{"id":339,"date":"2018-01-15T21:28:48","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T11:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scurj.duckdns.org\/blog\/?p=339"},"modified":"2018-01-15T21:28:48","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T11:28:48","slug":"jerilderie-letter-transcription","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cordie.net\/?p=339","title":{"rendered":"Jerilderie letter transcription"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Copied from here: http:\/\/www.nma.gov.au\/collections\/collection_interactives\/jerilderie_letter<\/a><\/p>\n

Page 1<\/h2>\n

Copy of Kellys\u2019 Confession<\/h3>\n

Dear Sir<\/p>\n

I wish to acquaint you with<\/em>
\n some of the occurrences of the present past<\/em>
\n and future<\/em>, In or about the Spring of
\n1870 the ground was very soft, a
\nHawker named Mr<\/sup> Gould got his waggon
\nbogged, between Greta and my mother\u2019s
\nplace<\/span> house on the eleven mile creek,
\nthe ground was that rotten it would
\nbog a duck in places so Mr<\/sup> Gould
\nhad to abandon his waggon for fear
\nof losing his horses in the spewy ground
\nhe was stopping at my mother\u2019s awaiting
\nfiner or dryer<\/sup> weather, Mr<\/sup> Mc<\/sup>Cormack and his
\nWife, (Hawkers\u2019 also) were camped in Greta
\nand the mosquitoes were very bad which they
\ngenerally are in a wet spring and to
\nhelp them Mr<\/sup> Johns had a horse called
\nRuita Cruta, although a gelding was as
\nclever as old Wombat or any other Stallion<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 2<\/h2>\n

at running horses away and taking
\nthem on his beat, which was from Greta
\nswamp to the seven mile creek consequent
\nly he enticed Mc<\/sup>Cormacks horse away
\nfrom Greta, Mr Gould was up early
\nfinding his horses, heard a bell and seen
\nMc<\/sup>Cormacks horse for he knew the horse
\nwell, he sent his boy to take him
\nback to Greta, when Mc<\/sup>Cormacks got
\nthe horse, they came straight out
\nto Gould and accused him of working
\nthe horse, this was false and Gould
\nwas amazed at the idea I could
\nnot help laughing to hear Mrs<\/sup> Mc<\/sup>Cormack
\naccusing him of using the horse after
\nhim being so kind as to send his boy
\nto take him from the ruita cruta
\nand take him back to him I pleaded
\nGould\u2019s innocence and Mrs<\/sup> Mc<\/sup>Cormack
\nturned on me and accused me of<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 3<\/h2>\n

bringing the horse from Greta to Goulds\u2019
\nwaggon to pull him out of the bog I
\ndid not say much to the woman
\nas my Mother was present but that
\nsame day, me and my uncle was
\ncutting calves, Gould wrapped up
\na note and a pair of the calves testicles
\nand gave them to me to give them
\nto Mrs<\/sup> Mc<\/sup>Cormack I did not see her and
\nI gave the parcel to a boy to give to her
\nwhen she would come, instead of
\ngiving it to her he gave it to her
\nhusband, consequently Mc<\/sup>Cormack said
\nhe would summons me, I told him
\nneither me or Gould used their
\nhorse, he said I was a liar
\nand he could welt me or any of
\nmy breed, I was about 14 years
\nof age but accepted the challenge
\nand dismounting when Mrs<\/sup> Mc<\/sup>Cormack<\/p>\n

Page 4<\/h2>\n

struck my horse in the flank with
\na bullocks shin it jumped forward
\nand my fist came in collision with
\nMc<\/sup>Cormacks nose and caused him to
\nlose his equillibrium and fall pros
\ntrate I tied up my horse to finish the
\nbattle but Mc<\/sup>Cormack got up and
\nran to the police camp Constable
\nHall asked me what the row
\nwas about I told him they accused
\nme and Gould of using their horse
\nand I hit him and I would do the
\nsame to him if he challenged me
\nMc<\/sup>Cormacks pulled me and swore
\ntheir lives against me I was sentenced
\nto three months for hitting him and
\nthree months for the parcel and
\nbound to keep the peace for 12 months
\nMrs<\/sup> Mc<\/sup>Cormack gave good substantial
\nevidence as she is well acquainted<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Page 5<\/h2>\n

with that place called Tasmania better
\nknown as the Dervon or Vandiemans
\nland, and Mc<\/sup>Cormack being a Policeman
\nover the convicts and W<\/span>omen being
\nscarce released her from that land
\nof bondage and tyranny and they
\ncame to Victoria and are at present
\nresidents of Greta and on the 29th<\/sup> of
\nMarch I was released from Prison and
\ncame home. Wild Wright came to the
\neleven mile to see Mr<\/sup> Gunn stopped
\nall night and lost his mare both
\nhim and me looked all day for her
\nand could not get her, Wright who
\nwas a stranger to me was in a
\nhurry to get back to Mansfield
\nand I gave him another mare and
\nhe told me if I found his mare
\nto keep her until he brought mine
\nback I was going to Wangaratta<\/p>\n

