The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-26
KANGAROO SHOES THE RAGS.
Their Manufacture is Increasing, for
am orleans Like Them
-, Al. ~. III. Cfnr
From he Nel0 York Star.

Their Manufacture is Increasing, for
am orleans Like Them
From the Nel0 York Star.
Most extensive has beea the uss OF kan
CARGO skins in the United States. 1t has
been spreading ever since their Introduction
in this country, and every flrst-cass shoe
store now carries stock of kangaroo boots
and shoes of every description. Footgear
made of such material costs all the way
from IS to IS. No leather manufactured Is
SO well adapted for summer shoes in this
country. Dealers say that Kangaroo leather
makes a lighter. finer finished, and tougher
shoe than any other description Of leather
1t IS also more flexible and Possesses a
greater degree OF elasticity, and for this
reason is considered the most superior
leather in use for tender feet.
Down in the ''Swampn a Star reporter
the other day met r. G. Solomon, who
has made special study of kangaroo skins
and their adaptability- for shoe manu-
featuring purposes. From him some very
interesting facts were gathered in relation
to the industry in this country.
The receipts of kangaroo skins in the
United States now aggregate 10000 week,
and of these 5000 are tanned at what is
known as the Hamburg Cardovsn tannery
at Newark. The stock Of hides comes al
most entirely from Australia and New Yea
laad. The kangaroos ate killed in Aus
tralla about 800 miles from the coast This
takes place at numerous sections in
the interior, whence the hides are shipped
to Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, and New
Castle, in Australia. Masterton Is the prin-
cipal market in New Zealand. Much diff
Guilty was at first experienced in securing
shipments, as the kangaroos were for many
years killed and eaten in Australia, aud
their hides were cut up into shoeStrings A
man named Brown was the first TO embark
III the venture of shipping the commodity
to this country. This occurred some
twenty years since. Brown shipped sew
| eral thousand skins to the United States and
attempted to dispose of them to tanners.
having previously discovered the wonder
| tul consistency i'll the leather. American
tanners, however, did not greet Brown with
| open arms, and he was compelled to dis
| pose of his wares to bookbiuder who
utilized the stuff in making triangular cor
ner pieces in ledgers aud other commercial
books. This proved q stepping-stOne to its
| more extensive use later on. The wonder
fui tenacity of the leather attracted the
attention of good Judges of leather
who also discovered that the grain in
the skin was three times as thick
| as that in any other. 1t was
| also found that the fbers were inter
| woven, which tOughens the grain, SO that
| it ex elled other feathers for manufacturing
| purposes. A remarkable fact in connection
| with the experiments instituted was, that
strength is in inverse proportion to the
weight. This discovery at once arrested
| the attention of experts who declared that
this quality alone would place kangaroo
without peer, aud make it exactly the
| sort of leather sou ght for by Americans
| kangaroo leather will not absorb water
| as easily as other leather, owing to its com
pactness. Another point in its favor is the
resistance which it offers to the acids in
| backing.
The first years of the introduction of
Kangaroo skins IN this country were marked
| by great difficulty in securing necessary
supplies. Agents were sent abroad to Sc
cure supplies sufficient to moet the demand
| The climatic characteristics of Australia
| and the pugnaciou5 proclivites of the kan
| CARGO were serious drawback Considera-
bic danger attended the hunting for the
kangaroos. Winter starts in May and ends
in December, the rest of the year being
summer and excessively hot, with scorch-
ing winds and the Thermometer often
climbing up TO 140'.
The kangaroos usually are hunted by a
| group of eight men. When brought to bay,
| the incidents are of the most exciting nat
| ure. Not infrequently the animal Jumps
| like flash for the hunters clest, and at
tempts to crush it with his fore feet For
this reason each mans breast is tbickfy
padded with mating several inches in
thickness. The hunters are armed with
spears with club attachment at the butt
| end. Thus equipped and mounted on swift
horses, they dash Into a herd of kanga-
roos with the agility and eqmpoise of circus
riders, almost constantly standing erect
upon their steeds. while they flourish their
spears and clubs with remarkable dexterity.
The kangaroo is able TO jump clear over
horse. AS the game is bagged it is deprived
OF its coat, which is stretched on the ground
and pegged down to prevent shrinkage,
The flesh furnishes food for the camp
There are twenty different sorts of kan
karoos, including, blue, red, Wallaby, black,
gray and Forester. The latter is the most
popular, and is said to furnish the best
leather. This arises from the fact that the
Forester lives mainly ia wooded sections.
On the sea coast the skins are disposed of by
auction TO the higa bidder. The average
price is in the neighborhood of rs cents per
pound. The hunters make fine incomes,
the gains of some of them amounting to
thousands of dollars year
Newark transacts big business in kanga-
roo tanning. Americans generally are en-
ployed in the business, as other dealers
cannot afford to pay the high prices for the
raw material. Shipments are made direct
IRON newark 20 sEarlS ana London, as We'll
as Germany, Greece, and Spain. Even
Australia is supplied by Newark.
Mr.. Solomon fears that the determination
of the kangaroo will work serious injury to
American tanners. In order to guard
against this, he has recently communicated,
through Secretary Roobens, of the Society
for the Protection of Fauna and Flora at
Adelaide, calling the attention of the South
Australian parliament TO the danger that
confronts them; and bill Is now
pending il parliament for the
prevention of the killing of kangaroos
during the months OF January, February,
March, and April. 1t has already passed
its first reading, and, if finally carried, it
will insure the continuation Of supply of
kangaroos for years to come. II not, it is
feared that within brief period the kanga-
roo will be as extinct as has been the buffalo
on the American plains.
The Women Might Have Caught Him.