2015, Jessie Woodman became pregnant with O'Reilly's child (this has been said to be a factor in O'Reilly's suicide attempt). Most accounts say that Woodman had the child after O'Reilly escaped and it died shortly after. Woodman's father Henry eventually found out about the relationship and married Jessie off to local 22-year-old George Pickersgill in March 1869. (O'Reilly was either still hiding from authorities or on his way to America during this time.) Escape While in Bunbury, O'Reilly formed a strong friendship with the local Roman Catholic priest, Father Patrick McCabe. Late in 1868, McCabe offered to arrange for O'Reilly to escape the colony. By February McCabe's plan was ready for execution. On 18 February 1869 O'Reilly absconded from his work party and met up with James Maguire, a local settler from the town of Dardanup. Together they rode to Geographe Bay where a rowboat was waiting for them. O'Reilly hid in the dunes, awaiting the departure from Bunbury of the American whaling ship Vigilant which Father McCabe had arranged would take him on board. The ship was sighted the next day, and the party rowed out to it, but the captain reneged on the agreement, and the Vigilant sailed off without acknowledging the people in the rowboat. O'Reilly had to return to the shore and hide again while his friends tried to make arrangements with another ship. After two weeks, they succeeded in making a deal with the captain of the American whaler . O'Reilly and his friends met the Gazelle out to sea on 2 March, and he was taken on board. With him was a ticket of leave convict named Martin Bowman (alias for Thomas Henderson), who had heard of the intended escape. He had blackmailed the conspirators into allowing him to join O'Reilly. While on the Gazelle, O'Reilly became friends with the first mate of the ship Henry Hathaway, and they remained good friends until O'Reilly's death. Hathaway saved O'Reilly's life when, while whaling on a lifeboat near the Gazelle, a wave hit the boat and O'Reilly was knocked unconscious. Hathaway saved his life by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. McCabe had arranged for the Gazelle to take O'Reilly only as far as Java, but adverse weather prevented the ship's finding safe passage through the Sunda Strait. The captain decided to sail for Rodrigues, Mauritius, at that time a British colony. As soon as the Gazelle arrived at