An interesting if not a bit morbid tale of Burenda in its early days:
The Burenda Tragedy.
We are indebted to a perfectly reliable cor- respondent in the Warrego district for the following narrative of this disgraceful and horri-
ble affair:-
At Burenda township, ten miles from the station, a race programme, cutting out about £40 to be run for, had been arranged for the 28th December; and a motley crew of shearers, washers, shepherds, &c., from the stations round had gathered in anticipation of a "big drunk." The races - conducted on re- publican principles - did not begin till late in the afternoon, there being no one of any re- spectability, or sufficient sobriety, interested to take the lead; and up to three o'clock in the afternoon "all hands and the cook" were deeply engaged in the more congenial pleasures of what they would call "lushing," "scrapping," and "gaffing," - i.e., drinking, fighting, and gam- bling. The roudy element had it all their own way; any quasi-respectable man making a protest was at once "slouched," there being no police or check of any sort, the only available constable, stationed at the Yo Yo native police barracks, fifteen miles away, having gone to Charleville the day before with Stacey - a storekeeper and ex-publican residing at Burenda - in custody, he (Stacey) being in what is commonly called the "horrors" from drink. A large table was placed on the verandah of Cavanagh's public-house, which was crowded with drunken, blaspheming men, and the "bones" (dice) rattled away to the accom- panying chinck of the coins and the click of bottles and glasses for hours. A move was made to the race-course by those who were able to move about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and the following events ran off amid scenes of drunken- ness and bestiality sickening in their details - a living disgrace to any civilised com- munity of white men:- Maiden Plate, £10; Shamrock 1st. Handicap, £16; Sir Richard 1st. Publicans' Purse, £10; Cockles 1st. Hurry Skurry, £5; Mayfloweer. A disgraceful, cowardly act was committed by a man (?) while riding in one of the races. Finding he was likely to be beaten home by a horse that was pressing him hard up the straight, being well ridden by a lad named Harris, he (this man) (?) drew out his whip, and laid Harris' face open from brow to chin several times. This man is proverbial for "being all there to pick his marks."
Albert Green, James Wilson, James, Larkins, Louis Schmidt, and William Nolan are the names of five misguided men who met together at Burenda township to celebrate, in the usual style, the birth of the Saviour. They were all "good drinking men," especially Green and Wilson - at least so they were described at the inquests held on the bodies of the two last- named shortly after. They were described as all being "continually muddled up in drink," and "the worse of liquor." These five men used to have a "go in" at the public-house, and then would take bottles of grog to a Chinaman's humpy close by (the same wherein Charley Ah Soo chopped up his two countrymen with a tomahawk last July twelve months). This is a sample of a Christmas spree at a bush "pub.;" and a very fair sample too. James Larkins on oath (at the inquest alluded to) stated that "He took two nobblers of Cavanagh's grog early on the morning of the race day (28th ultimo), and remembered nothing more till the evening of the 31st, when he found himself in bed with his clothes on, in a back room at Cavanagh's public-house, and all his money gone, and that he had not been right in his head ever since; he may have taken more grog after the two nobblers, but he had no recollection of so doing; might have been at the races, didn't know it." On the morning of New Year's Day, about eight o'clock, the five men already named started from the township on foot, carrying their swags, and taking with them a small canvas bag and two billlies of water and a bottle of grog. They had with them five dogs, intending to make Nive Downs station by an old track, known as the Postman's Track. Wilson affirmed that he knew the track well. They are described as all having been drunk the night before, having, as it were, a final carouse, and at starting they were all "muddled up in drink." Larkins, the man who has not been right in his head since the 28th, swore that he was the most sober man of the lot when they left the township. After travelling about four miles heat and thirst overcame them, and they camped for a while, drank all the water and half the bottle of brandy or rum. No one could say what liquor it was. Moved on 3 or 4 miles further and again camped and finished the grog. Green and Larkins then "pushed on," leaving the other three camped. After Green and Larkins had walked 6 or 7 miles further, Green stopped and complained of being "very bad," and said:- "Jemmy, I am very sorry I drank that grog, I saw tobacco in it when I poured it out in the pannikin." After travelling a little further, Larkins felt his head "very bad," and had to stop and tie it up with Green's handkerchief. He was quite unable to proceed any further, and lay down. Green "looked queer," and went off "walking very fast," leaving his mate behind, and Larkins never saw him again. At sundown Larkins made up his mind to kill one of his dogs, and tried to coax the dog to him; but, although the dog had followed close at his hells all day, never leaving him, he would not come near his master, who now took out his knife to be ready. The dog ran away about one hundred yards, and commenced howling, and soon went away altogether, and has not been seen since. Larkins then cut the other dog's - a puppy - throat, and drank the blood. He then abandoned his clothes, and pushed ahead along the track, and next morning reached water, arriving at Nive Downs at ten or eleven o'clock on Sunday morning. He appears not to have said anything about the state in which he left his mates till Tuesday, when one of the search party from Burenda Station ran his tracks to Nive Downs. He gave as his reason for not doing so that he "didn't know rightly how things stood," as he was "muddled up in drink!"
