THE KELLY GANG.

Dunstan Times, Issue 945, 28 May 1880, Page 3

THE KELLY GANG.

The North-Eastern Ensign thus writes respecting the Kelly outlaws :—“ If a constable or stranger is seen in the Valley of the King river, the fact is carried straight to the Kellys by bush telegrams. It is not necessary that the ‘ telegraph ’ should speak to the Kellys or even see them. A certain way of tying a handkerchief on the sleeve of a coat, when riding along a bush track, constitutes a cypher word which the outlaws can read without showing themselves from one of their watch towers. The gang have given up all hope of being able to break away, and they are now playing a waiting game, which must inevitably be won by the police ; but whether the end will come in a month, or six months, or twelve, no one can say. The present operation of simply watching the Kellys is costing the colony nearly L3OOO a year ; and all the return the colony gets for the money is this, that the police have deprived the outlaws of all hope of escape, that they are leading a wretched life of anxiety, and daily becoming less and less trustful of their friends. It is some satisfaction to know that they have been effectually cornered, and that theii capture or death is only a question of time. We know also that anything like another outbreak of crime in the infested district has become purely impossible.