The Complete Inner History of the KellyGang and their Pursuers (60)

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CHAPTER XV

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They did not want to make a noise.  The police could have shot Joe Byrne when he stepped inside to fire the second shot if they had their firearms ready.  He used to place me in front of him, and when he sent me in he used to put my daughter in front of him — that was Byrne, but Kelly did not do that; and he went round soon after that to look for bushes to set fire to the place.  (RC13395)

Byrne sent in my daughter after some time and she was kept inside.  I went in afterwards, and they (the police) just got me by the clothes and one of the men, Dowling, said, ‘Stop inside, and if they set fire to the place, they (the police) would let both of us out.’ They (the police) said they did not think the outlaws would set fire to the place while women were inside, so I stopped in.  Before I came in the last time, Dan Kelly had the bushes outside the room where the men (police) were.  He took out a box of matches and struck a match and the wind blew it out; when I saw him strike the match, I said, ‘If you set fire to the house, and the girl get shot or burnt, you can just kill me along with them.’ Dan said nothing at the time, but some time after he sang out to Byrne to send me inside, and I said it was no use going in — that I would be burned with the rest; and he said he would see about it.  So I went in, and we all remained inside till daylight.  The first time I went into the room the men (police) appeared as if they were bustling about looking for their firearms, and the second time I went into the room Alexander and another man were sitting on a box in front of the door with their ‘possum rugs around them, and I could not see the other men; I did not notice them in the room.  I could not say where they were at the time.  The third time I went into the bedroom they had my daughter kept in (this was the last time Byrne sent me in).  Alexander was at one side of the room and the other constables were under the bed.  Constable Alexander was at one side of the room where the bed was not.  Constable Duross and Constable Dowling were under the bed, and their head and shoulders out at the side of the bed.  I went to the two men, and they caught me by the clothes and pulled me to the ground.  I remained lying on the floor; they did not pull me underneath the bed.  Duross just tried to shove me in slightly, but I remained where I was in fact, I do not think that I could get under the bed.

“At the time that Byrne was standing at the door no doubt if the police had come to the side of the door that could have fired at him right enough.  Of course, I know that we cannot do without the police in the country, for any honest person could not live, but they ought to speak the truth.  My opinion of some of them is they are not particular what they say.  I am quite certain about the two men, Duross and Dowling, being under the bed and their heads out, and the guns facing them by the door, and that was when they pulled me down, and Dowling said if I did not keep quiet they would have to shoot me.  He said, ‘You have better stop in, Mrs Barry, and if you stop in the outlaws will not set fire to the place while there are women in the place.’ That might be about nine o’clock.  Of course, it has been said that there were voices outside during the night, but I did not hear any, and I can hear as well as anyone.”

Mrs Aaron Sherritt, on July 21, 1881, on oath said:—“When her husband, Aaron Sherritt, was shot she saw Dan Kelly about a quarter of an hour after the shooting standing inside the front door; he had his elbow leaning on the table.  The men (police) could have shot him there if they tried; if the police had been looking out of the door or keeping an eye on the division—the partition that was between the two rooms—they could have had Dan Kelly very easily; but I do not think they were prepared at the time.” (RC13797)

Question (by the Commission).—It would not take them all that time to look for their arms?—“Not at that time; there were two of them  under the bed.  I am quite certain that there were two under the bed and two lying on top; so it was impossible to have either of the outlaws in the position the men (police) were in.  They (the police) were in that position when Dan Kelly was in the room. I was put under the bed. Constable Dowling pulled me down, and he could not put me under, and then Armstrong caught hold of me, and the two of them shoved me under, and they had their feet against me. They remained in that position for two or three hours. I do not remember hearing voices outside after I was put under the bed, only the dog howling. I heard no voices outside after my mother came in, and remained—not after that—I did not hear anything. The second time I came in Dan Kelly was by the table, and then when I went out again he was gone to get bushes to set fire to the house.”

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This document gives you the text of this book about the KellyGang. The text has been retyped from a copy of the original. We have taken care to reproduce this document but areas of the original text may been damaged. We also apologise for any typographical errors. JJ Kenneally was one of the first authors to tell this story from the KellyGang's point of view