by the colonial governor, making for the whaler. The men lay down in the whaleboat and it was not seen by Georgette. Georgette found Catalpa but, in Captain Anthony's absence, the first mate refused to allow the colonial police to board as the ship was outside the colony's three-mile limit. The steamer was forced to return to Fremantle for coal after following the Catalpa for several hours. As the whaleboat again made for the ship, a police cutter with 30 to 40 armed men was spotted. The two boats raced to reach the Catalpa first, with the whaleboat winning, and the men climbing aboard as the police cutter passed by. The cutter turned, lingered briefly beside Catalpa, and then headed to shore. Saved by the US flag Early on 19 April the refuelled and now armed Georgette returned and came alongside the whaler, demanding the surrender of the prisoners and attempting to herd the ship back into Australian waters. They fired a warning shot with a 12-pounder (5 kg) cannon that had been installed the night before. Ignoring the demand to surrender, Anthony hoisted and pointed towards the U.S. flag, warning that an attack on Catalpa would be considered an act of war against the U.S., and proceeded westward. This was well recognised by Captain O'Grady of Georgette, who had sailed out of New York, was friendly toward Anthony and had, on 1 April, unwittingly entertained him in the steamer's pilot house, closely briefing him on the coast between Fremantle and Rockingham. Governor Robinson had ordered the police on Georgette not to create an incident outside territorial waters. After steaming around threateningly for about an hour, Georgette headed back to Fremantle and Catalpa slipped away into the Indian Ocean. Aftermath Catalpa did her best to avoid Royal Navy ships on her way back to the U.S. O'Reilly received the news of the escape on 6 June and released the news to the press. The news sparked celebrations in the United States and Ireland and anger in Britain and Australia (although there was also sympathy for the cause within the Australian population). Catalpa returned to New York on 19 August 1876. On the other hand, it did not cause any diplomatic issues between the U.S. and the U.K., and the governor of Western Australia was glad to that the Fenians had "become the problem of some other nation". On 1 December