed down, worked like a beast of burden, and oppressed more than human nature could endure, I made up my mind to "bush it" again. One day being at Tunketyboo, as we called a place two or three miles distant from the settlement from which we carried the timber, I, instead of returning with my load of shingles, once more gave the keepers the slip. Having nothing to eat I wandered about in the bush, and at last took shelter in a hollow log. All round were the signal stations. In the event of a convict having broken loose, the arms of the semaphores notified his number for miles and miles around. As I lay in sight of a semaphore, I could see my own number go up, and I had to act with caution. Next day at dawn I crept down to the beach and got a supply of winkles and limpets, and fortunately found a good-sized muttonfish. I had to eat my fish raw, as I dare not make a smoke, and had no charcoal, with which smokeless fuel bolters often provided themselves. In this way two days passed over without discovery. To make my tracks to and from the beach so that they could not be recognised, I fastened stones securely in the soles of my boots. After two days I made for a spot called The Peninsula, near the Cascades and towards the Sounds. When I had decided to go in this direction, I waited till night and then quietly stole into the water and moved noiselessly along with my nose and mouth just above the surface. The more surely to escape the vigilance of the sentries stationed on the narrow neck of land, and of the number of ferocious dogs chained to kennels on stages in the water, I surrounded my head with a large bunch of seaweed. When about half-way along the neck a swell in the water swept off my seaweed, and showed me to the dogs, which immediately set up a furious barking, and aroused the sentinel on shore. On the instant came the report of a gun, and a bullet pinged into the water, barely missing my head. I at once dived; but on coming up again heard the challenge: "Now, youngster, if you attempt to escape, I'll soon put you past living. Come on out." I surrendered, and was taken to the guardhouse, and placed in the guardroom. The capturing sentry had been relieved, and came on with me. As I was wringing wet, he found me some old soldier's clothes, and brought me a canteen of tea, and also some pea-soup, pork, and bread, saying, "Put this into you; you'll find it better than the salt water." When he had seen my ravenous hunger he said he would not give me a second supply then, as it might be bad for me. But in the morning he returned me my clothes dried and gave me some more bread and meat and a canteen of tea enough for two or three days. I was then taken back to the settlement by two armed guards.

On once more reaching Port Arthur I was thrust into a cell for the night, to be the next day brought before the Commandant, Captain O'Hara Booth, and, of course, punished. Before passing sentence the commandant said: "As you are quite a young man I will give you another chance. I do not wish to put you under the lash as I would do an old hand who had neglected the opportunities given him of bettering himself, and who would have to undergo a hundred lashes. Such a punishment might be the means of ruining your constitution. The sentence I pass upon you is that you shall work for twelve months in irons at the chain, and at night be kept in solitary confinement."

It will now be seen that I was under a sentence of four years in irons, all my sentences being not concurrent, but cumulative. My doom for the present being thus sealed, I was next placed in the hands of the blacksmith, and loaded with irons of between twenty and thirty pounds weight. Along the road was stretched a stout iron ship's cable, firmly secured at each end, to which we were locked. A heap of large stones was wheeled in front of each man, and each had to do his allotted task standing; no change of position was allowed him. At night, on the bell being rung, I was unlocked from the chain and led, or rather driven, off with the other men in the yard to night quarters. For bedding I was provided with an empty tick, one blanket, and one rug, and was locked up alone to think over my sad condition. In order to make my scanty bedding as warm and comfortable as I could, I was in the habit of rolling my blanket and rug inside my tick and then creeping inside into the middle of the folds.

At the cable one of my neighbors was a man named Travis, who suffered much through his stubborn and obstinate nature. One day Travis said to me: "What's a man's life worth tied up like this, away from the freer men in the yard? My life is only a misery to me, and I would rather shorten it. I don't care what means I take, or who it is I pitch on. That man wheeling over the heaps of stones always brings me the largest and hardest of the lot. I'll either knock his brains out, or the overseer tyrant's, or do for someone. As you are next me you'll be brought up as a witness, and it would be doing you a good turn. You'll get a quieter life in Hobart, away from this d——d chain work, and have better times."