Page 6<\/h2>\n

and seen the mare I caught her and
\ntook her with me all the Police and
\nDetective Berrill seen her as Martain\u2019s girls
\nused to ride her about the town during
\nseveral days that I stopped at Peter
\nMartain\u2019s Star Hotel in Wangaratta
\nShe was a chestnut mare whiteface
\ndocked tail very remarkable, branded
\nas plain as the hands on a town
\nClock, the property of a Telegraph
\nMaster in Mansfield he lost her
\non the 6th<\/sup> gazetted her on the 12th<\/sup>
\nof March and I was a prisoner in
\nBeechworth Goal until the 29th<\/sup> March
\ntherefore I could not have stole
\nthe mare, I was riding the mare
\nthrough Greta, Constable Hall came
\nto me and said he wanted me
\nto sign some papers that I did not
\nsign at Beechworth concerning my<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Page 7<\/h2>\n

bail bonds, I thought it was the
\ntruth, he said the papers was at
\nthe Barracks and I had no idea he
\nwanted to arrest me or I would have
\nquietly rode away instead of
\ngoing to the Barracks, I was
\ngetting off when Hall caught
\nhold of me and thought to throw
\nme but made a mistake and
\ncame on the broad of his back himself
\nin the dust the mare galloped away
\nand instead of me putting my
\nfoot on Halls neck and taking his
\nrevolver and putting him in the
\nlockup I tried to catch the mare
\nHall got up and snapped three or
\nfour caps at me and would have
\nshot me but the Colts patent
\nrefused, This is well known in Greta
\nHall never told me he wanted to<\/p>\n

Page 8<\/h2>\n

arrest me until after he tried to shoot
\nme when I heard the caps snapping
\nI stood until Hall came close he had
\nme covered and was shaking with
\nfear and I knew he would pull the
\ntrigger before he would be game to put
\nhis hand on me so I duped and jumped
\nat him caught the revolver with
\none hand and Hall by the collar
\nwith the other, I dare not strike
\nhim or my sureties would loose
\nthe bond money, I used to trip and
\nlet him take a mouthful of dust
\nnow and again as he was as help
\nless as a big guano after leaving
\na dead horse or bullock I kept
\nthrowing him in the dust until
\nI got him across the street the
\nvery spot where Mrs<\/sup> O Briens Hotel
\nstands now the cellar was just<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Page 9<\/h2>\n

dug then, there was some brush fencing
\nwhere the post and rail was taking
\ndown and on this I threw big cowardly
\nHall on his belly I straddled him
\nand rolled both spurs into his thighs
\nhe roared like a big calf attacked
\nby dogs and shifted several yards
\nof the fence I got his hands at the
\nback of his neck and tried to make
\nhim let the revolver go but he stuck
\nto it like grim death to a dead
\nvolunteer he called for assistance
\nto a man named Cohan and Barnett
\nLewis, Thompson Jewell, two blacksmiths
\nwho was looking on I dare not strike
\nany of them as I was bound to keep
\nthe peace or I could have spread
\nthose curs like dung in a paddock
\nthey got ropes tied my hands and
\nfeet and Hall beat me over the head<\/p>\n

Page 10<\/h2>\n

with his six chambered colts revolver
\nnine stiches were put in some of the
\ncuts by Dr Hastings And when Wild
\nWright and my Mother came they could
\ntrace us across the street by the blood
\nin the dust and which spoiled
\nthe Lustre of the paint on the
\ngate post of the Barracks,
\nHall sent for more Police and
\nDr Hastings next morning I was
\nhandcuffed a rope tied from them
\nto my legs and to the seat of the
\ncart and taken to Wangaratta
\nHall was frightened I would throw
\nhim out of the cart so he tied me
\nwhilst Constable Arthur laughed
\nat his cowardice for it was he
\nwho escorted me and Hall to Wangaratta
\nI was tried and committed as Hall
\nswore I claimed the mare the<\/p>\n

\n

Page 11<\/h2>\n

Doctor died or he would have proved Hall
\na perjurer, Hall has been tried several
\ntimes for perjury, but got clear as
\nthis is no crime in the Police force
\nit is a credit to a Policeman to convict
\nan innocent man but any muff
\ncan pot a guilty one, Hall\u2019s character
\nis well known about El Dorado and
\nSnowy Creek and Hall was considerably
\nin debt to Mr<\/sup> L O\u2019Brien and as he was
\ngoing to leave Greta Mr<\/sup> O\u2019Brien seen
\nno other chance of getting his
\nmoney so there was a subscription
\ncollected for Hall and with the aid
\nof this money he got James
\nMurdock who was recently hung
\nin Wagga Wagga to give false evidence
\nagainst me but I was aquitted on
\nthe charge of horse stealing and
\non Hall and Murdock\u2019s evidence<\/p>\n

