Pursuit of Native Murderers Ended

Supplies being procured, and men and horses recruited with a few day2s rest, a fresh start was made from Port Lincoln on June 22 by Tolmer and his party, without the prisoner guide, who had been left behind with the other prisoners. The search for the natives was to be prosecuted to the north-east of Mount Wedge.

About the fourth day out from Port Lincoln, the party struck a regular oasis, high gum trees, and sheoaks with abundance of grass and a delicious "bubbly" spring of water, all the more welcomed, as the horses had hardly had a bite since leaving Marble Range. Ere sunrise the next morning, Tolmer climbed the highest gum tree and was gratified to see 25 to 30 miles away a column of smoke arising on the horizon. A compass course was decided upon, and a hurried breakfast taken by all, "who vied in alacrity, being manifestly overjoyed at the expectancy of speedily having a brush with the wily, blood thirsty wretches."

The course lay through a narrow strip of limestone formation, covered with sheoak, and Tolmer be-lieved identical with that occupied by the Messrs. Hawson in 1882. After travelling 25 miles a camp was made, in country similar to that of the previous night. It was also the end of the open available country ; anticipating that they were approaching close to the natives, silence was the order of the night. The following morning Tolmer again climbed the highest tree he could find, when to his consternation he saw a thick "smoke" rising from the scrub not more than 300 yards distant.

NATIVES CAPTURED

Although breakfast was ready, the chance was too good to be lost ; with handcuffs and drawn swords, and stalking from bush to bush until within 100 yards of the native camp, then crawling on hands and knees, the party progressed until within a few yards of the objective, without the natives having been alarmed. At a given signal, simultaneously the troopers rushed into wurleys, each man seizing and holding a black. It was an unenviable task to grasp and hold them in a state of nudity, "slippery as an eel and all the time yelling, struggling and biting as only a savage can."

Five were captured; one, Min-talta (Neentulta?) was the ringleader of the party who had attacked Capt. Beevor's station and murdered him. The Commissioner of Police said two men and two women were caught, or, all told, 11 were captured in connection with the Beevor and Easton murders. After seeing to the security of the prisoners at the camp, Tolmer and Geharty, regardless of breakfast, and taking one of the prisoners as a guide started on foot in pursuit of the natives that had escaped, among whom were an old man and his son, Ngalta and Bakkilti, who were the principals concerned in the murder of Mrs. Easton, and warrants had been issued for their arrest. With the prisoner guide rapid pursuit was continued all day and as evening drew close, heavy rain fell, making the night's camp under a mallee bush, far from pleasant, with no fire, no food, no covering and drenched to the skin. It was only a matter of waiting for the morning.

The very thought of that miserable night was vivid a third of a century later, when Tolmer was rewriting the history of those few days. He surmised that his colleague (Geharty) who was no longer in the police, but still a resident in the Port Lincoln district must have had an equally vivid recollection. These two resumed the chase as early as the light would permit. The rain during the night was disagreeable, but it made the ground softer and tracking easier. Even with this advantage, the two police could not catch up with the natives, who did not stop for meals, only eating the roots of the grass tree as they pressed forward. The pursuers having no food, followed the example set them. They found the root pleasant to eat, with a flavor like that of the almond kernel. Another root, the yam, called by the natives "pillaloo" was eaten by the natives, who dug it up with the indispensable "yam stick." This implement made of hardwood, about 3 ft. long, thick at one end, and edged, was used as a weapon of offence as well as an agricultural tool.

Toward noon, the sun broke through the clouds, and the speed became faster, when suddenly Tolmer discovered they were proceeding in a circle. The guide received a hard knock from the sword hilt, the party right-about faced and in half an hour came upon the natives, two being made prisoners. Estimating the police camp at least 20 to 30 miles distant, the black guide and the prisoners were directed to lead the way to "white fellows", and in half an hour the camp was reached ; the guide had been leading them in circles all the time.

ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE

The prisoners, for the night, were placed in a ring, their legs secured by a tether rope and a cosy fire provided. An alarm during the night revealed the prisoners escaping, fortunately they were handcuffed and were soon secured again. An examination of the tether rope showed how the fire had provided means for the natives to burn the rope through.

