I have now to give some account of one who was not a convict before his arrival, but the son of convict parents. His name was Joseph Storey. He was born in Van Diemen's Land, now known as Tasmania. ln all matters relating to those of the prison class or breed who joined us from that beautiful island I feel the inclination to keep up its original name, as these persons were amongst early settlers known as Vandiemonians.

Storey arrived in the colony in 1837 or early in 1838, quite a young man. He finished a criminal career here on the 24th August,1841, when his sentence of death was commuted to transportation for life as a burglar and the head of a gang called the "Blackfaced robbers."

Shortly after I arrived I was introduced to this criminal, and this, fortunately for me was the only occasion on which he came in my way, and certainly did not prove advantageous to him. The Colonial Treasurer (Mr. Osmond Gilles), whose house adjoined the one I first occupied at the south-east end of the embryo city, had lost a pair of grey mares which he received from Tasmania. He asked me as a favor to look out for them in my rides, and to order any of my people to do the same. He soon received information about them, brought by a man from the new tiers, to the effect that he and his mate, Joseph Storey had seen two light-grey mares passing their hut on the dray track. This man offered for a reward of £10 to go after them and bring them in, urging that as the horses were travelling on as long as they had watched them, they supposed they would by the time he was speaking be a long way in the wild and unsettled bush.

Mr. Gilles sent for me to speak to the man, who admitted he had come from Tasmania, on which an offer was made to him that if he or his mate, as a guide, would accompany two persons on horseback, who would bring a spare horse for him, to look for the mares, he should have £5 on their being recovered. To this he agreed, saying his mate Storey would go, and it was arranged that the start should be as early as possible the following morning. He said Storey was a better bushman than he was. I was pressed to go as one, as a favor to the owner, and consented, one of Mr. Gilles's clerks to accompany me.

We accordingly started before sunrise, leading a spare horse for Storey. I rode Prince, a horse I bought from Captain Hindmarsh, and followed the track up the spur then known as Chambers's Hill, and with the directions given found Storey's hut. After taking breakfast with these men, we started under Storey's guidance. The sun was obscured; the hills were wrapped in foggy clouds, and so remained during the day — very unfavorable for discovering lost horses in a thick forest, where we often had to pass through an under-growth of dripping shrubs, but highly favorable for the game designed and carried out by our false guide.

After beating about for several hours, Storey taking us across deep gullies and over steep-sided spurs, I felt it was time to call a halt to refresh men and horses. We had seen no tracks of horses. On a fresh start it appeared to us we were now taken on a wider course, and apparently across the same ridges and gullies, only more to the eastward. As the sun remained obscured, and we had no compass with us, I took great notice of the ground we passed over, and of the direction of the spurs and watercourses, for I began to suspect we were being sold.

After going over many miles I found my horse showing signs of distress, and pulled up and dismounted, my companion and Storey doing the same. Watching an opportunity when Storey was some distance from the horse he had been riding, I said to my companion, who was no bushman, and acting under me — " Now is our time; I will mount Storey's horse, you also mount and take my horse by the bridle, and I will treat with Storey."

I drew out of my pocket a small pistol, and presenting it at him as he came up, said — : " Now you may make the best of your way home on foot; you have been leading us about long enough." Then we left him, and continued up the spur at the foot of which we had dismounted, believing that all the spurs we had crossed ran from the east side of the Mount Lofty range, and this conclusion we found to be correct, for in less than an hour we attained the top of the main ridge, very wet and somewhat tired, after being in the saddle full twelve hours. Not long after we gained the summit the sun dipped below the bank of clouds, and to our joy we saw beneath us the infant City of Adelaide. On our right and north of us we could see Chambers's Hill, and we had time to make observations, by which we were convinced that the designing Storey had been leading us backwards and forwards over, ground entirely to the south of his hut, and so it did not require a conjurer to decide that the direction to expect to find the mares in was to the north of the ground over which he had been misleading us, and that the mares had been planted, and might be only at a short distance from the confederates' hut. Horses and men weary, we passed down a main spur and direct across the then open plain, and reached home an hour after sunset.

On the following day two mounted men were sent out with directions to search only to the north of Storey's location, and to be on the ground so early as to give no time for the mares to be replanted. They were soon found in a snug gully, about a mile from the hut, and so the scoundrels who planted them did not get even five pounds.

The police at this time had plenty of work cut out for them by burglars as well as by cattle stealers. About this period a gang of four cattle stealers, had been playing their game some time before the police got reliable information as to the principal parties engaged and the locality where the slaughtering of stolen beasts took place, as so many of the timber workers were deriving profit from this sort of crime.

The information came to the police in this way. A man known as Black Joe, who kept a coffee shop and worked a team of bullocks in the tiers, having lost one or more of his cattle, suspected they had been slaughtered by this gang, and gave the names of four men as the guilty parties, and said one of them was Joseph Storey.