It appears that Green, after leaving Larkins, wandered off the track into the scrub in quest of water, and about ten o'clock at night heard a dog bark; and, guided by the sound, came to a place where Louis Schmidt was camped, and who was also searching for water. After about two hours, Nolan, also attracted by the barking of Schmidt's dog, joined them, stating that he had left Wilson, who was unable to travel from where they finished the grog on the track. The three men camped together till dawn. They all suffered intensely from thirst. Schmidt had some sugar and tartaric acid in his swag, and this they ate (Green mixing his with wine in a pint pot, which caused him to retch violently?) At break of day the three men started again to search for - life. After two hours travelling Green and Nolan lay down, completely "knocked up;" Schmidt left them some sugar and a little tartaric acid, and went on by himself, and searched all that day (Sun- day, the 2nd) without finding any water. During the day his dog died. The sufferings of Schmidt on Sunday night were dreadful. He was able, however, next morning to crawl along, and seeing some cockatoos flying about, he made for the spot, and at 11 or 12 o'clock found water in the Warrego. On the following morning (Tuesday, the 4th) he made a sheep station belonging to Burenda run, six miles from the washpool, and there learned from the shepherd that Nolan had come there the night before, quite naked, and fearfully exhausted, stating he had left Green nearly dead in the scrub. Nolan had gone into the head station that morning. The shep- herd having reported the matter the night before, parties were then out searching. The sufferings of Nolan and Green, before they parted company, and of Nolan afterwards till he reached water, were, as described by Nolan at the inquests, dreadful. They used to dig holes at the roots of the most shady trees, and get up the cool sand and ground to cover their naked bodies with. At mid-day, on Tuesday, the 4th instant, the search parties from Burenda station found Wilson on the track where he had been left on the 1st instant, alive. He was lying upon his back in the scorching heat of the sun, covered with ants. He spoke quite clearly when first found, saying, "I'll give a pound for a bucket of water," and then immediately, "Why don't you lift me up?" As the water-bag was held to his lips he murmured, "It's too late," his head rolled to one side, and he was dead. He had lain there, and lived! in a heat, by day, averaging about 130 degrees, without food or water, for exactly four days! The dead body of his dog was found close by. Later on the same day (the 4th) the same search party discovered Green's dead body, quite naked, lying on its face, at the spot where Nolan had left him. He had apparently died soon after he was left, the body being quite black. On the night of the 4th, a messenger from Burenda station was despatched to the Yo Yo police bar- racks, distant from the station twenty-five miles. Sub-inspector Moran sent on to Charleville (forty miles further) the next day, the black trooper not reaching the latter place till eight or nine o'clock at night (the 5th). At nine o'clock the following night (the 6th) the Police Magistrate and Inspector Thornton were at Burenda station (seventy miles), and on the 7th and 8th the police magistrate held enquiries, when the above particulars were elicited.
After perusing the foregoing, our readers will not have much difficulty in estimating the value of Cavanagh's (the only publican in the town- ship) story, which he sends us, as follows:-
Sir, - I trust that you will do me the favor to insert the following in your next issue; - With reference to an article which appeared in your issue of the 15th ultimo, relative to the death of two men out of a party of five who were edea- voring to make their way to the Nive Downs station, grounded on the information supplied by a Charleville correspondent, in which I am charged with moral - if not legal - murder, in causing the death of the two men who perished in the bush by means of poisoned grog, I beg to state that the men referred to did not frequent or stay at my hotel. During their residence here they took up their abode at a Chinaman's lodging-house, but they sent here occasionally, not frequently, for a bottle of grog, which was invariably genuine capsuled, and either Hennessey's or Martell's. When the men started for the Nive Downs station they were perfectly sober. They took with them heavy swags, and one bottle of grog. The track to the Nive Downs, which passes through several miles of thick scrub, is not easily found from this side, several horsemen having on previous occasions failed to find it. The five unfortunate foot- travellers never got on the track, hence the disaster and tragic death of the two men. The weather was unusually hot, and the men but scantily supplied with water; they succumbed to the heat and thirst, as many a man remote from grog has done ere now. I have never been charged with selling poisonous liquors, nor has any man's death been previously laid at my door. I have felt much surprised that you should produce an article charging me with such serious causes without at least waiting for authentic particulars. MICHAEL CAVANAGH.
Ellangowan Hotel, January 26.
Regards
Glen
