The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-04-08


But of those in some long dead day
Passed through life's sunsets portals.
W. e. Cameron.
KANGAROO HUNTING.
Chasing the Animals with Fleet Horses
Through Australian Wilds.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.
The, kangaroo, as is we'll known, is
found only in Australia and Tasmania.
It's means of locomotion and defense are
so peculiar, and its swiftness so great,
that the chase of it is attended with
excitement and dangers wholly unique.
The hunting the fox in England is over
comparatively smooth ground and mod
erate.sized fences, with well.trained
horses, while the kangaroo has to be
chased over new country, full of holes
covered with wild grass, over bitches,
fallen trees, among trees and their
branches, on horses that have no supe-
riors in the world in speed. Then the
dangers that you are to encounter when
you overtake the kangaroo, though not
in the reality extreme, are rs great as
those met in the tiger hunt as usually
conducted, while in the latter you have
not the excitement and danger of the
chase. The place where I write is about
200 miles from the ocean shore, on the
banks OF q beautiful river, shaded with
eucalyptus trees. These trees are the
natural growth of the country, cover q
large part of it, and are believed, both
here and in Europe, to so destroy malaria
as to be sure guarantee against tevers
of all kinds. The couches are examined
before retiring at night to see if there are
any snakes in them; but none are found.
a native, with two women, is camped on
the shore near by. Their camp is q
half circle of piled up logs, three feet
high, while on the open side toward the
water, glares brilliant, fire, lighting up
them and the darkness with lurid, fan
tastic savageness. These natives resem-
bic the African more nearly than either
of the other four of the human races,
and come without doubt from that stock.
Their hair can not be strictly said to be
either hair or wool, but most nearly re.
sembles the latter. They are of good
size, dark brown, we'll made, and don't
cucumber themselves with much cloth
ing. One of their weapons of war is the
boomerang, and it is curious affair. 1t
is made of very hard wood, three feet
long, four inches wide, one inch thick at
the center, and bends edgeways, so as to
make q third of circle. With the hand
they are said to throw this implement
$50 yards, cutting off the head of an
enemy, and having the weapon return to
the feet of the sender. I have seen it
thrown that distance and return to the
person who threw it. The full-grown
male kangaroo is called 'boomer," and
is about seven and half feet long from
his nose to the end of his tail, the tail
being about three and half feet of this,
and one foot in diameter at its base. He
nas on grass, sometimes invading the
tEeof the frontiersman and eating up
all hXhas. He stands on four legs when
feeding, and at no other time. His tail
is full Of powerful sinews, but it is used
only to assist in the equilibrium while
sitting, standing oa~tbe toes, aud run.
ming. In sitting posture he is about
four and a half feet high; but when he
stands on his toes to survey the country
or an enemy, he is taller than a man
He has a soft, gazelle-like expression
but the white teeth CLEAN between the
open lips. His color is brown, tending
in age:toward red or gray, according tc
the species. They weigh 1.-THE male) from
$50 to ITO TBS. each. The meat tastes
somewhat like venison, but it is not very
good. though the tail makes excellent
soup. The female is under six feet in
length, and is different somewhat in ap'
pearance from the male. The young
when born, are only an inch long, and
are first seen nursing the mother in the
pouch in front, where she carries them
They remain in this pouch till they are
eight months old, and weigh about ten
pounds, and long afteward return to it on
appearance of danger. When the mother
is lard pressed by an enemy in chase
she throws the young one out OF the
pouch, who thereby makes its escape:
There are kangaroo dogs, very swift and
strong, especially adapted to hunting the
kangaroo; but no experienced dog will
tackle one of them without somebody to
back him. They jump about fifteen feet
at time usually, but sometimes twenty
or more, and their swiftness is prodigious.
Nothing can apparently overtake them
in fair race, and the usual way is to
practically surround them. When hard
pressed they place their back to tree for
the fight; or, in preference they always
strike for the water if there is any near.
They try to seize their enemy with the
forepaws, and then rip it from top to bot
tom with the middle claws of their hind
feet, which are very sharp. If they are
in the water they try to hold their enemy
under it until he is drowned. They will
always leave dog to attack man.
At o'clock this morning ten men, in
cluding myself, started on horseback,
with four dogs, on a chase. All were
experienced in the business except a
Young Englishman and myself. We
took no firearms, large stick being the
only weapon to be used. We had no diff
ficulty in finding the animals. 1t was
disdained to avoid such fences as we
found, and we jumped several of a height
of four to five feet, always approaching
them at full run. We divided the
party, half going to each side of a partly
open plain. soon saw large kangaroo
and two small ones coming toward our
party. We waited until they were near
enough to see us, when they made right
angle and went off at an astonishing
pace, in jumps of fifteen to twenty feet in
length, going from eight to ten feet in the
sir at each Jump. We event for" the
biz one, but he quickly got beyond our
sight, the three having already distanced
the dogs. -. ~,
the prayhound. These three were all
lost, we learned as we met at the point
agreed upon. We next surrounded an