Page 12<\/h2>\n

I was found guilty of receiving and
\ngot 3 years experience in Beechworth
\nPentridges dungeons this is the only
\ncharge ever proved against me
\nTherefore I can say I never was con-
\nvicted of horse or cattle stealing My
\nBrother Dan was never charged
\nwith assaulting a woman but he
\nwas sentenced to three months
\nwithout the option of a fine and
\none month and two pounds fine for
\ndamaging property by Mr<\/sup> Butler P.M
\na sentence that there is no law
\nto uphold, therefore the minister
\nof Justice neglected his duty in
\nthat case but there never was
\nsuch a thing as justice in the
\nEnglish laws, but any amount of in
\njustice to be had, out of over thirty
\nhead of the very best horses the land<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 13<\/h2>\n

could produce, I could only find one
\nwhen I got my liberty, Constable Flood
\nstole and sold the most of them
\nto the navvies on the Railway line
\none bay cob he stole and sold four
\ndifferent times, the line was completed
\nand the men all gone when I came
\nout and Flood was shifted to Oxley
\nhe carried on the same game there
\nall the stray horses that was any
\ntime without an owner and
\nnot in the Police Gazette Flood
\nused to claim, He was doing a
\ngood trade at Oxley until Mr<\/sup> Brown
\nof the Laceby Station got him shifted
\nas he was always running his
\nhorses about, Flood is different
\nto Sergeant Steel, Strachan Hall
\nand the most of Police as they have
\nto hire cads and if they fail they<\/p>\n

Page 14<\/h2>\n

The Police are quite helpless but
\nFlood can make a cheque single
\nhanded he is the greatest horsestealer
\nwith the exception of myself and
\nGeorge King I know of, I never
\nworked on a farm, a horse and saddle
\nwas never traced to me after
\nleaving employment
\nsince February 1873 I worked as
\na faller at Mr<\/sup> J Saunders and
\nK. Rules Sawmills then for Heach
\nand Dochendorf I never worked for
\nless than two pounds ten a week
\nsince I left Pentridge and in 1875 or
\n1876 I was overseer for Saunders
\nand Rules, Bourke\u2019s water Holes
\nsawmills in Victoria since then I
\nwas on the King River during my
\nstay there I ran in a wild bull
\nwhich I gave to Lydicher a farmer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 15<\/h2>\n

he sold him to Carr a Publican and
\nButcher who killed him for beef some
\ntime afterwards I was blamed for stealing
\nthis bull from James Whitty Boggy Creek
\nI asked Whitty Oxley racecourse why he blamed
\nme for stealing his bull he said
\nhe had found his bull and never
\nblamed me but his son-in-law
\nFarrell told him he heard I sold
\nthe bull to Carr not long after
\nwards I heard again I was blamed
\nfor stealing a mob of calves from
\nWhitty and Farrell which I knew
\nnothing about I began to think
\nthey wanted me to give them
\nsomething to talk about Therefore
\nI started wholesale and retail
\nhorse and cattle dealing Whitty
\nand Burns not being satisfied
\nwith all the picked land on the<\/p>\n

Page 16<\/h2>\n

Boggy Creek and King river and
\nthe run of their stock on the certi
\n=ficate ground free and no one inter
\n=fering with them paid heavy rent
\nto the Banks for all the open
\nground so as a poor man could
\nkeep no stock, and impounded every
\nbeast they could get even off
\nGovernment roads If a poor man
\nhappened to leave his horse or a
\nbit of poddy calf outside his
\npaddock they would be impound
\n=ed, I have known over 60 head of
\nhorses impounded in one day
\nby Whitty and Burns all belonging
\nto poor farmers they would have
\nto leave their ploughing or harvest or
\nother employment to go to Oxley when
\nthey would get there perhaps not
\nhave money enough to release them,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 17<\/h2>\n

and have to give a bill of sale or borrow
\nthe money which is no easy matter
\nAnd along with all this sort of
\nwork, Farrell the Policeman stole
\na horse from George King and had
\nhim in Whitty and Farrell\u2019s Paddock
\nuntil he left the force and all
\nthis was the cause of me and
\nmy stepfather George King taking
\ntheir horses and selling them
\nto Baumgarten and Kennedy the
\npick of them was taken to a
\ngood market and the culls
\nwere kept in Peterson\u2019s Paddock and
\ntheir brands altered by me two was
\nsold to Kennedy and the rest
\nto Baumgarten who were strangers
\nto me and I believe honest men<\/p>\n

Page 18<\/h2>\n

They paid me full value for the horses
\nand could not have known they were
\nstolen, no person had anything to
\ndo with the stealing and selling
\nof the horses but me and George King
\nWilliam Cooke who was convicted
\nfor Whittys horses was innocent
\nhe was not in my company
\nat Petersons But it is not the
\nplace of the Police to convict guilty
\nmen as it is by them they get their
\nliving had the right parties been
\nconvicted it would have been a
\nbad job for the Police as Berry would
\nhave sacked a great many of them
\nonly I came to their aid and kept
\nthem in their bilits and good employ
\nment and got them double pay and
\nyet the ungrateful articles my mother
\nand an infant my brotherinlaw and another<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Page 19<\/h2>\n

man who was innocent, and still annoy
\nmy brothers and sisters and the
\nignorant unicorns even threaten to
\nshoot myself, But as soon as I
\nam dead they will be heels up
\nin the muroo there will be no
\nmore police required they will be
\nsacked and supplanted by soldiers
\non low pay in the towns and
\nspecial constables made of some
\nof the farmers to make up for
\nthis double pay and expense
\nIt will pay Government to give
\nthose people who are suffering
\ninnocence justice and liberty if not
\nI will be compelled to show some
\ncolonial stratagem which will
\nopen the eyes of not only the Victorian
\nPolice and inhabitants but also the
\nwhole British army and no doubt<\/p>\n

