The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-05-11
Kangaroo Hunting.

The kangaroo, as is well known, is found
only III Australia and Tasmania. U3
means OF locomOtiOn and defense are so nc
culiar, and its swttness SO great, that ;hc
chase Of il is attended with excitement and
dangers wholly unique The hunting the
fox England is over comparatively smooth
ground and moderate sized fences, with
well.traincd horses, while the Kangaroo has
to be chased over new country, full of holes
covered with wild grass, over bitches, fallen
trees, among trccs, and their branches, on
horses that have no supcriors in the world
i'll speed. Then the dan gers tlut you are
TO encounter when you oycrtakc the kan
garoo, though not in reality extreme. are
as great rs 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 write is about
zoo miles from the ocean shore, on the
banks Of beautiful river, shaded with en-
ralyp:us trees. These trees arc the natural
growth OF The country, cover large part of
it, and are believed, both here and i'm Eu.
rope, to so destroy malaria as to be Il sure
guarantee against fcvcrs Of all kinds The
couchcs arc examined before retiring at
night 10 see if there are any snakes in them:
but none are found a native, with two
women, is campcd Oh the shore near by.
Their camp is half-eirclc Of pilcd-us logs,
three feet high, while on the open side, to-
wards the water glarcs brilliant fire,
lighting up them and the darkness with Il
llrld, fantastic sayagcncss. These natives
resemble the African more nearly than
either OF the other tour Of the human races,
and come without doubt from that stock.
Their hair Cann0t be strictly said TO be
either lair or wool, but most nearly rcscm-
blcs the latter. They are of good size,
dark brown, well made, and don't cncn-
bcr themselves with much clothing One
OF their weapons of war is the boomerang,
and it is curious affair. 1t is made of
very hard wood. three fcct long, four inches
wide, one inch thick at the centre, and
bends e,lgcways SO as to make Il third of n
circle. With the hand they are sad to
throw this implement lao yards, cutting off
tho head OF an enemy, and having the
weapon return to the feet Of the sender.
have seen it thrown That distance and re-
turn to the person throwing It. The full
grown male kangaroo is called "boomcr,"
and Is about seven and Il half feet long from
his nose to the end Of his tail, the tuil be-
ing about three and Il half feet of this, and
one foot in diameter at It's base. lie lives
on grass, sometimes invading the fields of
the fronlcrsman and eating up all he has.
lie stands Oh four legs when feeding, and
at no other time. His tail is full OF power
full sincws, but 1t Is used only to assist in
the equilibrium while sitting, standing on
the toes and running. In Il sitting posture
he IL about four and Il half feet high but
when he stands on his toes to survey the
country or an enemy, he is taller than Il
man. lie has soft, gazellc-]ikc express
sion, hut the white teeth CLEAN between
the lips His color is brown, tending in
age towards red or grey, according to tho
species. They weigh Qhc malc) from 100
to ITO pounds each. The meat tastes
somewhat like ycnison, but Is not very
good though the tail makes excellent soup.
| The female is under six feet in length, and
| is different somewhat IN appearance from
the male. The young, when born, arc
only an inch long, and are first seen nurs-
ing 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 after
wards return to 1t on appearance Of ,langcr.
When the mother is hard pressed by the
enemy in chase she throws the young one
out of the pouch, who thereby makes It's c.
cape There arc kangaroo dogs, very swift
and strong, especially adapted TO hunting
the kangaroo; but no experienced dog will
tackle them without somebody to back
him. They jump about fifteen fcot at a
umc usually, but sometimes twenty or more,
and their swftncss is prodigious Nothing
can apparently ovcrtake them In fair
race, and the usual way is to practically
surround them. When hard pressed they
place their back to a tree for the fight; or,
In preference, they always strike for the
water II thorc Is any noar. They try to