KILLING AN OLD MAN. A TALE OF THE OPHIR GOLD FIELDS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 129, 28 July 1870, Page 7

KILLING AN OLD MAN. A TALE OF THE OPHIR GOLD FIELDS.

(From the "Family Herald.") It was shortly after the opening of the great Exhibition of 1851 that I set sail from England for the goldfields of New South Wales, with a heart brimful of hope and expectation, and pockets, boxes, and portmanteaus made of sufficiently capacious dimensions to hold any amount of the precious metal (when found), in addition to my somewhat scanty wardrobe. "Well do I remember the packing of that black leather portmanteau, and the swallow - tailed dress coat that my mother would insist upon putting in, although, having a presentiment that such articles of apparel were not j comme il faut at the goldfields, I vigorously resisted the measure. I also remember the many dozen pairs of j warm socks that had been manufactured ' I with sisterly affection and gray worsted, by five girls, — from Julia, the eldest, aged nineteen, down to Susan, the youngest, just turned nine. Finally, I have a distinct memory of how my maiden aunt, on the strength of Ler sixteen stone weight, jumped upon the aforesaid portmanteau, and performed a kind of war dance thereon, so as to enable Tom the groom and Mary the housemaid to strap and lock it, and how, after many tears being shed by my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and my maiden a\mt in particular*, I was whisked away to the railway station in order to catch the 9.45 a. in. train for London. I will not dwell on the voyage out, because it was very much like other voyages. Suffice it to say that in just a hundred days we arrived at Sydney, the capital of New South "Wales, and j here I discovered the favourite goldfield of the day was at Ophir, near Bathurst, one hundred and forty-five miles up the country. Here some tremendous finds had lately been made, and people had been turning up nuggets like an Irishman shovels up potatoes. When I look back at the splendid yields of the Ohpir goldfields in those days, I cannot help ejaculating, " O-fer such times as Ophir to come o-fer again !" In due time, after a fortnight's weary journey in an ox-cart, which also contained my cradle, my pick and shovel, my tent, and other camp requisites, as well as all my personal luggage, I arrived at the goldfields, having picked up more strange oaths on that short journey than I had heard during the whole of my previous life. Drivers says that bullocks will not go without a lot of swearing, and I certainly believe that, after they have become accustomed to it, they will not budge an inch for any gentler language. I found Ophir, then a peculiar and yet a romantic-looking place. Two hills rose in a pyramid shape towards the sky, both covered with gentle undulations, both thinly timbered to their summits. The lower slopes of these hills were thickly dotted with diggers' tents, and the Summer-Hill Creek wound right around their base. At the time I reached this gold field the diggings there were estimated to cover an extent of three hundred miles, though eight months previously the existence of gold in any part of Australia was utterly unknown. I lost no time in pitching my tent and making out a claim, and twentyfour hours later I was as hard at work as the rest of them. My tent was pitched in close proximity to one occupied by two strong, burly fellows of the old convict class or at least such I set them down to be on account of the odd way in which I fancied each of them lifted the left leg 1 in walking, a peculiarity appertaining to most men who have been accustomed to perambulate in leg irons for any i lengthy period. These men were ! always very civil to me, and of course I was the. same to them; and yet, somehow or other, I contracted a dread of them, which I could neither overcome nor combat ; and when sometimes one or the other of them would stroll up, pipe in mouth, to the edge of my pit, and ask me how I was getting on, I used to fancy that it was only- done to see whether I was turning up anything good, and consequently worth robbing; ; and I used to conceal my gold in all sorts of out-of-the-way places to elude their suspected designs. One night I heard a horrid revelation that confirmed all my suspicions against these men. And now I come to the very subject matter of my story. I have said that my tent adjoined that of my two mysterious acquaintances ; in fact, the canvass of tent touched that of the other ; and from my tent I could hear the conversation they carried on in theirs very plainly. I had never before listened to their discourse, but one night, just as I was retiring to bed. I heard one say to the other, " Yes, this little knife did for ; him ; I killed the old man with one blow, sir." The horrible admission staggered me, and I felt that I must listen to the end of the discourse now, at whatever risk to my oelf : so I glued my ear to the fnnvas "3 time to hen 1 ' his mate rejoin, " l>id ynu now ? And did the follow resist you ?" " Faith and he did," replied the as-

