Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1882-11-08
Kangaroo Shooting.

hunter IN Queensland, Australia
writes as follows Now We are all in our
places, some hidden behind bushes
others ensconecd behind an artificial
gupnfry. Lyingdown, peeping through
the leaves, the plain, far, far awav.
seems to begin toundulate. 1. amob
OF kangaroos that causes this appearance.
AS they draw nearer they remind Won of
band OF porpoises at play. Ostrich
hike. instinctively one crouches lower.
Close to the ground you hear .'thud."
'thud," ''thud," with two or three
seconds interval between the sound of
each Jump. Now it stops for the ;.old
man Kangaroo" has an unpleasant if not
tinglIng recollection OF this spor; last
year.
But the guns are down wind and well
hidden. Ihud," again, nearer ami
clearer, and now you catch sight of the
mob he Is close to you. You rise and
pour into hls hind quarters unlike
all other game, 1t is more deadly to shoot
them well behind-three and one-auar-
ter drains of powder. one and one-eight
ounces OF shot. Down he goes with
heavy flop and grunt. Ping goes the
other barrel. Oh. for a loader You
have Just time to stuff another cartridge
into tue right-hand barrel aud send it
| after the last of the mob. Your nei III
bors, too-who IN all likelihood ssknog
the sound full well" and have been
watching the advance with perhaps less
excitabie but not less keen interest than
/ Nan-haV.a ofsA
voliey. Down you sink again behind
yoar shelter, and the silence is only bro
ken 10y the expiring grunt and tickle
kick of ''old man." who dies so hlrd.
This is the first mob. Stiffness now
for 10 minutes or so reigns, unless bro
ken by an occasional rustic in the grass
You get up and see a wallaby. with
head down, going full lick through the
grass he presents to you shot Just
like rabbit in covert. And now every
three or four minutes you hear the
distant and random gun" of your fel-
low-sportsman /; for the marsupials are
coming well. You detect the sound of
the stock-whip Another volIey. What
unearthly sound is it that you hear now?
Is it human Dar~inians might say
no" But you, on looking, see what
at first sight you might take for Pande-
monium let loose, for, screeching, yell
ing, whooping, grunting like pigs, come
the negros, King Billy resplendently
red anu goldly cleaning, in the midst.
Sitting upon their horses necks like
monkeys ON tree, waving their hand
kerchiefs and cracking their stock-whips,
one is not surprised that it requires a
great orator TO make the colonial whites
! believe that these are really friends and
brothers.
The manager, assisted by few stock
meu, keeps them i'll excellent order.
The sport now becomes fast and furious.
Volley firing has commenced. and the
distracted marsupial is having a rough
time of it. WorA as you may, although
your cartridges do not stick, you cannot
load fast enough. At length the drive
Is over. Iou take out knife. and
! going to the spot where you hear the
kicking, you administer the finishing
stroke.
Sometimes kangaroo with broken
leg will .'bale up" and look like fight.
Bnt there are plenty OF stones about, SO
heave "arf brick" at HIM, or hit hun
behind the ear with good thick stick
and he is soon finished. Now the guns
come up congratulating each other upon
the success of the drive, varied by the
usual interchange OF conversation where
a lot OF strange guns shoot together
81 say your shot came precious neal
my head" But on the whole, at thu
Grive, and at all the other drives we had
afterwards, only heard of one of the
party getting very slightly peppered
The perpetrator was voted dangerous
shot, although it WIS universally adj
mitted he never shot any one else AGAIN
indeed, Tor my part [ do not think h'
had another chance, for l noticed thai
every gun during the week that was
placed within a quarter of mile from
him took good care to let a big tree In
tervene between him and them. Inus,
the Australians have as wholesome
dread OF beng peppered as any on'
though in other things they have com
paratIve disregard for llfe.