Page 20<\/h2>\n

they will acknowledge their hounds
\nwere barking at the wrong stump
\nand that Fitzpatrick will be the
\ncause of greater slaughter to
\nthe Union Jack than Saint Patrick
\nwas to the snakes and toads in
\nIreland, The Queen of England was
\nas guilty as Baumgarten and
\nKennedy, Williamson and Skillion
\nof what they were convicted for, when
\nthe horses were found on the Murray
\nRiver I wrote a letter to Mr Swanhill
\nof Lake Rowan to Acquaint the
\nAuctioneer and to advertize my
\nhorses for sale brought some
\nof them to that place but did not
\nsell. I sold some of them in Benalla
\nMelbourne and other places and
\nleft the colony and became
\na rambling gambler soon after<\/p>\n

\n

Page 21<\/h2>\n

I left – there was a warrant for me and the Police
\nsearched the place and watched night and day for
\ntwo or three weeks and they could not snare me
\nthey got a warrant against my brother Dan and
\non the 15 April, Fitzpatrick came to the eleven mile
\nCreek to arrest him he had some conversation with
\na horse dealer whom he swore was William Skillion
\nthis man was not called in Beechworth, besides
\nseveral other witnesses, who alone could have
\nproved Fitzpatricks falsehood after leaving this
\nman he went to the house asked was Dan in,
\nDan came out, I hear previous to this Fitzpatrick
\nhad some conversation with Williamsons on the
\nhill he asked Dan to come to Greta with him as
\nhe had a warrant for him for stealing Whittys horses
\nDan said all right they both went inside Dan
\nwas having something to eat his mother asked
\nFitzpatrick what he wanted Dan for, the Trooper
\nsaid he had a warrant for him, Dan then asked
\nhim to produce it, he said it was only a Telegram
\nsent from Chiltern but Sergeant Whelan ordered
\nhim to releive Steel at Greta and call and
\narrest Dan and take him into Wangaratta
\nnext morning and get him remanded Dan\u2019s mother
\nsaid Dan need not go without a warrant unless
\nhe liked and that the trooper had no business on
\nher premises without some Authority besides his own
\nword The trooper pulled out his revolver and said he
\nwould blow her brains out if she interfered in the
\narrest she told him it was a good job for him
\nNed was not there or he would ram the revolver
\ndown his throat, Dan looked out and said Ned is<\/p>\n

Page 22<\/h2>\n

coming now the trooper being off his guard looked
\nout and when Dan got his attention drawn he
\ndropped the knife and fork which showed he had
\nhe had no murderous intent and slapped Leenans hug
\non him, took his revolver and kept him there until Skillion
\nand Ryan came with horses which Dan sold that
\nnight The trooper left and invented some scheme
\nto say that he got shot which any man can
\nsee is false he told Dan to clear out that Sergeant
\nSteel and Detective Brown and Strachan would
\nbe there before morning Strachan had been over
\nthe Murray trying to get up a case against
\nhim and they would convict him if they caught
\nhim as the stock society offered an enticement for
\nwitnesses to swear anything and the Germans over
\nthe Murray would swear to the wrong man as well
\nas the right next day Williamson and my mother were
\narrested and Skillion the day after who was not there
\nat all at the time of the row which can be proved by 8 or 9
\nwitnesses and the Police got credit and praise in the
\npapers for arresting the Mother of 12 children one an
\ninfant on her breast and those two quiet hardworking
\ninnocent men who would not know the difference
\nin a revolver and a saucepan handle and kept them six
\nmonths awaiting trial and then convicted them
\non the evidence of the meanest article that ever the
\nsun shone on it seems that the Jury were well chosen
\nby the Police as there was a discharged Sergeant amongst
\nthem which is contrary to law they thought it impossible
\nfor a Policeman to swear a lie but I can assure them
\nit is by that means and hiring cads they get pro
\nmotion I have heard from a Trooper that he never<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 23<\/h2>\n