It was necessary for the party to return to Port Lincoln to lodge the prisoners in the police station — there being no gaol in those days. On arrival the blacks were secured to heavy iron bars with shackles similar to those used on board ship to confine refractory seamen. Tolmer wrote that expecting to be some time at Port Lincoln he had taken his wife and children with him, and they occupied the room over the cells at the police station. The aroma arising from beneath was "something dreadful," so the natives were removed into the yard, while the cells were aired and fumigated, and again a fire provided to keep them warm and cosy. Soon unearthly yells pierced the compound, and on Tolmer rushing out, he found the natives were screeching, yelling and jumping about in the yard like maniacs, while the policemen were laughing boisterously. An explanation was demanded by the irate inspector for such unseemly conduct, only to be informed "that thinking they could burn through the iron bands as they had done the rope, the prisoners had kept them steadily over the fire until they had become almost red hot."

On charges being preferred against the prisoners for murder, robbery with violence, and so on, the Government Resident after some evidence had been taken, remanded them sine die. As there still remained a large number of natives concerned in the recent outrages, another trip was made by Tolmer and the police with one of the prisoners (Yarngalta) as guide. This unfortunate was mounted on horseback. The first day's journey took the party to near the Marble Range, and we cannot but pity the poor native guide, whose antics only gave rise to merriment among the police party. Search not proving successful after three days, and seeing the black hanging back, Tolmer struck the horse with the flat of his sword. The black rider was thrown to the ground and the two horses bolted (a trooper was leading the horse ridden by the black) dragging the guide along the ground.

REMAINING BLACKS ARRESTED

By a vigorous chase, Tolmer was able to stop the runaways, thankful to see that life still remained in the native, but the incident necessitated another return to Port Lincoln about 60 miles distant. Under Dr. Lawson's care the native partially recovered, but eventually died in the Adelaide Gaol on March 14, 1850. An inquest was held by Dr. Wyatt. The native was one of those concerned in the attack on Horne's station, was tried at the September sitting of the Supreme Court, and received a sentence of two years with hard labor.

In the third and last expedition, the police were more fortunate, as they arrested the remainder of the blacks concerned in the recent outrages and three others who had baffled the police for more than a year charged with the murder of a shepherd, John Hamp, at one of Pinkerton's stations in June, 1848, whose head they afterwards cut off with a saw. (Tolmer certainly got astray here in his narration.) The act of cutting off the head is not borne out by the Government Resident's report at the time nor by the evidence at the trial at the Supreme Court.

It must be remembered that Tolmer published his reminiscences shortly after H. J. C. wrote an article for the "Observer," using these murders as the foundation whereon to build up an exciting story. In addition, the two natives who were thought to have been implicated in Hamp's murder were arrested at and near Port Lincoln by Geharty.

COFFIN'S BAY OYSTERS

While in the district Tolmer learnt of a prolific bed of oysters in Coffin's Bay, and also of a deposit of guano on one of the isles in the inlet. A report on the discovery was published in the Government Gazette in October, 1849). It was apparently D. Swaffer who drew Tolmer's attention to this, in that he made a request that the Colonial Secretary should issue licences for oystering in the different bays of the province, as at that time he stated that there was no protection under the laws then in existence, and he submitted an application for a licence, or to rent Coffin's Bay and inlets. Tolmer, in forwarding on the application, stated that quantities of oysters were brought into Port Lincoln in drays and there deposited among the rocks, and, as opportunity offered, sent on to Adelaide. Since the discovery of the oysters, he stated, no less than 100,000 had been sent to Adelaide. Within a few days prior to September 12, 1849, two cutters had arrived with another 100,000, being brought direct from Coffin's Bay. He said that the natives on one occasion collected in a few hours 15,000. The supply appeared to be inexhaustible. The report was quite a newsy one, for Tolmer stated that Coffin's Bay abounded with excellent fish, and that the natives who inhabited the locality were well behaved and peaceable.

The country was stated to be well adapted for sheep, and Mr. Peter had several stations near. Doubtless this Mr. Peter was the one who accompanied the Baker-Hawker volunteer party searching for the lost Dutton. In the same letter Tolmer drew attention to the large quantity of guano on one of the islands. He quoted the English price for guano as from £6 to £9 per ton.

[Another Instalment Next Week.]