Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-25
HUNTING K.ANGAROOS.
THERE ARE ROT so MANY IN AUS
TRALlA IS THERE ONCE WAS.

IhAllA IS THERE ONCE WAS.
Wholesale determination Before the Value
of Their Skins Was Known-How a
Kangaroo Disembowels a Nan or a
Dog-Fought Only on the Defensive,
The traveller whom fate brings to the
colonies may journey from end to end of
them without seeing in the flesh either
OF the animals that figure upon the Aus
tralian coat of arms-the kangaroo and
the emu. There are plenty of both in
certain districts. but they are many
miles away from the railroads, as a rule,
and are seen only by those who have oc-
casion to visit remote stations" and to
explore the alternate stretches of plain
and bush which constitute the "back
docks, as the interior portions Of the
country are styled in colonial phrase
ology
When the early settlers entered the
country they found the marsupial tribe
swarming in countless millions all over
it, and when they sought pasturage for
their hocks discovered that the ungener-
GUS soil would not furnish grass enough
for kangaroos and sheep together. A
war of determination upon the original
pasturers upon the land was therefore
inaugurated and waged with such dead
ly effect that at present kangaroo is in
most districts quite as conspicuous by
his absence as the buffalo upon the plains
of America.
ONCE ABUNDANT
The old squatters relate extraordinary
tales of the former abundance of these
strange creatures-how the eye could
not range in any. direction without see
ing hundreds of them; how they entered
the "paddocks" and grazed in the midst
of the sheep, and how, when the grass
grew scant and the focks were on the
verge of starvation, "drives" were Or
ganized, in which thousands of the kan
garoos were killed and the sparse pastur-
age was eased. Wanton as seems the
wholesale slaughter Of these animals, it
was, from the squatter's point of view,
stern and imperative necessity. The
only regret of pastoralists in the prem
ises is that they did not then know the
fortune that they lost by allowing the
carcasses of the slain to lie and rot where
they had fallen; for there was no sus-
picion then that kangaroo leather was of
any value. or that demand would
spring up for it that should make the
skin of one of these animals worth more
than that of the sheep whose protection
was bought by their slaughter. So i'm
portant has the trade in kangaroo hides
now become that the question Of how the
animals that furnish them shall be pre-
served has taken the place of devising
measures for their extinction.
The progress Of the kangaroo is rapid,
and for mile or two it requires a good
horse to keep in sight of him. After
that, however, he tires, and is overtaken
without difficulty.
The chase of the kangaroo is under
without dogs, and by stalking, either
with rifle or shotgun. A kangaroo hunt
on horseback is an exciting and often
dangerous pastime. In timber, where it
usually takes place, it is particularly
hazardous, owing to fallen logs and low
set branches, which often sweep the
incautious hunter over his horses tail
and drop him in an undignifed position
on the ground behind. Firearms are
not employed in this pursuit, and when
the game is cornered it is killed by
blow from the butt end of heavy rid
ing whip or from stirrup which is uHl-
shipped from the saddle for the purpose.
The dogs used in the chase are rough
breed of large greyhounds, which have
not only the strength necessary to pur-
sue flying kangaroo for miles, but also
to attack him when he is brought to bay.
The old dogs in a station pack of kan
garoo hunters are often marked from
ears to taibwith frightful scars, the rec
ords of many tough encounters with an
animal which, timid and inoffensive as
it is by nature, develops in peril cour-
age and even ferocity that are rarely
found outside the order of carnivora.
HOW HE FIGHTS.
The kangaroo seems poorly provided
by nature with offensive weapons. His
powers of biting are not formidable, and
his forepaws are scI weak as to seem al
most rudimentary members and of little
use. His hind legs are muscular and
strong, but are apparently of use only to
assist fight from his enemies. In these
hind legs is found, however, most for
midable weapon in the shape of long
claw as hard as steel and sharp as
chisel-as TERRIBLE to dogs as the scythe
chariots of the ancients were to their en-
emies. When run down. the kangaroo
placing tree behind him to protect his
rear, will seize in his forepaws such IN
discreet dogs as rush upon him, and,
holding them firmly, disembowel them
with a. sweep of his sicklelike claws
Even the hunters themselves thus caught
in the viselike grip of an "old man" kan
garoo of the larger breeds have some
times suffere&Gn like manner, and have
now and then taken their own turn at
being hunted as the enraged animal
turned upon them and attacked their
horses with blind ferocity. The kanga-
roo fights with great address and intelli-
gence, and if he can find a stream or
water hole in which to await his foes
will station himself waist deep in it and,
pushing the dogs under one by one as
they swim out to attack him, either
drown them outright or compel them to
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