knew Fitzpatrick to be one night sober and that he sold
\nhis sister to a Chinaman but he looks a young strapping
\n(fellow<\/u>) rather genteel more fit to be a starcher to a
\nLaundress than policeman for to a keen observer
\nhe has the wrong appearance or a manly heart the
\ndeceit and cowardice is too plain to be seen in
\nthe puny cabbage hearted looking face I heard
\nnothing of this transaction until very close on the
\ntrial I being then over 400 miles from Greta when I
\nheard I was outlawed and a hundred pounds
\nreward for me for shooting at a trooper in Victoria
\nand a hundred pound reward for any man that could
\nprove a conviction of horsestealing against me
\nso I came back to Victoria knew I would get no
\nJustice if I gave myself up I enquired after my brother
\nDan and found him digging on Bullock Creek
\nheard how the Police used to be blowing that
\nthey would not ask me to stand they would
\nshoot me first and then cry surrender and how
\nthey used to rush into the house upset all the
\nmilk dishes break tins of eggs empty the flour
\nout of the bags on to the ground and even the
\nmeat out of the cask<\/span> and destroy all
\nthe provisions and shove the girls in front
\nof them into the rooms like dogs so as if any
\none was there they would shoot the girls first
\nbut they knew well I was not there or I would
\nhave scattered their blood and brains like rain I
\nwould manure the Eleven mile with their bloated
\ncarcases and yet remember there is not one drop
\nof murderous blood in my veins Superintendant
\nSmith used to say to my sisters see all the<\/p>\n

Page 24<\/h2>\n

men I have out today I will have as many more
\ntomorrow and we will blow him into pieces as
\nsmall as paper that is in our guns Detective Ward and
\nConstable Hays took out their revolvers and threatened
\nto shoot the girls and Childrenin^Mrs<\/sup> Skillion\u2019s absence
\nthe greatest ruffians and murderers no matter how
\ndepraved would not be guilty of such a cowardly
\naction and this sort of cruelty and disgraceful and
\ncowardly conduct to my brothers and sisters who
\nhad no protection coupled with the conviction of
\nmy mother and those men certainly made my blood
\nboil as I don\u2019t think there is a man born could have
\nthe patience to suffer it as long as I did or ever allow
\nhis blood to get cold<\/span> cold while such insults as
\nthese were unavenged and yet in every paper that
\nis printed I am called the blackest and coldest
\nblooded murderer ever on record But if I hear any
\nmore of it I will not exactly show them what cold
\nblooded murder is but wholesale and retail slaughter
\nsomething different to shooting three troopers in self
\ndefence and robbing a bank, I would have been rather
\nhot blooded to throw down my rifle and let them
\nshoot me and my innocent brother, they were
\nnot satisfied with frightening my sisters night
\nand day and destroying their provisions and
\nlagging my mother and infant and those innocent
\nmen but should follow me and my brother into the
\nwilds where he had been quietly digging neither molesting
\nor interfering with any one he was making good wages
\nas the creek is very rich within half a mile from where
\nI shot Kennedy I was not there long and on the 25 Oct
\nI came on Police tracks between Tabletop and the bogs I crossed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 25<\/h2>\n

them and returning in the evening I came on a
\ndifferent lot of tracks making for the Shingle Hut
\nI went to our camp and told my brother and his
\ntwo mates and my brother went and found
\ntheir camp at the shingle hut about a mile from
\nmy brothers house saw they carried long firearms
\nand we knew our doom was sealed if we could
\nnot beat those before the others would come as I
\nknew the other party of Police would soon join them
\nand if they came on us at our camp they would
\nshoot us down like dogs at our work as we had
\nonly two guns we thought if best to try and bail
\nthose up, take their firearms and ammunition and
\nhorses and we could stand a chance with the
\nrest we approached the spring as close as we could
\nget to the camp as the intervening space being
\nclear ground and no battery we saw two men at
\nthe logs they got up and one took a double barreled
\nfowling peice and fetched a horse down and
\nhobbled him at the tent and we thought there were
\nmore men in the tent asleep those being on sentry
\nwe could have shot those two men without speaking
\nbut not wishing to take their lives we waited
\nMc<\/sup>Intyre laid the gun against a stump and
\nLonigan sat on the log I advanced my brother
\nDan keeping Mc<\/sup>Intyre covered which he took to be
\nConstable Flood and had he not obeyed my orders
\nor attempted to reach for the gun or draw his revol
\n=ver he would have been shot dead but when I called
\non them to throw up their hands Mc<\/sup>Intyre obeyed
\nand Lonigan ran some six or seven yards to a
\nbattery of logs instead of dropping behind the one<\/p>\n

Page 26<\/h2>\n

he was sitting on he had just got to the logs and put
\nhis head up to take aim when I shot him that instant
\nor he would have shot me as I took him to be Strachan
\nthe man who said he would not ask me to stand
\nhe would shoot mefirst^like a dog But it happened to
\nbe Lonigan the man who in company with Sergeant
\nWhelan Fitzpatrick and King the bootmaker and Constable
\nO\u2019Day that tried to put a pair of handcuffs on me
\nin Benalla but could not and had to allow Mc<\/sup>Innes
\nthe Miller to put them on previous to Fitzpatrick
\nswearing he was shot I was fined two pounds
\nfor not allowing five curs like Sergeant Whelan
\nO\u2019Day Fitzpatrick King and Lonigan and would
\nhave sent me to Kingdom come only I was not
\nready and he is the man that blowed before he left
\nViolet Town if Ned Kelly was to be shot he was the
\nman that would shoot him and no doubt he
\nwould shoot me even if I threw up my arms
\nand laid down as he knew four of them could
\nnot arrest me singlehanded not to talk of the rest
\nof my mates, also either him or me would have
\nto die this he knew well therefore he had a right
\nto keep out of my road, Fitzpatrick is the only one I
\nhit out of the five in Benalla this shows my feelings
\ntowards him as he said we were good friends
\nand even swore it but he was the biggest enemy I had in
\nthe country with the exception of Lonigan and he
\ncan be thankful I was not there when he took a revolver and
\nthreatened to shoot my mother in her own house it is
\nnot fire three shots and miss him at a yard and a half I dont
\nthink I would use a revolver to shoot a man like him
\nwhen I was within a yard and a half of him or attempt to<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 27<\/h2>\n

