Jerilderie Letter Jerilderie Letter

I never worked on a farm a horse and saddle was never traced to me after leaving employment since February 1873 I worked as a faller at Mr J. Saunders and R. Rules sawmills then for Heach and Dockendorf I never worked for less than two pounds ten a week since I left Pentridge and in 1875 or 1876 I was overseer for Saunders and Rule. Bourkes water-holes sawmills in Victoria since then I was on the king river, during my stay there I ran in a wild bull which I gave to Lydicher a farmer he sold him to Carr a Publican and Butcher who killed him for beef. sometime afterwards I was blamed for stealing this bull from James Whitty Boggy Creek I asked Whitty Oxley racecourse why he blamed me for stealing his bull he said he had found his bull & never blamed me but his son-in-law Farrell told him he heard I sold the bull to Carr not long afterwards I heard again I was blamed for stealing a mob of calves from Whitty and Farrell which I knew nothing about. I began to think they wanted me to give them something to talk about. Therefore I started wholesale & retail horse & cattle dealing Whitty & Burns not being satisfied with all the picked land on the Boggy Creek and King River and the run of their stock on the certificate ground free and no one interfering with them paid heavy rent to the banks for all the open ground so as a poor man could keep no stock, and impounded every beast they could get, even off Government roads If a poor man happened to leave his horse or bit of a poddy calf outside his paddock they would be impounded I have known over 60 head of horses impounded in one day by Whitty and Burns all belonging to poor farmers they would have to leave their ploughing or harvest or other employment to go to Oxley when they would get there perhaps not have money enough to release them & have to gave a bill of sale or borrow money which is no easy matter, and along with all this sort of work, Farrell the Policeman stole a horse from George King and had him in Whitty & Farrells paddocks until he left the force. And all this was the cause of me & my step-father George King taking to their horses & selling them to Baumgarten & Kennedy. The pick of them was taken to a good market & the culls were kept in Petersons paddock & their brands altered by me two was sold to Kennedy & the rest to Baumgarten who were strangers to me and I believe honest men