The True Story of the KellyGang of Bushrangers Chapter 10 page 1

CHAPTER X - THE STICKING-UP OF FAITHFULL’S CREEK

Faithfull's Creek Station homestead, standing as it does in full sight of a main railway line and close to the old Sydney Road, less than four miles distant from a busy township, was the last place at which the Kellys might be expected to make a sudden appearance, and the gang’s exploit there was one of the most daring and picturesque in their career. On December 9 all had gone as usual till after midday. George Stephens, a groom, and Fitzgerald, another employee, were then at their dinner in the kitchen, where was also Mrs Fitzgerald, the station housekeeper, busying herself about the men’s meal, when a roughly dressed, bearded man, coming to the door, inquired if Mr McCauley, the station manager, was at home. On being told that he was not, the stranger walked away, saying he would wait, and Stephens went down to the stables, whereupon the man came back, and introduced himself to Mrs Fitzgerald as Ned Kelly. By this time he had been joined by three other men in charge of four horses, three bays and a grey, in excellent condition, and Ned Kelly politely informing Fitzgerald and his wife who they were, gave his assurance that he and his mates intended no harm, but must have food for themselves and their horses. Mrs Fitzgerald accepted the position philosophically and pointed out the stable to Kelly, who, going down there with Fitzgerald and one of his mates, found Stephens and another man whom Fitzgerald pointed out to Kelly. The bushranger stood without speaking for a moment or two at the stable door, where the men did not take much notice of him. Then turning to Stephens with a smile, ‘I suppose you don’t know who I am,’ he said, in evident anticipation of effecting a sensational surprise. ‘Perhaps you are Ned Kelly,’ was the quiet answer given at random, to which Kelly, decidedly annoyed, replied that Stephens ‘seemed to be a ----- good guesser.’ At the same time he produced a revolver, and, mollified by Stephens’ saying that he was only joking, he explained that the horses of the gang must be stabled and fed.

While this matter was being attended to, Kelly conversed with Stephens in the stable, and gave his own version of the shooting of the police, which chiefly differed from McIntyre’s in so far as he asserted that Lonigan, Scanlon, and Kennedy had all three showed fight and fired several shots before they met their deaths. Lonigan, according to Kelly, had taken shelter behind a pile of logs and opened fire from there, being shot through the head when he rose to take aim. Scanlon had fired himself, and been shot in his turn before dismounting, while Kennedy had taken shelter behind his horse and made excellent revolver practice, one bullet going through Kelly’s beard , another grazing his ribs, and a third touching Dan on the shoulder. The sergeant had then, Kelly said, made a running fight of it from tree to tree, till Kelly had shot him twice, once in the shoulder, and once through the chest, after which he fell. Either from vainglorious pride in his shooting powers or from a desire to shield his mates, should they ever be captured, Ned Kelly asserted that no one but he had taken any part in the killing of the police. Murder he declared it was not, but a necessary act of self-defence against men who had come out determined to shoot him.

See previous page / next page

This document gives you the text of the report about the KellyGang for this day. 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. This document is subject to copyright.

the previous chapter / next chapter . .The True Story of the KellyGang of Bushrangers index