History of the Australian BushrangersBoxall, George
History
History of the Australian Bushrangers
Boxall, George
Bushrangers -- Australia
The story of Jack the Rammer illustrates the relationship which
sometimes existed between the bushrangers and the assigned servants,
and indicates the difficulties with which law-abiding citizens had
to cope. Jack had been living by robbery in the Manaro district for
some time. One day Mr. Charles Fisher Shepherd, the overseer of the
Michelago sheep station, said something about all bushrangers being
cowards. One of the assigned servants on the station, named Bull,
replied, "They'll be here next." "If they come here," exclaimed
Shepherd, "I'll give them a benefit." A few nights afterwards Shepherd
was asleep in his hut. He was awakened by someone calling on him to
come out. After a time he did so, and saw Jack the Rammer and a man
named Boyd standing at the door. Jack cried out to him, "Keep your
hands down." They stood for a second or two regarding him, and then
Jack said, "What a benefit you're giving us." The two bushrangers
then walked away. Although he felt convinced that Bull was in league
with the bushrangers and had reported his speech to them and that
he probably could not expect any assistance from the other assigned
servants on the station, Shepherd loaded his gun with No. 4 shot, the
largest he had, and started off after the bushrangers. It was about
daybreak on a beautiful December morning in 1834, probably between
three and four o'clock, and the air was soft and balmy as he made his
way through the bush in the direction in which the bushrangers had
gone. After travelling some distance he came on a sort of a camp, and
saw Boyd through the trees. He kneeled down and fired, but missed. He
was about to fire the other barrel when Bull stepped from behind a
tree close by, and said "Don't shoot him, sir." "By G----, I will,"
exclaimed Shepherd. "If you fire, by G----, I'll shoot you," returned
Bull. Before Shepherd could reply another bushranger named Keys fired
at him from behind a tree, and wounded him. Shepherd rushed forward,
and was about to close with Keys when Boyd ran up and fired, wounding
Shepherd in the head. Keys seized him, but Shepherd shook himself free,
and ran back to the station. He went to the house, roused up the owner,
and said to him, "Good God, Catterall, I'm shot all to pieces, and you
never help me." "What's the good?" returned Catterall. "What can I do?"
Just then the bushrangers came up, and Catterall went in and shut the
door. Shepherd rushed across to his own hut, and tried to shut himself
in, but Boyd thrust the barrel of his gun in in time to prevent him.
Shepherd seized the gun and tried to wrench it out of Boyd's hands, but
Keys pushed the door open and struck Shepherd on the head. Shepherd
fell, and Boyd put the muzzle of his gun close against his chest and
pulled the trigger. The bushrangers, including Bull, then went away.
It was some hours later when Shepherd regained consciousness, and
yelled out as loud as he could. He continued calling for some minutes,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account