The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1882-05-02
A KANGAROO HUNT.
IT Is AN EXCITING sPoRT.-How THE KANaA-
ROO FIGHTS ITS

found only in Australia and Tasmania.
Its means of locomotion and defense are
SO peculiar, and its swiftness 80 great, that
the chase of it is attended with excite.
ment and dangers wholly unique. Hunt.
ing he fox in England is ever com
paratively smooth ground and moderate
sized fences, with ~well-trained horses
while the kangaroo has to be chased
over new country, full of holes covered
with wild greese, over bitches, fallen
trees, amongst trees and their branches
on horses that have no %superiors in the
world in speed, and whose power ia not
lost in civilization. Then the dangers
you are to encounter when you over
take the kangaroo, though not in reality
extreme, are as great as those met in the
tiger-hunt as usually conducted, while
in the latter you have not the excite
ment and danger of the chase.
The place where l write is about 200
miles from the ocean-shore, on the banks
of a beautiful river, shaded with eucalyp-
tus trees. These trees are the natural
growth of the country, cover a large
part of it, and are believed, both here
and in Europe, to so destroy malaria as
to be a sure guarantee against fevers of
all kinds.
h couches are carefully examined
before retiring at night to see if there
are any snakes in them but none are
found. A native with two women are
camped On the shore neal by. Their
camp is a half-circle of piled-up logs,
three feet high, while on the open side,
towards the water, glares n brilliant fire,
lighting up them and the darkness with
a lurid, fantastic savageness. Those ma
tives resemble the African more nearly
than either Of the other four of the hui
| man roCaa and cOpna vuithA,f IO,,Ht f-o,o
that stock. Their hair cannot be strictly
said to be either hair or wool, but most
nearly resembles the latter. They are
of good size, dark brown, well-made,
and don't cucumber themselves with
much clothing. One of their weapons
of wa is the boomerang. and it is a Gu
rious affair. II is made of very nard
wood, three feet long, four inches wide,
n inch thick at the center, and bends
e~dgeways 30 as to make C third of n cir
Gle. With the hand they are said to
throw this implement 100 yards, cutting
off the head of an enemy, and having
the weapon return to the feet of the
sender. l have seen it thrown that dis
lance and return to the person who
threw it.
The full grown male kangaroo is
called boomer" and is about seven and
a half feet long from his nose to the
end of his tail,-the tail being about
three and n half feet of this, and n
foot in diameter at its base. He lives
on grass,-sometimes invading the fields
of the frontiersman and eating up all he
has. He stands on his 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 on the toes and
running. In a sitting posture he is about
four feet and a half 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 towards red or gray, according to
the species. They weigh (the male) from
$50 to ITO pounds each. The meat tastes
somewhat like venison, but is not very
good, though the tail makes excellent
soup.
Anere are k~angaroo-dogs, very swift
and strong, especially adapted to hunt
ing the kangaroo but no experienced
dog will tackle one of them without
some body to back him. They jump
about fifteen feet at a time usually
out sometimes twenty or more, and
their swiftness is prodigious. Nothing
IL apparently oNCltahc bICIn III IL HilI
race, and the usual way is to practically
surround them. When bard pressed
they place their back to a tree for the
fight; or, i'll preference, they always
strike for the water, if there is any near.
They try 10 seize their enemy with the
iore-paws, and then rip it from top to
bottom with the middle claws of their
bind feet, which are very sharp. If
they are in the water they try to hold
their enemy under it till he is drowned.
They will always leave n dog to attack a
man.
At s o'clock THO morning, ten men Gn-
Guiding myself started OH horseback,
with four dogs, on a chase. All were ex-
perienced in the business except q young
Englishman and myself. We took no
firearms-a large stick being the only
weapon TO be used. We had no diii-
Guilty in finding the animals. 1t was dis
dained to avoid such fences as we found,
and we jumped several of q height of
four TO five feet, always approaching
them on q full run We divided the
party, mar going to each side or a parity
open plain. / soon saw a large kangaroo
and two small ones coming towards our
party. We waited until they were near
enough to gee us, when they made a
right angle, and went off at an astonish-
ing pace, in jumps of fifteen to twenty
feet in length, going from eight to ten
feet in the air at each jump. We went
.Ir" the big one, but he quickly got be
distanced the dogs. The kangarc o-dogs
hunt by sight, like the grayhcrnd
These three were all lost. we learned. p
we mel at the point agreed upon. We
next surrounded another large tract of
forest plain and meadow, this time divid-
ing the dogs. In a few moments a hun
bred or more kangaroos came bounding
toward the party with me. The dog
with me started for them, and ali the
dogs and men were at once in pursuit.
The kangaroos divided into several par
ties-each dog selecting one to follow, and
each man following one of the dogs. My
| dog went for a boomer, and l also, in
| company with two others of the party.
The boomer stood up, took a look at us,
and then flew. We followed him
amongst the trees and branches, jump,
ing logs and debris of all kinds, and
across plains at a fearful rate. The horses
needed no urging; their blood was up
now. The dog "laid to it," but made nc
sound. When he would get neal the
| kangaroo, the animal would make q
jump at right angles and change his
course, whilst the dog would shoot on q
distance before he could turn. After q
run of this kind for some distance, the
kangaroo started for a swamp. After
reaching that, and going in a distance
he turned his face towards us, standing
upon his hind paws to a height of seven
feet and prepared for battle. The dog
went for him, and the fight commenced
The dog succeeded in getting held of
his tail, and was carried in the air some
distance by repeated jumps. The dog
then lost his hold, and was seized and