The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-10-25
THE KANGAROO IN coMMERcr
Extensive Utilization Of Thet,
Hides in This Country.


Extensive Utilization of Thek-
Hides in This Country.
There are 5000 kangaroo skins 70
ceived in Newark, N. j., every week.
They are all tanned in one large
establishment on Sussex avenue, and
re then made into fine shoes. Austria
liza and New Zealand furnish Kangaroo
hides for all the world. The kanga-
roos are killed in Australia about three
hundred miles back from the coast
and are shipped from Melbourne, sgd
ney and Newcastle, in Australia, aud
from Masterton. in New Zealand Up
to 1869 the kangaroos were killed an1
eaten in Australia, and their hides
were cut into shoestrings. But IN
Englishman named Brown in that year
discovered the remarkable character
OF the leather, and brought several
thousand skins to this country. He
tried to sell the hides to tanners, bur
they were shy of the novelty, and he
had to sell them at sacrifice to =
bookbinder. The bookblnder made
triangular corner pieces in ledgers and
commercial books out of the skins, AMI
so ascertained the good quality of the
leather. 1t was in this way that the
large leather factories were first al
tracted to kangaroo hide. The skin
was found to be very tenacious and the
compactness Of the grain prevents its
absorbing water, while the acids In
backing meet with an almost impervi-
Gus substance. It was hard work Tor
years to get the kangaroo skins. Is
was not until the Newarker, who uou
tans them, sent agents to AUS
tralia three years ago, ths1
the demand could be supplied
The characteristic climate of Australia
and the pugnacity of the kangaroe
make hunting the hides dangerous
Winter starts in May and ends in De-
cember in that country. The rest Of
the year the heat is intense, the tiler-
mometer often reaching 14O degrees.
Eight men hunt together for kanga-
roos. They are called ''set." When
brought to bay the kangaroo jumps
like a flash for hunters chest and
tries to crush it in with his fore-feel
to prevent this each man wears across
his breast a two or three inch thick
mating. Armed with spear, with .
club attachment at the other end, they
ride upon swift horses into a herd
With the agility and equipoise of Cir
Gus riders they stand erect upon their
horses and use their spears and clubs
The kangaroo is able to jump clear
over horse. AS the game is baggea
it is skinned, and the skin is stretched
on the ground and pegged down to pre-
vent shrinkage. The flesh furnishes
meat for the camp. Each man places
his private mark upon his booty and
when they have 100 skins apiece they
return back to civilization. There are
twenty varieties OF kangaroos, among
them the blue, red Wailaby, black,
gray and Forester, the latter furnish
ing the best leather as it lives mainly
in wooded sections. When the ship
ping ports are reached the hunters
dispose of the skins by auction to the
highest bidders and realize about 10
cents pound Kangaroo sh1Interz
make large profits. One man is known
to have cleared 81, 500 free of living
expenses in single year. The tan
ming of kangaroo skins is confined 10
men employed by Americans, as other
dealers cannot afford to pay the high
prices for the raw material. The re-
suit is that Partisan and London hoo
manufacturers buy their stock of kan
CARGO leather directly from Newark.
and prominent dealers in Germany,
Greece, Spain, and even Australia IL
self, obtain their supplies from the
same. The manufacturer here scouts
the idea that the original seven-lcague
boots were made from the skin of the
great Australian leapers.
Gloomy Household Ornaments
The custom of preserving coffin