The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-09-01

The Strange Experience OF az En-'tsi: SiS;:in,-
man Who Went Gold i!rn,ii,,; iii to';Hi:!
Where No Man Could Call l.:- life safe.
tFrom tie Atlanta corstit&t:oa)
Reading in your Journal an a1:ic!e
headed "a Buslrangcr interviewed,
says writer in Chambers, recalls to ny
memory str &c incident which &C.
cured some y ago to my own broth
er, when on his way from Sydney to the
gold fields, and for the accuracy OF
which can vouch.
At the time Of his arrival in australia
the country was IN a state Of panic; .
reign Of terror existed, caused by the
daring outrages committed on parties on
the journey to and from the diggllgs.
Robbery with violence, escorts shot
down, and large consignlnents OF sold
carried of, were of daily occurrence.
The bush was infested by q gang OF des-
perate bushrangers. whose leader, under
the cognomen OF Jack, seened to bear
a charmed life. For years lie had evaded
all the efforts made to capture him,
though the military had secured the
bush. No sooner was al outrage pcrpe-
trated than all trace of the perpetrators
was lost, as if the ground had swallowed
them. BE had a perfect knowledge OF
the most secret movements OF tAe par
ties he attacked. Heseemed ubiquitous,
outrages occurring IN such rapid sue
cession and so far apart. Such an air OF
mystery hung about him that 4 super
stitious feeling mingled with the mortal
terror he inspired. He was represented
by some persons who had seen INN as g
fine, powerfl-looking man, with nothing
forbidding in his appearance.
Even the mad thirst for gol2 colllG not
induce the bravest person to undertake
the journey alone. The gold-seekers
travelled in large cavalcades, well armed,
and determined to fight for Their lives
and property; one of these parties my
brother Joined. He was q handsome
young fellow, all fun and love of adven-
ture, and he soon became :. general
favorite. The "track"-for there were
no roads at that time-ran for the great
er distance through the brush, some
parts OF which were so dense IS scarcely
to admit daylight. Every man was Wei
armed. Ny brother had brought with
him first class revolver, purchased IN
London. This he kept with other vaiu-
ables carefully hidden OF his person, his
other belongings being slowed away II
one of the wagons. When they
bivouacked for the night, care was taken
that it was an open space, where g good
lookout could be kept, to make sure
against sudden surprise. The wagons
were placed in the middle, sentries
posted, and scouts placed 50 t;lat the
flight of bird or the fall Of Leaf could
not pass unnoticed. AL were on the
qrl vive. For some days al went well,
nothing unusual or alarming occurring.
They were then well into the bush, ana
consequently, if possible, more vigllant,
believing that even a mouse could not
iatrude itself among them.
One morning it was found that during
the night they had been, spite Of al Their
vigilance, mysteriously aud rmaccounta-
bly, Joined by o stranger, who stood IN
their midst as if one OF themselves. No
one could imagine how or whence he came,
and utter rastonishment prevailed. He was
q Ene, portly man, from tinrty-tive to
forty Years OF age, with an open, pre-
possessing countenance and good adj
dress-one who, under other clrcrm-
stances, would have been an acquisition
to the party. Not in the least taken
aback or abashed by the scant welcome
he received or the undisguised surprise
his presence created, he came forward
boldly and told a most plausible story to
the effect that he was a stranger making
his way to the gold fields; that, notwith-
standing the stories he had heard Il.
SYDNEY of slack" and his comrades, he
had ventured so far alone, but as he got
farther into the bush he lost heart and
determined to join the first party he met.
It looked strange that he had 10 lug
cage of any kind, not even provisions OF
anything to indicate that he was bound
for long journey. He made no attempt
to account for his mysterious appear
ance, entered into the arrangements OF
the cayalcade, and made himself quite al
home. Every man among them, with
the execution of my brother, believed
that no one but slack himself could
have taken them by surprise, the gener-
al belief being that It could only be from
personal experience the terrible bush
ranger derived the perfect knowledge he
displayed when making bis raids.
The party agreed that the wisest course
would be to await the progress OF events,
watch his every movement, and let him
see that they were prepared to sell thei,
lives dearly, if driven to dc SO.
The stranger seemed to have an un-
limited supply OF money, and to be gen
erous about it, paviro JUS way freely.
He took at ON ~ brother, and the
liking was mldin n diggers' parlance,
they became. :. -es, chummed, walked
and smoked -ther. My brother found
him a wen-inf1rmed, agreeable compan-
ion, vast improvement on their rough
associates; and be seemed thoroughly to
enjoy the society OF the jovial young
Irish gentleman. 4 sincere friendship
sprung up between them, notwithstand-
ing the disparity in years.
:The other members of the party De-
came very anxious, fearing the man
would tase advantage Of my brothers
unsrspicious, trusting nature to obtain
Information that would be useful to him
when forming his plans for the attack
which was hourly e1pected-in fact
looked upon as imminent. Nor were
their fears allayed when, after Little, he