ck contained a record of his dreams,
written on kangaroo skin with blood; he was haunted by visions of his
old companions who were dead: the subject of one, was his sister. He had
made a list of seeds, vegetables, fruits, and even flowers, intended to
adorn the seclusion which he contemplated. Howe's form was athletic, his
countenance strongly marked; his beard of an extraordinary length, and
he was dressed in the skin of kangaroo.[90]

Five years after his death, Howe's dwelling was found. The site was
chosen with taste, in an open undulating country, stretching to the
western mountains: the spot was secluded from observation, was covered
with a large honeysuckle, and on a rise sloping to the stream. A
gigantic tree, prostrate, which he used as a chopping block, was the
boundary to which he permitted Warburton to approach.[91]

The privation, fatigue, and anxiety endured by the bushrangers, they
have often depicted with horror. The country, destitute of indigenous
fruits or herbs, afforded no safe retreat; and they were compelled to
hover round the inhabited districts to obtain ammunition, even when
willing to live by the chase. The increase of the settlers has long
prevented protracted concealment, and multiplied the chances of capture.
Prompted by passion, or allured by the fascination of liberty, an
unbroken succession of adventurers have sought shelter in the bush, and
passed through the miseries of a vagrant life; but their suppression has
usually been easy, and for years the penalty of their crimes certain.

In the progress of these memorials, allusions to bushrangers must
occur; but the records of crime are disgusting. The Italian robber
tinged his adventure with romance; the Spanish bandit was often a
soldier, and a partisan; but the wandering thieves of Tasmania were not
less uncouth than violent--hateful for their debasement, as well as
terrible for their cruelty. They can rarely be objects of interest, save
when points in their career illustrate principles, or exhibit traits in
contrast with their ordinary course. It may be proper to notice
instances of courage, of constancy, or of unusual suffering: they may
set forth the social state out of which they have arisen, and thus the
operation of systems; but who would delight to read the dull details of
wickedness which crowd the annals of this country?

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 86: _Bigge's Report._]

[Footnote 87: The following are some that require no key: