 |
SATURDAY, SEPT. 13th.—Thomas Tattersdale, per Asia (prisoner for life), assigned to Mr. Turner, of Black Wattle Swamp; and John Jenkins, per Asia (prisoner for seven years), attached to George's River ironed-gang, were placed at the bar.
John Chessney, private in the mounted police, examined.—Yesterday afternoon, I was in the bush near Judge Stephen's farm, on Cook's River, about six miles from Sydney. I saw the prisoner Tattersdale there; I asked him who he was ? he said he was in the bush ; it was between five and six o'clock in the evening ; he said that he knew one of Judge Stephen's servants, and had come to see if he could give him any thing to eat ; I asked him who was with him in the bush ? he denied that any one was with him, but afterwards admitted that there were two men lying in the scrub near the house.
Corporal Payton came up at this time, and he and I went towards the place which Tattersdale had pointed out ; one of Judge Stephen's men accompanied us ; he endeavoured to take us in a wrong direction ; he did so for a short way, when we refused to go with him any further and turned away from him ;† after we had walked a short distance, we saw the prisoner Jenkins and a young man who is outside, named Grace, lying on the ground ; we presented our carbines at them, and told them to surrender ; they got up, and held up their hands, and we took them in custody. At the place where they were lying, we found this musket and this fowling-piece—and also this canvas bag, full of ammunition.
[Colonel Wilson here passed some very high encomiums on the manner in which the mounted police had acted].
Emanuel Grace, assigned to Mr. Wilson, of Cook's River.—On Saturday, six weeks since, my master gave me a pass ; I stopped out all night, and on Monday he gave me a pass to go the Police-office ; instead of going there I absconded. On the Tuesday I was sitting on a rock, when I saw the prisoner at the bar, Jenkins coming towards me. I thought he was a constable, and ran away, but he halloed
after me to stop ; I did so, and he told me who he was ; he had a musket, which he said was given him by some man, but I do not recollect his name ; we crossed to this side the river, and lived under a rock; we lived on bread, which was purchased in Sydney ; after we had lived there a few days, we crossed the river again ; about a fortnight since, we went to Reuben Hannum's premises ; an old man was in the garden ; we told him that if he stirred, we would blow his brains out ; we got over the fence, and Jenkins asked for the key of the house ; he gave it to him ; Jenkins gave it to me ; I unlocked the door, and we both went in ; we took some tea and sugar, some bread, salt beef, and a fowling-piece (this is it), and gunpowder ; after we had left, Jenkins told me he had tied the old man up in the house, with his leg and hand tied together ; Jenkins now threw the old musket away ; we swam across Cook's River ; we got the fowling-piece and other things over dry by floating them on some logs.
The next day we went up the swamp ; we saw some bark lying there, and we made at hut, but we did not stay there long ; we left it because we saw a man cross the swamp who we thought saw us ; we made another about half a mile from where the first hut was. On Thursday week, we came down to the road near Cooper's Distillery ; we saw Tattersdale there ; he told us that he knew where we could get some money and clothes. We return to the hut ; we all slept there that night ; the next day we were all busy making a new hut ; on the Saturday night we came near to Sydney, to the rock where an old quarryman lives ;
Jenkins told me to go in and light my pipe ; I went in and asked for a man ; it was a fictitious person I asked for ; the quarryman said, he did not know such a person ; Jenkins said, he would knock his brains out out if he moved ; Jenkins told me to search the head of his bed ; I did so, and in his trowsers pocket I found one pound odd in silver ; it was all in half-crowns except one dollar Jenkins asked him for the key of his peter (meaning his box), he gave it him, and I unlocked it, and found a velveteen jacket and trowsers, two waistcoats, a handkerchief, and six eggs, which I took outside and gave to Tattersdale ; Tattersdale did not come in, because he said the old man knew him.
There were about three pounds of gunpowder in a canvas bag behind the box, which we took away with us. At the time we were on Dr. Wardell's estate, we never went near his house, nor saw any of his men ; we returned to the hut that night, made a fire, made some tea, and had something to eat, and then went to sleep. The next day (Sunday), Jenkins and Tattersdale were asleep, and I was lying between asleep and awake, when I heard a horse coming. I waked the others, and they jumped up.
A gentleman rode up on a grey horse, and said, "who are you?" Jenkins answered, "a man." The gentleman then bounced us, and said we must go along with him. Jenkins gammoned, and said, "it was no use to resist a man on horseback." The gentleman picked up a stick, which he waved over his head, as if he were calling some one who was near ; Jenkins picked up a piece of rock stone.
The gentleman said, "don't you do any thing with that." Tattersdale had previously planted the gun in some long grass, and could not find it at first. But at length he found it, and Jenkins snatching it out of his hand, said, "if you don't give me the gun, I'll knock your b——y brains out." He then made towards the gentleman, and began to level the gun; the gentlemen said, "what ! are you going to shoot me ? for God's sake, don't do that !" Jenkins said, "by God I will !" and immediately fired ; he was as close to the gentleman when he fired, as I am to that inkstand (about a yard) ; the gentleman fell forward on his horse, and said, "oh dear, oh dear, I'm killed !" The horse retreated back a step or two, and then galloped alongside the hill ; we did not see the gentleman fall. When Jenkins took the gun from Tatteradale, I said to him, "it was foolish to risk our lives for the sake of fifty lashes, and he had better do nothing wrong with the gun."
After the gentleman was shot, Jenkins was the first that spoke. He said, "we must be off from this as quick as we can ;" he said also, "he would knock our heads off if we were not quick." As we were going over a range, we dropped some flour ; it was the flour that Tattersdale had brought with him from his master ; we afterwards missed a towel ; this is it ; and this is the waistband of Jenkins's trowsers ; it had some leaden bullets in it. We crossed the river near Pickering's Point ; Jenkins carried the fowling-piece over on his head ; Tattersdale was nearly drowned ; Jenkins swam in and saved him.
That night we slept in an old hut of Mr. Prout's, and near to that gentleman's house. The next morning, Bryant, the shoemaker, saw us ; he had known me before ; he did not see the gun ; he asked me how I was getting on ? I said very well ; he did not know that I had absconded. Several men saw us soon after we crossed the river but they did not speak to us ; I don't think they saw the gun. On Monday, we crossed the river near the round hill, and slept that night at the back of Flinn's. On Tuesday morning, Jenkins and I came into Sydney ; we walked about the town ; we dined at the "Sailor's Return ;" we had two pound of mutton chops, a loaf, and a pot of beer ; I did not speak to any one, but Jenkins spoke to some sailors ; I don't know what it was about, but I believe it was about leaving the Colony.
I do not know the name of the street the public-house was in, but out of the tap-room window I could see some ships ; I recollect that one of them was the Black Warrior. We then came into George-street, and down Hunter-street into Pitt-street, and went out of town over the fields to Charley Smith's paddock, where we met Tattersdale by appointment ; we made a fire, and slept there that night. On Wednesday, we crossed the river at the same place that we crossed it on Monday, and went on the This displays the present feeling of the assigned servants of New South Wales.
The punishment for absconding is fifty lashes.—
ED.
By this it appears, bushrangers can parade Sydney with perfect safety. Yet Jenkins has been before the Police Court repeatedly, and is well known to the constables. seven mile beach. Jenkins walked first and carried the gun. We met a man without shoes ; Jenkins asked him for some tobacco, and we all sat down and smoked. Jenkins asked him if he had any bustle ? he said he did not know what he meant ; Jenkins then pulled the man's hat off, and he took three shillings out of it ; he then told him to give him the shirt he had in his bosom ; Tattersdale said, it was a pity to make the old man miserable, so Jenkins gave him a shilling back, and did not take the shirt. (In answer to a question.) The gentleman we shot had picked up a stick that was standing against a tree. When Jenkins presented the piece at him, he was close to the horse's shoulder. On a tree near the hut, there was a piece of bark taken off and a ring made with a mark in the centre ; we fired at it on Sunday morning about ten o'clock. We fired several times ; Jenkins came nearest the mark. After we had given the old man the shilling back again, he turned towards Sydney, and we turned towards George's River, until we came to a fresh water creek, where we slept.
On Thursday, we went to a hut with a garden in front of it, and asked which was the way to Port Aiken ? they asked if we had got a boat ? we said we had not ; they said it was no use our at tempting to go to Port Aiken without a boat. Tattersdale asked them if they would sell us something to eat ? they said no, but they would give us some bread and beef, such as they had got, which which they did. Jenkins wanted to go to Liver- pool to see a man in a bridge party there. On Thursday we travelled a good way over rocks and hills, and slept that night under a rock out of the rain. Soon after we got up yesterday morning, we came to a fence ; which we followed until we came to a road, which we walked along until we overtook a man who was walking on it. We asked him where the road led to ? He said to M'Gaffery's. Soon after we heard some men at work, and presently we saw a hut. We went to it, and Jenkins went in and asked for something to eat ; the man said "aye, I'll give you something to eat", and went to the bed-room door and picked up a musket.
Jenkins struck him with the fowling piece and broke it. The man then struck Jenkins over the eye ; in the scuffle that ensued the man was knocked down ; Jenkins told me to take up the musket ; I did so, and we ran away. As soon as we got out of sight, Jenkins put five small balls on the top of the charge that was in the musket, and gave me the fowling piece. We went on until we came to a place which
Tattersal knew. In the scuffle with the man in the hut, Jenkins lost his hat. Soon after that we got on the road, we saw a man coming towards us riding a grey horse very hard ; Jenkins said he thought he was going for constables ; as soon as the man came up, Jenkins asked him if he had got any tobacco ? He said no. Jenkins said "I want a hat." The man gave him his hat and a shilling to buy tobacco, and then rode back, while we went forward. I carried the gunpowder yesterday.
