29
called on them to surrender throw up their arms and Scanlon
who carried the rifle slewed his horse around to galop away
but the horse would not go and as quick as thought fired at
mewith the riflewithout unslinging it and was in the act of firing again
when I had to shoot him and he fell from his horse I could have
shot them without speaking but their lives was no good to me
McIntyre jumped on Kennedys horse and I allowed him
to go as I did not like to shoot him after he surrendered
or I would have shot him as he was between me and Kennedy
therefore I could not shoot Kennedy without shooting him
first Kennedy kept firing from behind a tree my brother
Dan advanced and Kennedy ran I followed him he stopped
behind another tree and fired again I shot him in the
armpit and he dropped his revolver and ran I fired
again with the gun as he slewed around to
surrender I did not know he had dropped his revolver
the bullet passed through the right side of his chest and he
could not live or I would have let him go had they
been my own brothers I could not help shooting them
or else let them shoot me which they would have done had
their bullets been directed as they intended them But
as for handcuffing Kennedy to a tree or cutting his ear off
or brutally treating any of them is a falsehood if Kennedys
ear was cut off it was not done by me and none of
my mates was near him after he was shot I put his
Cloak over him and left him as well as I could and were
they my own brothers I could not have been more sorry for them
this cannot be called wilful murder for I was compelled to
shoot them or lie down and let them shoot me it would not be
wilful murder if they packed our remains in shattered into
a mass of animated gore to Mansfield they would have
got great praise and credit as well as promotion but I