sassin. "He grasped me till he nearly pressed the life out of me, and tried to rip me up with his spur ; but I drove the knife into him up to the hilt, and then I cut his head off 1 ." " Bravo, Charlie !" cried the other ; that makes the seventh old man we've killed since our arrival in the colonies, don't it?" "No the eighth," was the reply. " Don't you remember the black fellow?" " Oh, ay, to be sure, right you are," said the other ; " but what have you done with the illustrious dead in this present instance ?" " Why, I left the body in the bush, with the exception of the legs, which are here in tha tent." The conversation here ceased, and was not resumed ; in fact a stentorian snoring soon told me that it was very improbable that it would be so for that night, at the least ; so I crept into my bed, not to sleep (how could I after so horrible a discovery 1) but to reflect on all that I had heaid. " The eighth old man they had killed ! and one of them an unfortunate blackfellow. Oh, the wretched miscreants !"' I muttered to myself; and then my mind wandered away, and I 'wondered why it was they always murdered old men, — how was it that their last victim tiied to rip his murderer up with a spur, such an extraordinary weapon of defence, and what on earth had induced the assassin to cut off his victim's legs and bring them into his tent. At last, however, I did sink into a disturbed tmrefreshing slumber, and was afflicted by a frightful dream, in which I fancied that one of my next-door neighbours was kneeling on my chest and cutting my throat from ear to ear. My dream had, in fact, some slight foundation, for I was awakened by a rough hand shaking me on the shoulder ; and my eyes, on opening them, rested on the roughly-boarded face of the very man I had been dreaming of. I was about to scream " murder !" for I thought that my last hour had come ; but glancing around, I saw that it was broad daylight, and that the fellow was merely asking me for a match to light his pipe with. This I immediately gave him, and he went away with a mutterred expression of thanks. That day, instead of going to work, I set out for the tent of the police commissioner, and after a long walk succeeded in reaching it. I had to wait a very long time before I was gsanted an audience ; but when I was ushered into the presence of the dread functionary, and told him as distinctly as possible the circumstances of the case, that I had heard the rascals confess their numerous crimes, and particularly their last murder, the proofs whereof were in their tent, the enthusiasm of the commissioner was fully aroused, and he felt as anxious for their capture and punishment as myself. He suggested that two policemen, disguised as dig gers, and well armed, should come to my tent that evening on the pretence of paying me a visit as old acquaintances, and that after it was dark, and the two murderers had turned in for the night, we should rush into their tent and secure them. This was a very feasible plot, and I heartily entered into it ; so I minutely described the position of my tent, and to make it still more easily discoverable, promised that a bright red pockethandkerchief should ba hanging on some conspicuous part of it as though to dry ; and having made all these arrangements, I took my leave. "Well, I got back to my abofle by about one o'clock in the afternoon, and after a hasty meal, not wishing to lose a whole day, I want to my claim, and set to for a three hours' dig. Strange to say, I had not been at work five minutes when I came across a very pretty little nugget, of about the size of a walnut, and a few minutes later picked out another as large as a crab-apple. I was about to pocket this latter, when I looked up and saw one of the assassins gazing down on me. i " Lucky find, mate !" said he with a broad grin, that in my prejudiced mind seemed to say, "Ay, but it will be mine before long." "Pretty well," I replied, brusquely, and he walked away. I found no more nuggets on that occasion, and at five o'clock I knocked off and made my way to my tent, where, after a good wash, I pulled an old gin case outside, sat down on it, lighted my pipe, and coolly awaited the arrival of my visitors. I had not to wait long. I presently observed two strongly framed men strolling leisurely in my directions, as though merely sauntering at random through the diggings. As they came opposite to me, exclaimed, "Hollo, Ted how long have you been at Oohir? and where did you hail from last:" and stepping up he grasped me warmly by the hand. Seeing what was expected of me, I heartily roturned the pressure, saying, ■in louder tone, "Why, about three weeks. But when did you leave Sydney ? Come in, man, and bring your friend with you. Old friends like you and me should liquor up before questions are asked and answored," and inside we all tliree of us went. One of the two men that we wanted to catr»h was an eye and ear witness of ill this scene, but it was so naturally enacted that no suspicions that my two acquaintances were detectives could j .have entered bis head, \

