hit him, for he staggered; but rallied again, and was
clearing the bank between him and me, when Pugh ran up, and with the
butt end of his firelock knocked him down again, jumped after him, and
battered his brains out, just as he was opening a clasp knife to defend
himself.'"--_The Military Sketch Book._]

[Footnote 90: This account is taken from the _Sydney Gazettes_, quoted
by Wentworth; _Commissioner Bigge's Reports_, and _Bent's Life of
Howe_.]

[Footnote 91: Bent, the government printer, published a pamphlet in
1818, entitled, "_Michael Howe: the last and worst of the Bushrangers_."
This pamphlet was reviewed by the _Quarterly_; "it is," observes the
reviewer, "the greatest literary curiosity that has come before us--the
first child of the press of a state only fifteen years old. It would, of
course, be re-printed here; but our copy, _penes nos_, is a genuine
Caxton. This little book would assuredly be the _Reynarde Foxe_ of
Australian bibliomaniacs."--1820.]

SECTION VII.

It was the policy of the local government to relieve the crown from that
class of prisoners who were incapable of useful labor on the public
works. The settlers from Norfolk Island, who had acquired their liberty,
or fulfilled their military service, became the employers of prisoners:
many of the masters, in their principles and habits, did not differ from
their men--frequently, their accomplices and sharers of their spoil.
Those engaged in the interior, in tending the flocks and herds, were
often paid in proportion to the increase, and beside the property of
their masters, they had charge of their own. This system, fraught with
mischief, continued for many years, in spite of the interdicts of the
government, and the fatal results exhibited in the courts of justice.
Cattle and sheep stealing were carried to an astonishing extent: the
owners, ignorant sometimes of the amount of their wealth, confided its
safety to men incapable of resisting ordinary temptation. The more
opulent estimated their annual loss at one-fifth of the increase; and in
unfavorable situations, where many cotters were established, they found
the preservation of their stock impossible, and relinquished the attempt
in despair.[92] The brand was obliterated, often with great ingenuity:
the I became H, C was turned into G, and P into B; the more daring,
blotted out all brands, by a heated shovel. Stock yards were enclosed
and hidden by the bush, where cattle were slaughte