The Complete Inner History of the KellyGang and their Pursuers (67)

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CHAPTER XVIII

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“When we came to the small toolhouse the chest was broken and the tools lying out on the side of the line.  He said.  ‘Pick up what tools you want,’ and I took two spanners and a hammer, and I said, ‘I have no more to take,’ and he said, ‘Where are your bars?’ and I said, ‘Two or three miles away’; I said, ‘In front of my place,’ and he sent Steve Hart for them, who came in a few minutes after himself.  When I went on the ground (RC7607)

I said to Hart, ‘You have plenty of men without me doing it.’ ‘All right,’ he says, and he pointed to the contractor from Benalla, and said, ‘You take the spanner.’

“That was Jack McHugh, I think.  He took the spanner, and I instructed him, on being made, how to use it.  Ned Kelly came up and said, ‘Old man, you are a long time breaking up this road.’ I said, ‘I cannot do it quicker.’ And he said, ‘I will make you do it quicker; if you do not look sharp, I will tickle you up with this revolver.’ And I said, ‘I cannot do it quicker, do what you will’; and he said, ‘Give me no cheek.’ So we broke the road.  He wanted four lengths broken.  I said, ‘One will do as well as twenty.’ And he said, ‘Do you think so?’ And I said I was certain.  I said that, because I thought if only one was off, the train would jump it and go on safely.  Hart pointed out the place.

“He then brought us all up to the station and remained at the gatehouse, where the stationmaster lived, for perhaps two hours.  There were about twenty of us.  All who came along were bailed up, and on Sunday evening he (Ned Kelly) had 62 which I counted.

“At the hotel he did not treat us badly—not at all.  They had drink in them in the morning.  When I first saw Steve Hart he was pretty drunk.  I saw some people offer drink to Dan Kelly and Byrne, I believe, and they said, ‘No’; but if Ned Kelly drank I cannot say, for he was in the kitchen in the back.  When it came night we were all locked in and kept there.  There was no opportunity of escaping at all—not the slightest.  No chance.  I was there when the police came.  I was still there when he went for Bracken between nine and ten o’clock on Sunday night.  They took him prisoner also.  There was only one constable here at that time.  During the night before the police came they were very jolly, and the people and Mrs Jones cleared the house out.  They would not have it without a dance.  She wanted me to dance, and I said, ‘No, something is troubling me besides dancing.’ Mrs Jones said, ‘We will all be let go very soon, but you might thank me for it’; and my missus asked Dan Kelly to let me go home with my children and family.  ‘We will let you all go directly,’ she (Mrs Jones) said.  That would be two o’clock, about an hour before the police arrived.

“There was a dance got up in the house; there were three of the Kellys, Ned, Dan and Byrne danced, and Mrs Jones and her daughter, and three or four others I did not know.  Mrs Jones praised Ned Kelly; she said he was a fine fellow.  Dan Kelly said, ‘Now you can all go home,’ and I stood up and picked up one of my children in my arms, and we were making for the door when Cherry picked up Ryan’s child, and Mrs Jones stood at the door and said, ‘You are not to go yet; Kelly is to give you a lecture,’ so we all turned back into the house again, and Mrs Jones came in and said, ‘Kelly will give you all a lecture before you go.’ A little later Byrne came in and said, ‘The train is coming.’ That stopped all the discourse.  They turned into the back room—the three bushrangers; there was one (Steve Hart) taking care of Stanistreet’s family.  Then they went into one of the back rooms, dressing themselves in their armour.  I could hear the armour rattling.  We could have got clear away if we had been allowed to go when Dan Kelly said we could go. (RC7627)

“Mrs Jones seemed to be very pleased that the outlaws were there.  Bracken saw where they planted the key, and at the time they went to put their armour on he went and took the key.  He put the key in his trousers pocket and came back to the door and stood there till he got his opportunity, and opened the door and turned the key in the lock.  When the police came the outlaws went round the house and fired.  There were three (Dan, Byrne and Steve Hart) who came in again.  I do not believe Ned came in at all. The police fired at once. There was a return shot immediately. There were two or three hot volleys very quick.  We could see the light (outside).  There was no light in the house.  We were all frightened, and Bracken told us to lie down on the floor as flat as we could before he went away.  The Kellys said they would allow us all to go if the police would.  There was a tall chap - I forgot his name - he put a white handkerchief out of the window, and there were three bullets sent in at once.  The shots went straight from the drain into the window.  He threw himself on the floor.  After the second or third round was fired things got quiet for a bit, when Hare said cease firing.  Ryan and his wife and three or four children and three of mine, and a strange woman from Benalla, then rushed out, and the firing was on them as hard as it could be blazed from the drain, and I could not say where, and I rushed out and my son with me.  It was just daylight.  My wife and I got out, and we had to go back into the house because of the firing.  The firing was from all directions.  The most part of it was from the drain.  The fire was strong from the drain, and Mr O’Connor popped his head up from the drain and said, ‘Who comes there?’ with a loud voice.  I recognised the voice.  Ryan sang out, ‘Women and children,’ and the firing still continued.

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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