I found that each of my visitors was armed with a revolver and a pair of handcuffs. They were both strong, powerful men, and more than a match for the others in every way. The plan, however, to make all things certain, and to prevent an unnecessary spilling of blood, was to wait until the ruffians were in their beds and asleep, when we were to steal in and try to handcuff" them before they could wake up. We had to wait many weary hours for this time to arrive, but at last the snoring commenced in earnest, and this was our signal. Handcuffs in hand, the detectives crept into the adjoining tent, I following them, with my revolver levelled, in case that one or both the rascals should wake up and be too quick for them. They did not wake up, and the irons were clasped around and locked on their wrists without their even twinkling an eyelid. But now they were roughly awakened and the senior officer said, " Tom Jackson and Ben "Wilton, I arrest you for wilful murder. You must both of you get up and come along with us. lam Detective Sinclair, of the New South Wales police." I never saw two men so struck with consternation and surprise as were these two worthies. At last one of them gasped out, "Murder! Wilful murder ! Detective Sinclair ! Why, you must all be mad !" The evidences of their crime are in this tent, remember," I said to Sinclair, nudging him with my elbow. " Let us search for the limbs of their last slaughtered victim." The hint was promptly acted upon. We seized spades and picks, and in ten minutes every inch of the ground covered by the tent was turned over to a yard in depth. No old man's legs were found ; but we were not to be daunted, and proceeded to ransack the tent all over, still with out any old men's legs turning up, though we spied two fine hind legs of kangaroo hanging up in an obscure corner. " Well, are you satisfied ?" asked ono of the prisoners. " Are you convinced that you are on some wildgoose chase ? If so, take these cursed irons off and begone." " No, we are not bo convinced," answered Sinclair, with some asperity. " This worthy gentlemen," pointing to me, " heard you confess last night to having murdered no less than eight old men, and such crimes will have to be accounted for. He heard you confess, too, to having hid the legs of your last victim in this tent ; but doubtless you have this day removed them to some more secure hiding-place." "He told you that, did he? the young donkey !" screamed one of the accused, with an hyena-like laugh. " And so we have, too — old men kangaroos, — and there are the legs we spoke of hanging up in that corner ready for to-morrow's pie. Ah ! ha ! ha! he has brought you on a fool's errand, suro enough, and the roar of laughter the two men indulged in fairly shnoV the tent. Both detectives looked fearfully annoyed, and yet they could not help laughing. Without a word to me they took the handcuffs off the mon aud returned them to their pockets. Then Sinclair said, What will you take to keep this matter a secret ? You see, through this unfortunate nsw chum's blunder, we shall get laughed off the diggings, unless you choose to be merciful. I'll give you a five-pound note out of my own pocket if you will keep this unfortunate affair dark." " I will supplement Sinclair's offer with the largest of the nuggets that I du°; up to-day," I said, feeling that if being laughed at was the general dread, I stood in the worst position' of the trio. " Hang your bribes !" was the retort. " I would not give up the chance of circulating so glorious a yarn for ten times the value of what you offer. However, I will tell it as leniently as possible. And as for this new chum," turning to me, " when I first came to the colony, I and my mate here were both of us green enough to have made just as stupid a blunder j so I can't blame him. Come, let us sit down, and have a drink all round of real old Jamaica rum, of which we have an unbroached keg in stock." The invitation was readily accepted, and we kept it up till daybreak with | grog, songs, and toasts. So ended the tragedy of " killing an old man," which I now learnt was a name universally bestowed on a large male kangaroo. These animals, when attacked, are very ferocious, and if they cannot get away, and are engaged at close quarters, will clasp you with their short fore-legs, and, pressing you tightly against their chest, will raise one of their strong hind legs, which is armed with a terribly long, strong, and knifeshaped spur, and rip you right down with it, causing almost instant death. When hunted with dogs, the " old man " will generally, when once at bay, disembowel two or three of his canine adversaries before he is dragged down and despatched, and the human foe is sometimes served in the same manner. These two terrible murderers, as I thought them, turned ont to be two right good fellows • one had been a cornet in a crack cavalry regiment at home, the other a curate of the Church of Englauil. We soon became sworn friends and partn3rs in what turned out afterwards to be a well-paying claim, and in the year 1867 we ajl returned t-o OUj England rich men*