The Complete Inner History of the KellyGang and their Pursuers (27)

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CHAPTER V1

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1 called on them to throw up their hands. Mclntyre obeyed and never attempted to reach for his gun or revolver. Lonigan ran to a battery of logs and put his head up to take aim at me, when I shot him, or he would have shot me, as I knew well. I asked who was in the tent. Mclntyre replied, "No one." I approached the camp and took possession of their revolvers and fowling piece, which I loaded with bullets (swandrops) instead of shot. I told Mclntyre I did not want to shoot him or any other man that would surrender. I explained Fitzpatrick's falsehood, which no policeman can be ignorant of. He said he knew Fitzpatrick had wronged us, but he could not help it. He said he intended to leave the police force on account of his bad health. His life was insured. The other two men (Joe Byrne and Steve Hart), who had no firearms, came up when they heard the shot fired, and went back to our camp for fear the police might call there in our absence and surprise us on our arrival. My brother went back to the spring, and I stopped at the log with Mclntyre. Kennedy and Scanlan came up. Mclntyre said he would get them to surrender if I spared their lives as well as his. I said I did not know either him, Scanlan or Kennedy, and had nothing against them, and would not shoot any of them if they gave up their firearms and promised to leave the force, as it was the meanest billet in the world.

They are worse than cold-blooded murderers and hangmen. He said he was sure they would never follow me any more. 1 gave him my word that 1 would give them a chance. McIntyre went up to Kennedy, Scanlan being behind with a rifle and revolver. I called on them to throw up their hands. Scanlan stewed his horse round to gallop away, but turned again, and, as quick as thought, fired at me with the rifle, and was in the act of firing again when I shot him. Kennedy alighted on the off side of his horse and. got behind a tree and opened hot fire. Mclntyre got on Kennedy's horse and galloped away. I could have shot him if 1 chose, as he was right against me, but rather than break my word I let him go. My brother advanced from the spring. Kennedy fired at him and ran, and he found neither of us was dead. I followed him. He got behind another tree and fired at Me again. I shot him in the armpit as he was behind the tree. He dropped hit revolver and ran again, and slewed round, and I fired with the gun again and shot him through the right chest, as I did not know that he had dropped his revolver and was turning to surrender. He could not live, or I would have let him go. Had they been my own brothers I could not help shooting them or else lie down and let them shoot me, which they would have done had their bullets been directed as they intended them. But as for handcuffing Kennedy to a tree, or cutting his car off, or brutally treating any of them, it is a cruel falsehood. If Kennedy's ear was cut off, it has been done since. I put his cloak over him and left him as honourable as I could, and if they were my own brothers I could not be more sorry for them. With the exception of Lonigan, I did not begrudge him what bit of lead he got, as he was the flashest, meanest man that I had any account against, for him, Fitzpatrick, Sergeant Whelan, Constable Day, and King, the bootmaker, once tried to handcuff me at Benalla, and when they could not Fitzpatrick tried to choke me.

Lonigan caught me by the . . . and would have, killed me, but was not able. Mr. Mclnnes came up, and 1 allowed him to put the handcuffs on when the police wore bested. This cannot be called wilful murder, for 1 was compelled to shoot them in my own defence, or lie down like a cur and die. Certainly their wives and children are to be pitied, but those men came into the bush with the intention of shooting me down like a dog, and yet they know and acknowledge I have been wronged. And is my mother and her infant baby and my poor little brothers and sisters not to be pitied? More so, who has got no alternative, only to put up with brutal and unmanly conduct of the police, who have never had any relations or a mother, or must have forgot them. 1 was never convicted of horse-stealing.

I was once arrested by Constable Hall and 14 more men in Greta, and there was a subscription raised for Hall by persons who had too much money about Greta in honour of Hall arresting "Wild" Wright and Gunn. Wright and Gunn were potted, and Hall could not pot me for horse stealing, but with the, subscription money he gave £20 to James Murdock, who has recently been hung in Wagga Wagga, and on Murdock's evidence I was found guilty of receiving, knowing to be stolen, which J Wright, W Ambrose, J Ambrose, T H Hatcher and W Williamson and others can prove. I was innocent of knowing the mare. to be stolen, and I was once accused of taking a hawker by the name of McCormack's horse to pull another hawker named Ben Gould out of a bog . . . At the time I was taken by Hall and his 14 assistants, therefore 1 dare not strike any of them, as Hall was a great cur, and as for Dan, he never was tried for assulting a woman. Mr Butler (PM) sentenced him (Dan) to three months without the option of a fine for wilfully destroying property, a sentence which there is no law to uphold, and yet they had to do their sentence, and their prosecutor, Mr D Goodman, since got four years for perjury concerning the same property. The Minister of Justice should inquire into this respecting their sentence, and he will find a wrong jurisdiction given by Butler PM on the 19th of October I877 at Benalla and these are the only charges was ever proved against either of us, therefore we are falsely represented.

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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