Transcription Page 1

Mount Eckersly
September 6th, 1843-

Sir,
It is with regret I have to
report to your Honor that on thursday
last the 31st ult a most atrocious and
cruel murder was committed by the
Blacks on an unfortunate Settler
named Christopher Basset residing
on the head of the Crawford and
also of another collision between
my Party and the Natives.

It appears that the deceased and a
man named Henry Horseman had
a few sheep in partnership, they had
no servants and attended to their
flock themselves. the unfortunate
Basset was in the habit of going
out with his sheep unarmed.

The blacks watched their opportunity
and murdered him in the most
brutal

His Honor,
C. J. La Trobe Esqr

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No 43/2293
23rd September 1843
The Supt of Ne Pce
Reportg ye murder of
Mr Basset a settler in ye Pt Fairy
Distt & a collisn with ye nats

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Transcription Page 2

brutal manner stripped him of
all his clothes, drove pegs in his eyes
and speared him through the
heart. They also carried off upwards
of two hundred sheep-

I was out with my party
accompanied by Mr. Edgar of the
Fitzroy in search of Mr. Ward’s child
and had ascertained from a
number of natives in the stones
near Mount Eels that it had been
murdered by a black named
Harry who used to live with the
Miss Whyte. I was proceeding along
the edge of the large swamp, when
I came across the tracks of sheep
I followed them for a short distance
and came on a number of natives
driving and breaking the legs of a
flock of sheep: the natives fled into
the reeds in the swamp and thinking
they would be safe challenged
us, I immediately ordered the Party
to dismount and pursue them, the
reeds however, were so tall and the
swamp so wet, that we could
make but little way several spears
were thrown, one passed between Mr.
Edgar legs fortunately without effect:
the Native was in the act of throwing
another