The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-07-04
EXTRACTS FROM A TRAMP'S
 DIARY.

EA kAS S FROM A TRAMPS
 DIARY.
 IA virtuous vagabond, in San Franciscan. I
 Sydney, glorious Sydney What Ian. guage can convey more than a slight im- Pression of the many beauties of that par adise for trampsl Imagine the most genial climate in the world, where nearly all tropical fruits abound. The canine ordinance is strictly enforced, and the vagrant act is unknown. Perhaps in no other part of the world are the extreme phases of life so strongly depicted as in Sydney, with its heterogeneous opulence and poverty, elegance and filth, virtue and depravity. What themes for the novelist could 1t supply, with its broad avenues and superb mansions-the abodes of wealth, beauty and talent on one side its filthy alleys and dismal novels, where the vilest creatures on earth have congre- gated, on the other.
 Originally British penal settlement, its first inhabitants were composed of those true patriots who left their country for their country's good. Many of them, after obtaining their liberty, preferred re maining in land which, with it's mild climate, rich soil and abundance of food, must have seemed a very paradise in comparison with the bleak shores, severe winters and inhospitable cities of their nativity. It is the descendants of those men who in many instances at the pres ent day comprise the moneyed anstoc- racy of Australia, and, though perhaps not actually criminal themselves, that morbid sympathy for crime which seems hereditary renders them valuable aids to the outlaws and vagabonds who infest various portions of the country. To that fact Australia is principally indebted for her unenviable notoriety of affording . secure asylum fer tho outcasts of all na- tions. In many portions of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland the sur est passport stranger can possess to the good will of the inhabitants is the fact that he is lAwless character. The knowledge that his liberty is endangered, no matter from what cause, is sufficient to enlist their aid and sympathy, and though each of the colonies possesses an ex,en- sive and well-organized force of mounted police, they have hitherto proved totally unable to cope with the nonstrous evil, while the expense of their maintenance adds considerably to the cost of govern ment. True, the old time convicts arc dying out, but their ranks are being con- tinually recruited from the reckless rab- ble from all parts of the globe, who there find congenial spirits and extensive fields of adventure. The supposition that the law in the British dominions is more strictly enforced than in other countries is erroneous as affecting these colonies. Where but in Australia could such des- peradoes as Ward, Gardener, the Kelly boys and dozens of others, have reigned supreme for years, setting law and order at defiance?
 An adventure in which took a promi- nent part few years ago, goes far to show the friendly feeling existing between the outlaws and settlers in the back dis tricts. In 1872 the police of New South Wales and Queensland, who were making desperate efforts to capture noted out law named Ward, alias Thunderbolt, em- ployed me to convey dispatches to some of their colleagues in an outlying district. It was a mission fraught with extreme peril, as 1t necessitated my passing through the favorite haunts of the des- perado, who had his spies on every side |; and were my errand merely suspected, . shot from some lone hillside or dark ra- vine would have terminated the old vaga- bonds career. However, a love of ad- venture, combined with the promise of large pecuniary reward, induced me to undertake the venture, and, disguised as mountaineer, well armed and mounted, set out on my journey. Toward even- ing on the third day approached large cattle ranch in the outlying districts of New South Wales, owned by two women and daughter-both of whose husbands were at the time undergoing sentences of imprisonment for highway robbery. Upon riding up to the house was met by several young men dressed as stockmen, or as you would term them, cowboys, who cordially invited me to re- main over night-an invitation which, under the circumstances, l thought it ad- visable to accept; and, turning my horse into field to which they directed me, joined the conclave at supper, where 1 soon discovered by the questions of my entertainers that was regarded with sus- Ptlon' NotntnS OCCurrSo, however, to excite my tears until the following morn- ing, when, upon proceeding to the field, found my horse had been stolen or re- moved, which of course prevented me from continuing my journey. After con- cealing all papers that might have led to my detection, returned to the house and communicated my loss to the inmates, who were loud in their expressions of re- gret, the manner of which convinced me they were entirely affected. Seeing no other means to extricate myself from my dangerous predicament, determined to adopt bold ruse. Calling one who ap. peared to be their leader on one side, 1 coolly informed him the police were on my track, and the loss of my horse would prevent my escape. "Why in thunder didn't you tell me before ?"he exclaimed, adding, . moment after, "but stay to- day; you will be perfectly safe, and guarantee you will get your horse in the morning." Accepting his assurance, remained, and that evening had an inter-