Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-06-04

from starting. off after the flyino cama
ane young dogs, some of which Mad
only oeen out upon two or three nrav;-
GUS expeditions, had to be c%ont;nnan,,
checked and kept in the rear to prevent
them from starting off on Il LITTLE HINT
ON thelr account; the older and better
ualhea dogs, as a general rule. kent
ciose beside the horses, awaitino tic
s'gnal for them to start. After we Ind
come to a halt on the plain. under
v OF some tall bush, it was onlv q
rev minutes before we heard the distant
echoes OF the stockriders' whins in
the mountains, apprising us of the near
approach of the game. Soon we heard
the '%.cooee," which was the stock
riders signal for us to be on the alert fo,.
the coming tlocks of kangaroo. W. ,ll
waited in breathless silence. for we VOL
knew that at n moment the oama
might appear in the plain like a flash of
lightning, and in our very midst Wa
were all eager for the chase. and with
thrilling interest, such as the hunter
alone can appreciate who has exneri-
cnced the feelings arising in his breast
when his eye catches the first view Of
the monarch of the Australian forest.
In an instant kangaroos of all sizes,
old and young, came bounding down
the mountains in almost incredible
numbers. Now tho hunt began in real
earnest. The kangaroos broke in every
direction upon the plain, generally.
however. separating themselves into
small tfocks of from fifteen to twenty.
1t was indeed q marvelously exciting
scene to witness so many of these
Sfr0nrn 1nnr 1no~oI A-.---
over the ground with prodigious leaps,
their long, thick tails apparently acting
as rudders in the air to aid them in
their flight. 1t is needless to say that
we wasted no time in following the
game; instantly putting spurs to our
steeds, away we went galloping over
the plain in hot pursuit, the dogs add
ing to the excitement of the occasion by
barking and yelping furlously and en-
terlng fully into the sport of the hunt.
The horses, too, were fully alive to the
sport, and went galloping aoross the
plain regardless of danger from fallen
trees, over-stretching limbs and treach-
erous burrws with which the ground
was in some places literally honey
combed. A large and powerful "old
man. kangaroo was ovcrtakcn early
in the hunt, and made a bold
and desperate fight. First he charged
upon one of the horsemen and
tried to seize him. with his sharp fore
paws, which he might well have done,
as he stood fully six feet high, but for
the simultaneous attack made upon him
by the dogs. Being overthrown by the
hounds, the "old man. caught one of
them in his forepaws as he lay on his
back, and, raising one of his hind legs,
with one blow from his long and for
midabae toe ripped the poor brute open
SO that his e~ntrails protruded. BY this
time one of the hunters had dismountcd
and, approaching the "old man." dis
patched him with a ball from his re-
volver. We then cut off the kangaroo's
tail and fastened it to the saddle of one
of the horses as a trophy of the hunt,
after the universal custom among hunt
ers of the animal. Having thus secured
the evidences of our first victory, we re-
newed the chase. After q short gallop
of about two miles we came up with an
other group of hunters who had killed
some six more %kangaroos of various
sizes, and were then engaged in a fierce
encounter with two "old men," who,
with their backs against q tree, were
making it lively for the dogs and keep
ing both them and hunters at bay. In
stantly m of the hunters aismounted
and, cautiously advancing toward the
tree, dexterously cut the large tendon
of the hind leg of one of the kangaroos,
which so disabled it that it soon became
al easy prey to the hounds. The other
''old man" was also finally disposed of
in the same manner after q hot and Sc
we're contest with both dogs and hunters.
The Duke was with this group of hunt
ers and took much interest in all it's ex-
ploits, besides personally participating
in many of them. The ground over
which the Duke and party had Just
passed over to this point was very
rough, full of holes and large stones or
powders, which were the more treach-
erous because of the long grass which
covered them from view. It was when
riding we this tract of country that
the Duke received his first "christen-
ing" aterm applied by old kangaroo
hunters when both steed and rider falls
to the ground. His horse having step
ped upon a small stone. which became
fixed in the hoof, stumbled and threw
the Duke, who happily was not SO much
injured as he was chagrined by the &C
cident.
BY this time some of our party had
ridden q considerable distance ahead,
and our company us awhole had become
widely scattered over the plains. After
a sharp canter through gullies and e
ridges for about two miles. ascending q
little ridge. IL party came in sight of
a dozen Oh more %kangaroos feeding
about half a mile off. We had good
ground before lis, and we put spurs to
our horses for a lightning gallop. The
game was soon on the alert and the
fieetness exhibited by the kangaroos we
were then pursuing readily convinced
us that these were ''blue flyers (fe-
males). 1t was with considerable diff
Guilty that we overlook any one of
the flock, and then not until after q
f1ve-mile chase at our best speed; II of
the docs dropped her young from her
pouch while flying before us, but was
at last overtaken and killed with
two others of the flock. The writer