fire into a house where my mother brothers and
\nsisters was, and according to Fitzpatricks statement
\nall around him a man that is such a bad shot
\nas to miss a man three times at a yard and a
\nhalf would never attempt to fire into a house
\nwhere my mother brothers<\/span> among a houseful of
\nwomen and children while I had a pair of arms
\nand a bunch of fives on the end of them that
\nnever failed to peg at anything they came in contact
\nwith and Fitzpatrick knew the weight of one of them only
\ntoo well as it run against him once in Benalla
\nand cost me two pound odd as he is very subject
\nto fainting, As soon as I shot Lonigan he jumped
\nup and staggered some distance from the logs
\nwith his hands raised and then fell he surrendered
\nbut too late I asked Mc<\/sup>Intyre who was in the
\ntent he replied no one I advanced and took possession
\nof their two revolvers and fowling peice which I
\nloaded with bullets instead of shot I asked Mc<\/sup>
\nIntyre where his mates was he said they had gone
\ndown the creek and he did not expect them that
\nnight he asked me was I going to shoot him and
\nhis mates I told him no I would shoot no man
\nif he gave up his arms and leave the force he
\nsaid the Police all knew Fitzpatrick had wronged
\nus and he intended to leave the force as he had
\nbad health and his life was insured he told me
\nhe intended going home and that Kennedy & Scanlon
\nwere out looking for our camp and also about the other
\nPolice he told me the N.S.W Police had shot a man for
\nshooting Sergeant Walling I told him if they did they
\nhad shot the wrong man and I expect your gang came<\/p>\n

Page 28<\/h2>\n

to do the same with me he said no they did not come
\nto shoot me, they came to apprehend me I asked him
\nwhat they carried spencer rifles and breechloading
\nfowling places and so much ammunition for, as the
\nPolice was only supposed to carry one revolver and six
\ncartridges in the revolver but they had eighteen rounds
\nof revolver cartridges each three dozen for the fowling peice
\nand twenty one spencer rifle cartridges and God knows
\nhow many they had away with the rifle this looked
\nas if they meant not only to shoot me only to riddle
\nme, but I don\u2019t know either Kennedy Scanlan or
\nhim and had nothing against them he said
\nhe would get them to give up their arms if
\nI would not shoot them as I could not blame
\nthem, they had to do their duty I said I did
\nnot blame them for doing honest duty but
\nI could not suffer them blowing me to peices
\nin my own native land and they knew Fitzpatrick
\nwronged<\/u>us<\/u> and why not make it public and
\nconvict him but no they would rather riddle
\npoor unfortunate creoles, but they will rue the day
\never Fitzpatrick got among them our two
\nmates came over when the heard the shots
\nfired but went back again for fear the Police might
\ncome to our camp while we were all away and
\nmanure bullock flat with us on our arrival I stopped
\nat the logs and Dan went back to the spring for the troopers
\nwould come in that way but I soon heard them coming
\nup the creek I told Mc<\/sup>Intyre to tell them to give up
\ntheir arms he spoke to Kennedy who was some distance
\nin front of Scanlan he reached for his revolver and jumped
\noff on the off side of his horse and got behind a tree when I<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 29<\/h2>\n

called on them to surrender<\/span> throw up their arms and Scanlon
\nwho carried the rifle slewed his horse around to galop away
\nbut the horse would not go and as quick as thought fired at
\nmewith the riflewithout unslinging it and was in the act of firing again
\nwhen I had to shoot him and he fell from his horse I could have
\nshot them without speaking but their lives was no good to me
\nMc<\/sup>Intyre jumped on Kennedys horse and I allowed him
\nto go as I did not like to shoot him after he surrendered
\nor I would have shot him as he was between me and Kennedy
\ntherefore I could not shoot Kennedy<\/em> without shooting him
\nfirst Kennedy kept firing from behind a tree my brother
\nDan advanced and Kennedy ran I followed him he stopped
\nbehind another tree and fired again I shot him in the
\narmpit and he dropped his revolver and ran I fired
\nagain with the gun as he slewed around to
\nsurrender I did not know he had dropped his revolver
\nthe bullet passed through the right side of his chest and he
\ncould not live or I would have let him go had they
\nbeen my own brothers I could not help shooting them
\nor else let them shoot me which they would have done had
\ntheir bullets been directed as they intended them But
\nas for handcuffing Kennedy to a tree or cutting his ear off
\nor brutally treating any of them is a falsehood if Kennedys
\near was cut off it was not done by me and none of
\nmy mates was near him after he was shot I put his
\nCloak over him and left him as well as I could and were
\nthey my own brothers I could not have been more sorry for them
\nthis cannot be called wilful murder for I was compelled to
\nshoot them or lie down and let them shoot me it would not be
\nwilful murder if they packed our remains in shattered into
\na mass of animated gore to Mansfield they would have
\ngot great praise and credit as well as promotion but I<\/p>\n

