CALENDARSHOPABOUT US
HOMEVISITCOLLECTIONSEXHIBITIONSWHATS ONRESEARCHKIDSEDUCATIONSearch
collections
Jerilderie letter banner

Page 29

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


back to top