He said this gang was in the habit of bringing into certain gullies in the Mount Lofty Range, where sawyers and splitters were located, small drafts of cattle, with which they supplied the tiersmen. Their custom was to supply their confederates, any one of whom on the mob being brought near his hut, chose a beast, which was there shot and slaughtered. The skinning being partly accomplished, the part carrying the brand was as quickly cut off as possible and thrust into a fire ready prepared. Afterwards the whole skin was cut up and burned. The carcase, on being separated into convenient pieces for removal, was carried into the hut of the man to whom the beast had been delivered and there as quickly as possible placed in the salting cask.

Acting on this information, Inspector Tolmer and Sergeant Major Alford, with three troopers, took up a position on a spur or ridge at the back of the new tiers shortly after sundown, as directed by Black Joe. It was not long before they discovered two fires at a distance in the gully below them. The darkness was increased by a drizzling rain. Two men were ordered to make their way down the spur to the mouth of the gorge and patrol there, and to arrest any men escaping.

The officers gave their horses to a third man to hold and as they thought they perceived a person about the fires, hastily started down the steep side of the spur, but owing to the darkness they soon found it to be more precipitous than they anticipated, and they quickly lost their footing, and after rolling over rocks found themselves at the bottom; but as they had their swords on a great rattle had been made, and they found no one at the fires. Here they waited till morning.

On searching the partly burned pieces of hide they could not discover any brand marks in letters, but they secured some pieces with figure brands on them, the same being quite plain. They next commenced the search of huts in the gully they were in and in others, and found men at work salting meat, which had been killed over night. Portions of the skins secured were taken to town, and three of the men found salting the beef were taken into custody, and after the usual delay were put on their trial, but sufficient evidence could not be brought against them.

The cattle were supposed, and with good reason, to have been stolen from the South Australian Company's cattle station at Inverbrackie. Tracks of a small mob were traced from that run to the neighborhood of the gullies where cattle had been recently slaughtered. The Company's stock-keeper produced in Court their figure-brand, which exactly fitted the brands on the hide, but as he could not positively swear that the beast or beasts from which the patches of skins had been removed, having only numbers on them, belonged to the Company, the men were acquitted, and escaped punishment. These men were the receivers. Eleven of the Jury stood out for conviction against one, but at length gave way. Although the man who had given the information to the police gave the names of four men, Storey being one, sufficient evidence was not obtained to justify the arrest of Storey and his mates, but evidence was got that 22 head of cattle had been killed in one day in different places at the back of the New Tiers. The proceedings of this gang were, however, stopped, and a good look-out was kept up in that neighborhood afterwards.

A few months after this Joseph Storey was arrested and lodged in the old gaol on charges of various burglaries. He had associated with him three others, of which gang he was the head, and they were called the 'black-faced robbers.' One of the four (Maitland, who arrived as an immigrant) was taken with him, but the evidence as to his identity was not clear enough, and he was discharged.

Storey was committed to take his trial at the next Criminal Sittings on a capital charge, but getting impatient, managed to escape from the insecure make-shift prison, and now the police had again to spend much time in the search for him. Two of his mates managed to evade the police, and, as was afterwards discovered, cleared out of the province. These were Big Ben and his mate. The former was a most desperate fellow. We were thus relieved of their presence.

These four depredators, during the time they were engaged in their nefarious pursuits, occupied huts in the New Tiers, where they assumed the characters of sawyers or splitters, but their real pursuit was (after the cattle stealing was put an end to) to turn out after dark, and visit the plains to plunder where they could.

On their committing a robbery on a publican at Kensington of the name of Ball, they were recognised, and it was on his evidence that Storey was committed for trial. At the time Storey's gang were at work as burglars, two youths were also occasionally associated; with them. They, however, were caught on charges of stealing in dwelling-houses in which the others were not implicated, and were committed for trial; but both of them also managed to escape by jumping the gaol fence, as so many others had done.

This was frequently accomplished, although guards were placed armed with carbines at the corners of the premises, in this manner : — When an escape was to be made some row was created by the numerous prisoners out in the yard, and then when the attention of the guard was taken up who was placed to cover a certain part of the fence, that part was rushed by one, or by two as in this case, and they were soon out of sight, down the deep banks of the river, and their passage over the fence perhaps not observed. One of these youths (both at the time, I believe, under 17 years of age), whose name I will withhold, and give his initial only as W____ had been employed in a lawyer's office. He was the son of a gentleman whom I knew to have filled the office of Mayor of one of our large manufacturing towns in England, and I was aware that two of the lad's uncles held high positions in two of the largest towns in the old country. The other delinquent had come out as a ship boy in the same ship as W— arrived in as a passenger, and was a runaway from his vessel and a very bad character and had led the other astray. Both of these youths were recaptured. Some letters from the sisters of W__ to him fell into my hands. My wife had attended parties at his father's house. It is to be hoped that his family did not become aware of his disgraceful career in this colony.

In one of the many parties of police who were from time to time ordered out to re-take the prisoners who had escaped from the custody of Mr. Ashton, governor, as he was called, over the first miserable gaol, Inspector Gordon was put with Sergeant Major Alford and three troopers, who, when passing along the top of a high ridge to the north of the New Tiers, discovered Joseph Storey, one of the men whom they were after, scrambling up the opposite ridge. They were near enough as the crow flies to identify him.

