The True Story of the KellyGang of Bushrangers Chapter 8 page 3
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Describing his general experience of the search party work, Mr Nicolson spoke as follows: ‘After travelling through the ranges and that country, where we would come to a halting place, we were in the habit of camping first and having tea and placing sentries and having supper, and would then select a place to sleep in, leaving the fire, of which we had very little, and moving on to another place to sleep. I then, instead of being able to lie down to rest with the men at the time, generally had to go with two or three men to places from one to four miles off on foot-huts of suspected persons, and so on… I would not get back to the camp after visiting those places until above twelve or two or three o’clock at night. I had to lie down to rest till daybreak, which at this time (November) was very early. This had a serious effect upon me. It reduced my strength. It also affected the whole party; we would come in very much fagged - horses and men. The young men used to recuperate in a couple of days, but it took me, at my time of life, and the other members of the force, mounted constables and others, more than that, but I had to go out notwithstanding at once.’
In addition to the fatigue and hardship occasioned by these expeditions, which Mr Nicolson says were the most severe he had undergone since joining the police force, was the mortifying consciousness that the district residents were ever more ready to frustrate than to forward the plans of the searchers. They could not get guides and no assistance, save from one man named Dickson, of Wangaratta, who subsequently joined the force, and another named Nicholson, from Mansfield, who did good service. There were three secret agents, more or less trusted; but these could never show themselves openly with the police, and an endeavour was always made to keep the starting of every expedition a secret, which, however, was difficult, and whenever a party left headquarters, the news of it was immediately noised throughout the district, creating a sensation among the well disposed inhabitants and putting the outlaws on their guard. Consequently, party after party, having spent various times from a few days to a fortnight in the bush or the mountains, returned wearied out to their different stations.
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