“We were getting impatient, when we saw four men and a pack-horse coming.  I left my cover and had a look at the men, for Levy had told me that Mathieu was a small man and wore a large beard, and that it was a chestnut horse.  I said, ‘Here they come.’  They were then a good distance away; I took the caps off my gun, and put fresh ones on.  I said, ’You keep where you are, I’ll put them up, and you give me your gun while you tie them.’  It was arranged as I have described.  The men came; they arrived within about fifteen yards when I stepped up and said, ‘Stand! bail up!’ That means all of them to get together.  I made them fall back on the upper side of the road with their faces up the range, and Sullivan brought me his gun, and then tied their hands behind them.  The horse was very quiet all the time, he did not move.  When they were all tied, Sullivan took the horse up the hill, and put him in the bush; he cut the rope and let the swags—­[A “swag” is a kit, a pack, small baggage.]—­fall on the ground, and then came to me.  We then marched the men down the incline to the creek; the water at this time barely running.  Up this creek we took the men; we went, I daresay, five or six hundred yards up it, which took us nearly half-an-hour to accomplish.  Then we turned to the right up the range; we went, I daresay, one hundred and fifty yards from the creek, and there we sat down with the men.  I said to Sullivan, ’Put down your gun and search these men,’ which he did.  I asked them their several names; they told me.  I asked them if they were expected at Nelson.  They said, ‘No.’  If such their lives would have been spared.  In money we took L60 odd.  I said, ’Is this all you have?  You had better tell me.’  Sullivan said, ‘Here is a bag of gold.’  I said, ’What’s on that pack-horse?  Is there any gold ?’ when Kempthorne said, ’Yes, my gold is in the portmanteau, and I trust you will not take it all.’  ‘Well,’ I said, ’we must take you away one at a time, because the range is steep just here, and then we will let you go.’  They said, ‘All right,’ most cheerfully.  We tied their feet, and took Dudley with us; we went about sixty yards with him.  This was through a scrub.  It was arranged the night previously that it would be best to choke them, in case the report of the arms might be heard from the road, and if they were missed they never would be found.  So we tied a handkerchief over his eyes, when Sullivan took the sash off his waist, put it round his neck, and so strangled him.  Sullivan, after I had killed the old laboring man, found fault with the way he was choked.  He said, ’The next we do I’ll show you my way.’  I said, ’I have never done such a thing before.  I have shot a man, but never choked one.’  We returned to the others, when Kempthorne said, ‘What noise was that?’ I said it was caused by breaking through the scrub.  This was taking too much time, so it was agreed to shoot them.  With that I said, ’We’ll take