Doctors, in the practice of their profession, not infrequently inform their patients that there is an insufficiency of iron in their blood, but no such assertion was ever known to be made to a man who at any time occupied a position in the Port Macquarie Iron Gang, for if there was no iron in their blood there should have been, if the "barking of shins" went for anything. I was sent into this gang, and amongst the men in it were a number termed "specials." These "specials" were sent out principally for forgery or swindling, and many of them were so flash that they used to look down upon the other class of men, and try to play a game of "bluff." I was boiling my billy of tea one evening, when one of them came up and threatened to do all sorts of things to me if I did not remove my billy and allow him the fire. "What do you want?" I asked. "I want the fire," he replied. "Well," I said, "you can have it when I am finished." He took no notice of me, but persisted in removing my billy and placing his own on the fire. At last I quietly lifted his off, threw it into the swamp, and gave him a good thrashing. I was then removed, and got a little peace. Perhaps for a fortnight now I went to work with the hand-cart, bringing firewood for the Government officers, and finally joined the iron gang again. Shortly after I re-joined this gang a man named Arger, who had been captain in a regiment, was attacked by a fierce looking fellow named Lorrens, who went up, and, drawing a knife, stabbed Arger both sides of the neck and in the ribs, then told him to "draw his sword and defend himself." This man had not the slightest provocation to commit such a murderous act, as the poor fellow never did him the least injury, and he was sent to Norfolk Island for life. Another man in the gang named Handersen, a carpenter, went up to a Frenchman named Antonio, and knocked him down with a hammer; then, turning round, he said: "I killed that b----, and I hope his soul has gone wandering." These acts were done principally for tobacco, or for half-a-loaf of bread, (even in those days "half-a-loaf" was considered to be better than "no bread") and the object was generally to get some of the flash "specials" a holiday to Sydney in charge of a man, and this was called "jeeing" them. When a man received six or 12 months in irons, he had to sleep on the floor with one blanket, and a sleeper for a pillow; and if he got ever so wet before going to bed in rainy weather, he had to put on the same wet clothes next morning.