I told him I wouldn't like to appear against anyone even for that, and that I would rather stop on the chain, as I should consider I was lending a hand to take away his life. I asked him how I could manage to get off the chain. He said: "Plenty would be glad of your chance. I have a bit of copper in my pocket, kept on purpose, and I'll put you fly how to use it. Get a bit of string and tie it tight round the muscles of your arm. Keep the copper always on your tongue when you are in your cell of a night, and, when you are ready to face the doctor, say, when you are called, that you are too sick to get up. The doctor will be sent for. Upon hearing him coming, knock your elbows hard on the wall. The doctor will want to feel your pulse and see your tongue—without the copper though. He'll exempt you from work, and you can lie in your cell all day. If you want to keep up the game take some soap pills to upset you."

I followed his advice and found that the plan answered. I succeeded in making myself appear to be very ill, and was taken off the cable.

While I was lying in my cell the keeper told me that Travis had smashed some man's skull, as he had threatened to do, and that I was lucky to have been taken off the chain, otherwise, being his neighbor, I might have been accused as an accessory to the murder. When I was brought back to my stonebreaking, however, I found that the men on each side of Travis had only been taken to Hobart as witnesses and had been glad of the trip. To show the tyranny of the system under which we were, I may here mention that, even if Travis had been acquitted of the charge of murder, he might have received a sentence of three years at Port Arthur for rendering himself liable to a serious criminal prosecution.

During the time I was on the chain I continued to behave myself in an orderly manner, not taking part in any kind of scheming. One day I was consequently summoned to the office and recommended to be removed from the gang. My heavy irons were knocked off and replaced by lighter ones, having a chain six or seven feet long with a log of wood dragging at the end of it. In this new harness I was set to work at several jobs in the settlement, and, besides carrying my loads as before, had to drag the log after me, not daring to lift it or to put a hand to it in any way. At night I found a use for it, as I put it under my head for a pillow.

My good conduct was still kept up when the commandant, passing me in the settlement one morning, dropped a piece of tobacco, as though inadvertently. I picked it up, but not quickly enough to escape the hawk eye of the camp constable, who pounced upon me, knocked me down, seized my treasure and in due course brought me before my would-be benefactor, who I may say was in the habit of now and then allowing small favors to those of us he thought deserving. It was hard, however, upon anyone who might be found in the illegal possession of any article, for, no matter how he had come by it he had to suffer. In my own case, not daring to say how I had got the tobacco, I strongly denied ever having had it, and was awarded seven days' solitary by the man who had given it to me, I suppose for being so foolish as to allow myself to be caught.

In a few days more the commandant sent for me to the office and told me he was going to give me a chance to reform. He was going to have a new station formed out in the bush on the Salt Water River, where no one had ever been before. Accordingly, I, with ten others, was picked out for the task, end next morning started off under guard. Our work was to clear the ground and build huts for prisoners and quarters for officers. This occupied a good time, and everything was done with order and quietness.

The occupants expected soon came to hand. They were brought by either the British Sovereign or the Lady Raffles from Ireland. They were part of a large batch of Irish prisoners conveyed by one or other of these vessels. The scene on their landing was one never to be forgotten. The contrast between the old country and the new land to which they had been brought seemed utterly to bewilder them. They were hustled ashore and driven off to the huts like a flock of hunted and frightened sheep. We older prisoners were quite amused at their astonishment at seeing our strange dress of yellow and black. I tried to talk to some of them, but could not make out a word of what they said, and the overseer soon rushed my way shouting "Come out! come out!!" Perhaps he thought I should corrupt his new guests. To keep us apart from the newcomers our rations were actually brought to us, and soon we were all marched off to the old settlement.