travel quite so quickly as now, and it took six days for the report of these deaths to reach Launceston, so several days were passed before it penetrated the solitudes of the future Deloraine. As said before these gentlemen were slain on the 31st of August, and M'Kay thinks it was on the 6th of the next month, that he chanced to meet Dr. Westbrook, the same he believes who afterwards practiced in Hobart Town, who was passing near to his camp on this day. The doctor knowing M'Kay and the business he was upon, told him what had taken place, and that up to this time, the search parties who were out had failed to discover their bodies. M'Kay immediately took steps to join in the search.
He started accordingly to the residence of Captain Moriarty, who was a magistrate living on his own beautiful estate of Dunorlan, near the Whitefoord Hills, and about, six miles beyond Deloraine, to take counsel with him, and to get whatever assistance the active seaman could afford him. The news of these deaths had just before reached Dunorlan, and at the moment of M'Kay's arrival the Captain was discussing the matter with one of the Thomas' family, a nephew of the murdered man, by whom the intelligence had reached thus far into the wilderness.
As this was the age of bushranging, and also when the natives were very active in the practice of mischief, detachments of military were to be met with in every district into which settlement had penetrated, and there was one stationed in this neighbourhood, whom Moriarty found means of starting to Port Sorell, putting them under the guidance of M'Kay, who was the best bushman in the country, as hundreds could then have avouched as well as myself, who have travelled some thousands of miles with him in past years. Moriarty directed M'Kay to lead the soldiers to the Port straight through the bush, whilst he and young Thomas rode there by the usual track.
On reaching the port, M'Kay found Moriarty already there, and that the usually lifeless district was all astir with armed men, of which every district had either sent or was sending in its quota to recover the bodies, for no one now doubted that both had been murdered. The soldiers were acting under the orders of Ensign Dunbar, who had come from George Town, while the constables and civilians were directed by Moriarty and a Dr. Smith, and such was the number of parties, that camp fires were seen nearly everywhere; and in nearly every direction except (as usual) the right one, men were to be met perambulating the bush through all the hours of daylight; but though it was now ten days since the missing men were last seen, not a trace of them had been found up to this time.
I must now go back to the day of the murders to give the