Page 30<\/h2>\n

am recorded a horrid brute because I had not been cowardly
\nenough to lie down for them under such trying circumstances
\nand insults to my people certainly their wives and chil-
\ndren are to be pitied but they must remember those
\nmen came into the bush with the intention of
\nscattering pieces of me and my brother all over the
\nbush and yet they know and acknowledge I have
\nbeen wronged and my mother and four or five men
\nlagged innocent and is my brothers and sisters and
\nmy mother not to be pitied also who was has no alternative
\nonly to put up with the brutal and cowardly conduct
\nof a parcel of big ugly fat necked wombat headed big bellied<\/em>
\n magpie legged narrow hipped splawfooted sons of Irish<\/em>
\n bailiffs or English landlords which is better known as<\/em>
\n Officers of Justice or Victorian Police<\/em> who some calls
\nhonest gentlemen but I would like to know what
\nbusiness an honest man would have in the Police
\nas it is an old saying It takes a rogue to catch a rogue
\nand a man that knows nothing about roguery
\nwould never enter the force and take an oath to arrest
\nbrother sister father or mother if required and to have
\na case and conviction if possible any man knows it
\nis possible to swear a lie and if a policeman looses a con=
\nviction for the sake of swearing a lie he has broke his oath
\ntherefore he is a perjurer either ways a Policeman is a disgrace
\nto his country and ancestors and religion as they were
\nall catholics before the Saxons and Cranmore yoke
\nheld sway since then they were persecuted massacreed thrown
\ninto martyrdom and tortured beyond the ideas of the present genera
\ntion what would people say if they saw a strapping big lump of
\nan Irishman sheparding sheep for fifteen bob a week or tailing turkeys
\nin Tallarook ranges for a smile from Julia or even begging his tucker<\/p>\n

\n

Page 31<\/h2>\n

they would say he ought to be ashamed of himself
\nand tar and feather him, But he would be a
\nking to a Policeman who for a lazy loafing
\ncowardly billet left the ash corner deserted
\nthe Shamrock, the emblem of true wit and
\nbeauty to serve under a flag and nation that
\nhas destroyed massacreed and murdered their
\nforefathers by the greatest of torture as rolling
\nthem down hill in spiked Barrels pulling
\ntheir toes and finger nails and on the wheel
\nand every torture imaginable more was trans
\nported to Van Diemans Land to pine their
\nyoung lives away in starvation and misery
\namong tyrants worse than the promised
\nhell itself all of true blood bone and beauty
\nthat was not murdered on their own soil
\nor had fled to America or other countries
\nto bloom again another day were doomed
\nto Port Mc<\/sup>Quarie Toweringabbie and Norfolk
\nIsland and Emu Plain and in those places
\nof Tyranny and condemnation many a
\nblooming Irishman rather than subdue
\nto the Saxon yoke were flogged to death
\nand bravely died in servile chains but
\ntrue to the Shamrock and a credit to Paddys
\nland What would people say if I became a
\nPoliceman and took an oath to arrest my
\nbrothers sisters & relations and convict
\nthem by fair or foul means after the con
\nviction of my Mother and the persecutions and
\ninsults offered to myself and people would
\nthey say I was a decent gentleman<\/p>\n

Page 32<\/h2>\n

and yet a policeman is still in worse and
\nguilty of meaner actions than that the
\nQueen must surely be proud of such heroic
\nmen as the Police and Irish soldiers as it
\ntakes eight or eleven of the biggest mud crushers
\nin Melbourne to take one poor little half starvedLarrikin
\nto a watchhouse I have seen as many as
\neleven big & ugly enough to lift Mount Macedon
\nout of a crab hole move like the species
\nof a baboon or Guerilla than a man
\nactually come into a court house and
\nswear they could not arrest one eight stone
\nlarrikin and them armed with battens
\nand neddies without some civilians assist
\nance and some of them going to the hospital
\nfrom the effects of hits from the fists of the
\nlarrikin and the Magistrate could send
\nthe poor little larrikin into a dungeon for
\nbeing a better man than such a parcel of armed
\ncurs, What would England do if America declared
\nwar and hoisted a green flag as it is all Irishmen
\nthat has got commandarmy fortsof^her batterys even her very
\nlife guards and beeftasters are Irish would they not
\nslew round and fight her with their own arms
\nfor the sake of the color they dare not wear
\nfor years and to reinstate it and rise old Erins
\nisle once more from the pressure and tyrannism
\nof the English yoke and which has kept in
\npoverty and starvation and caused them to wear the
\nenemys coat What else can England expect is there
\nnot big fat necked unicorns enough paid to torment
\nand drive me to do things which I don\u2019t wish to
\ndo without the public assisting them<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 33<\/h2>\n