Mr. Alford seeing a kangaroo dog following him took particular notice of the dog, that he might know him on any future day when he might make use of him. Storey was away out of sight even before they could make their way into the intervening gully. As night was drawing near the Inspector ordered the return to quarters. On their way back, before they left the ranges, one of the troopers informed Inspector Gordon that he caught sight of a man escaping into a scrub. On his pointing out the spot the party were ordered to spread, so as to intercept the fugitive. This movement was quickly made, and shortly after the Inspector called out to the Sergeant-Major, "I see a man squatting in the centre of that patch of thick dwarf teatree. This was swamp. The men were ordered to dismount and arrest the man, who proved to be young W—; so although they did not succeed in catching Storey this day, they caught one of the escaped prisoners, and his mate, the ship boy, was also soon afterwards taken; and these two were tried, found guilty, and transported to Sydney.

Although these were not on their arrival of the convict class, their miserable exit may be justly attributed to the extensive impregnation of evil our community suffered from the large number of convicts sent out to the adjoining colonies by the mother country, to relieve home society of her bad subjects, and concentrated in this part of the world, as it proved, to the great injury of our free colony. On this account I hold that the colony of South Australia had in the commencement a large claim on the British Government for more generous treatment than was awarded to it.

Great exertions continued to be made to secure Joseph Storey and his two mates, who had not been yet taken. Inspector Tolmer, in one of the police excursions for this purpose, having with him Sergeant-major Alford and more troopers than usual, so as to thoroughly scour the various gullies in the New and Old Tiers. On reaching the part where work was going on, Inspector Alford was called on one side by a man of the name of Josh. Lines who was a con-nection of Mr. Alford's. (The officers and men were out in uniform, with their swords on, &c.)

This man said to Mr. A.— "Harry, who are you after?" "Storey." "Well, you will never catch him, there are too many of you, and you make too much noise with your swords. I saw Joe this morning close by. You go away and return in an hour, and I will tell you in what hut you will find him, but do not let out I give you information, or I shall be killed. He is armed with pistols."

Mr. Alford—" Has he a kangaroo dog with him ?" "Yes, and mind you look out Harry, as he has threatened he will take your life." Having gained this clue the Sergeant-Major followed the Inspector and overtook him at Crafer's pub. He then asked his superior officer to allow him to return with two men to follow up some trace of Storey he had gained, to which he consented, and Alford selected privates Dawson and McMahon, with whom he went to work, and returned to the rendezvous, and met Lines, who said, "All is right, Storey is in Brown's hut; he has got his dog with him."

Arrived at the hut they saw a little boy at the door, and Storey's kangaroo dog not far off. The boy was asked — "Have you seen any body about to whom that dog belongs?" "Yes," he replied. "Do you know where he is now?" "No." "Has he pistols on him?" "Yes," "My boy, if you speak the truth I will give you sixpence. Tell me if you know where the man is." "I do not know." "Where are your father and mother?" "Up the rise, working." "Go and tell them I want them."

Mr. A. with the men then searched the hut, but did not find any one within. He then supposed the escaped prisoner might be secreted outside. After examining the floors of the two rooms to ascertain if under the bed or elsewhere there might be an opening to a cellar, but finding, none, he left one man at the door. With, the other one he searched the scrub and ground around the hut. The dog was still hanging about, and would not be driven away. From this the officer concluded that his master was secreted not far off.

On the boy returning he said "his father and mother had gone away." (So much for moral training.) Mr. Alford now re-entered the hut, and observing a shelf above the bed, which he had passed before as too narrow to cover a man, he ordered Private Dawson to jump on the bed and see what use it had been put to. On Dawson doing this he cried out, "There is a man lying here." "Jump down and both of you cover him with your carbines."

The Sergeant-Major also drew a double-barrelled pistol and cocking and raising it, called out— "Storey, surrender yourself quietly and first give up your firearms, handling the pistols by the muzzles, and present the butts to me, or you will be shot if you raise your weapons in any other manner." On this summons, and seeing four loaded barrels presented at him, he quietly succumbed, and after giving up his pistols as ordered came down, and was handcuffed.

The pistols which were found on him he had stolen after escaping from gaol from an armorer in King William-street. The prisoner was escorted to the horse police barracks, where they arrived a few hours after the Inspector, who was at the time taking a meal, and was called out to see the prisoner in the yard in charge of the two troopers, much to his surprise and pleasure, and exclaimed, " Alford, how did you manage to take him so soon after you left me?" "Well, Inspector, I had the assistance of his dog."

Readers must remember that all this work for the police was going on against white depredators at the same time the Government were embarrassed by the outbreak of the blacks in the Rufus country on the River Murray, and at the time when Captain Grey arrived to carry out the stringent policy of retrenchment with which he was charged and to displace our energetic Governor, Colonel Gawler.