To avenge his mother's wrongful conviction was seen as reasonable and just, the cornerstone of the Ned Kelly legend. Ned came back home. At the time the reward for his apprehension was set at 100 pounds. Three of the four police were killed. Two hundred police scoured Kelly Country but no trace of the four-man gang was found.
Flight is expensive, even on horseback.
Bail money and legal fees for sympathizers, money for shelter, fresh horses, silence. The reward for the Kelly gang climbed to 1000 pounds a head. At Jerilderie another part of the Ned Kelly persona was created. Kelly dictated an eight thousand word autobiography and a manifesto for a new independent state. Ned Kelly's manifesto did not see the light of day until the 1930's, having been suppressed by authorities.