We stopped at one place to have a smoke, and I got up and forgot the powder ; Jenkins said, "If you don't bring that powder along, I'll blow your brains out;" Tattersal said, he thought that he thought he knew he could get us something to eat ; I forget the name of the place, but it was a Judge's. Tattersall went to the place to see about getting something to eat, and in about ten minutes afterwards a mounted policeman came up to us and told us to hold up our hands ; we were lying down ; we got up and held up our hands, and were taken into custody. When we left the hut after shooting the gentleman, we left three razors in it two of which were in a case ; I think it was a red case. Upon Colonel Wilson putting the usual question to the prisoners, "whether they had any questions
to ask the witness?" Tattersal said, "not at present," Jenkins with a grin, said, "he's had say enough himself."
The charge was now drawn out of the musket ; it measured six inches and a half, and consisted of five small bullets in addition to the charge which was in at the time it was stolen of seventeen slugs and a heavy charge of powder.
Mr. Reuben Hannam—I have a person belongingto me living near Mr. Sparkes, at Cook's River ; he had a fowling piece of mine ; this is it ; he sent me word that it had been stolen by some men who had left him tied in the hut.
Thomas Pattison—I am a quarry-man ; I live at the quarries in order to take care of the tools ; I recollect being robbed on a Saturday night ; two men, who I believe to be Graves and Jenkins came into my hut, about nine o'clock ; one of them asked for a lime-burner ; they took my trowsers from under my head, and took away one pound nine ; there were ten half-crowns and a Spanish Dollar ; they asked me for the key of my Peter ; they opened it, and took away some clothes and gunpowder ; this is my coat and I believe these are my trowsers.
Patrick Burns, assigned to the late Dr. Wardell— I was employed looking for Dr. Wardell after he was missed ; all the men were ordered out ; the first thing we saw was the horse with the saddle on it, but without the bridle ; the overseer found the Doctor's hat near a small temporary hut in the bush ; we looked about for some time, and found these clothes, (the clothes identified by Pattison).
Mr. R. Johnstone, accompanied by Mr. Tavener then went into Sydney to give information ; Mr. D.
Johnstone told me and the other men that were at the place where the hat was found, not to stir until his brother returned from Sydney. Soon after Mr. Johnstone left us, I went towards the house to get something to eat ; at a short distance from the hut I found the Doctor's body ; I hallooed ; Mr. Johnstone came up ; he examined the body, and said, that he was shot in the neck ; there were
marks on a tree close to the hut, which appeared as if it had been fired at.
George Bell, another assigned servant to the late Dr. Wardell, and James Smith,his overseer, corroborated this evidence.
Thomas Allen—I get my living by cutting wood in the bush ; I recollect being robbed on the Seven-mile Beach by three men ; that is the man that pulled my hat off (Jenkins) ; I believe that that man (Grace) is one of the others ; I cannot swear to the third man. Thomas M'Gaffery—Yesterday the prisoner Jenkins came into my house with his gun on his armand said, "give me something to eat ; "I will," says I, and I put my hand behind the door to reach my musket ; as soon as Jenkins saw me do that, he made a blow at me with his gun ; I caught it on my arm ; he presented his gun at me ; I caught hold of the muzzle of it and struck him over the eye ; he then closed with me ; some person from behind then struck me a heavy blow, which made me senseless ;
I afterwards sent a man named Tyrrel to Sydney to give information ; he returned shortly afterwards saying he had been robbed ; (Jenkins here said something, which we took to be to the effect, that if he had known Tyrrel to be a free man, he should never have told any tales.)
Jenkins cross-examined this witness at some length, in order to show that he (witness) could swear to Tattersal being one of the party if he pleased ; but that in consequence of his having been a former acquaintance of his, he would not do it.
Colonel Wilson then remanded the prisoners until Monday, in order to give the other witnesses time to arrive.
During the whole of the examination, the prisoner Jenkins behaved with great hardihood, so much so as to cause the Magistrates, (Colonel Wilson and Mr. Windeyer) several times to remonstrate with him on the audacity of his conduct. The Court was crowded to excess during the examination, and at one time we noticed no less than fourteen Magistrates on the bench. On Monday, the prisoners were again brought up for examination, and several witnesess were examined, who corroborated part of Grace's testimony, and they were fully committed to take their trials for the wilful murder of Dr. Robert Wardell, at Petersham, on the 7th of September.