I have never interfered with any person unless<\/em>
\n they deserved it<\/em> and yet there are civillians
\nwho take firearms against me for what
\nreason I do not know unless they want me
\nto turn on them and exterminate them with
\nout medicine I shall be compelled to make
\nan example of some of them if they cannot
\nfind no other employment If I had robbed
\nand plundered ravished and murdered everything
\nI met young and old rich and poor the pub
\nlic could not do anymore than take firearms
\nand assisting the Police as they have done
\n, but by the light that shines pegged on
\nan ant bed with their bellies opened their
\nfat taken out rendered and poured down
\ntheir throat boiling hot, will be fool to what
\npleasure I will give some of them and any
\nperson aiding or harbouring or assisting the
\npolice in any way whatever or employing
\nany person whom they know to be a
\ndetective or cad or those who would be so
\ndepraved as to take blood money will be outlawed
\nand declared unfit to be allowed human burial
\ntheir property either consumed or confiscated
\nand them and theirs and all belonging to
\nthem exterminated of the face of the earth
\nthe enemy I cannot catch myself I shall give
\na payable reward for I would like to know
\nwho put that article that reminds me of
\na poodle dog half clipped in the lion fashion
\ncalled Brooker Smith Superintendent of Police
\nhe knows as much about commanding Police<\/p>\n

Page 34<\/h2>\n

as Captain Standing does about mustering
\nmosquitoes and boiling them down for
\ntheir fat on the back Blocks of the Lachlan
\nfor he has a head like a turnip a stiffneck
\nas big as his shoulders narrow hipped
\nand pointed towards the feet like a vine
\nstake and if there is any one to be called
\na murderer regarding Kennedy Scanlan and
\nLonigan it is that misplaced poodle he gets
\nas much pay as a doz good troopers if there
\nis any good in them and what does he
\ndo for it he cannot look behind him without
\nturning his whole frame it take three or
\nfour police to keep sentry while he sleep
\nin Wangaratta for fear of body snatchers
\ndo they think he is a superior animal
\nto the men that has to guard them<\/span> him
\nif so why not send the men that gets
\nbig pay and reck<\/span>oned superior to the common
\npolice after me and you shall soon save
\nthe country of high salaries to men
\nthat is fit for nothing else but getting
\nbetter men than himself shot and sending
\norphan children to the industrial school
\nto make Prostitutes for the Detectives and other evil
\ndisposed persons send the high paid men that receive
\nbig salaries for years in a gang by themselves after
\nme as it will make no difference to them but it will
\ngive the public a chance of shewing whether they are
\nworth more pay than a common trooper or not
\nand I think the public will soon find out they
\nare only in the road of good men that is if there<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 35<\/h2>\n

is any good men among them and obtaining money<\/p>\n

under false pretences<\/p>\n

Page 36<\/h2>\n

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\n

Page 37<\/h2>\n

I do not call Mc<\/sup>Intyre a
\ncoward as he is as good a
\nman as wears the jacket he
\nhad the presence of mind
\nto know his position directly
\nhe was spoken to it is only
\nfoolishness to disobey an
\noutlaw it was cowardice
\nand foolhardiness<\/span> made Lonigan
\nfight it was<\/span> is foolhardiness
\nto disobey an outlaw as
\nit means a speedy despatch
\nto Kingdom come I would
\nadvise all those who joined
\nthe Stock Protection to with
\ndraw their money and give
\nit to the poor of Greta where,
\nI have spent and will again
\nspend many happy days
\nfearless free and bold<\/p>\n

Page 38<\/h2>\n

as it only aids the police
\nto procure false witnesses
\nto lag innocent men I would
\nadvise them to subscribe a sum
\nand give it to the poor of their
\ndistrict as no man could
\nsteal their horse or cattle without
\nthe knowledge of the poor and
\nthey would rise as one man
\nand find it if it was on the
\nface of the earth, the police
\ncant protect you<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Page 39<\/h2>\n

all those that have reason
\nto fear me had better sell out
\nand give \u00a310 out of every hundred
\nto the widow and orphan fund
\nand do not attempt to reside
\nin Victoria but as short a time
\nas possible after reading this
\nnotice neglect this and abide
\nby the consequence which shall
\nbe worse than rust in wheat in
\nVictoria or the drought of a dry
\nseason to the grasshoppers in
\nN.S.Wales I do not wish to give the
\norder full force without giving
\ntimely warning but I am a<\/u><\/em>
\n Widow\u2019s Son<\/u>, outlawed<\/u> and my<\/u><\/em>
\n orders must<\/u> be<\/u> obeyed<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n

Page 40<\/h2>\n

PLEASE NOTE: Page 40 on the original document is a blank document.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copied from here: http:\/\/www.nma.gov.au\/collections\/collection_interactives\/jerilderie_letter Page 1 Copy of Kellys\u2019 Confession Dear Sir I wish to acquaint you with some of the occurrences of the present past and future, In or<\/p>\n

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