Mohave County miner., 1891-01-24
HUNTING rae KANGAROO.
An Ay,trai,sn spert which 10 Mor'
es.las than she Fec Chase

n
| -------------
R.ss.Soo.bunfing for pure sport
forms one Of the great pleasures ol .ns s
couutry youth Of Australia says .hs
Shos and Leather Reporfs'. u Is :
snort recurring the greste,t GOODNESS
and daring il one Is TO gain the eo's'-
sd prize--the tail. -.
What makes the sport 50 very e1eiI-
ing Il the Danger encountered 10 Pu.-
s,2ve tbA animal. the country present
| inc 20 man obstacles dangerous aiike
10 man aud horse. and the breaknecS
mace IL is necessary TO keep up 10 lo.,
low The semi.fyipg "marsup unu, s
such time as he may bceone iaggen,
out, when, like a lion at bsy, ne WEI
fight until the last gasp.
Wits there Is not any OF the cefe-
mony or dress incident TO fox-nunt
In chasing the kangaroo. there IL no
doubt Il Is fully as enjoyable. the nee
essary requirement being. u you arc
going TO have aDy fun, that you eau
ride and handle horse psyfectiy, nave
a fairly fast horse. and two or more
swift dogs.
A party so equipped will start from
some given place and make Tor me
nearest rendezvous or camping-grouud
of The kangarcos, the object OF ihs
party being TO get as near as possible
10 their haunts before being dsteotsd.
all possible precautions belng taken
10 make no unnecessary noise.
The kangaroos bayinga wonderfully
keen sense Of smell. should the wind
favor them. 1t is sometimes not easy
10 get very near them before they are
aware Of their danger. Their sense OF
hearing being very acute the least
noise made the better
They are. however. a very near
sighted animal. Immediately the kan
garoos perceive In what direction the
danger is coming from they begin to
act in manner worthy OF the great
est admiration.
II is exceptional TO find them In
groups OF less than from twelve to
twenty. The young members of the
group are the first TO leave the camp.
diverging and scattering In all de
rections. Next 10 order come the ''old
women who get away aud follow the
same tactics-last OF the group to leave
being the ''old men," who remain as
long as they think they safely can, and
then scamper off, each one in an opposite
direction. their aim for pursuing such
tactics being TO puzzle and ontwis
the dogs. which they frequently do.
All this is done within a short space
OF time.
Over ridges, down gullies. through
swamps, creeks. broken country. rocks,
ETC.. men. horses. dogs go at break
neck pace, the point aimed at being to
keep the "marsup" in the open coun-
,rr Should he succeed in gaining the
ssn..iy D., .hered forest only the more
,sn,r.s.n,,s ,,"nw. They are re-
warded, however. by having tagged
out the victim, and the dos oegin 10
enjoy their part Of the play.
The kangaroo, not being able TO run
further selects some tree, with his
back to which he faces and awaits his
foe. He has not long to wait. Your
veteran kangaroo-dog exhibits rare
caution in conducting the unequal bat.
tie; but the younger and less expo
rienced brute will make rush and try
to grab the silent victim by the throat.
He usually regrets his fmpetuosity.
however. as those powerful lower
limbs OF the kangaroo. used with light
ning-like rapidity and In terrible des-
peratiou, send the dog bowling back
with a wound that he will carry tho
marks Of for the rest OF his natursi
life.
The dog who has been in hundred
wars OF more will act in very differ
ent manner from his younger brother.
The point Of the msrsupiars anatomy
which he favors most Is the tail. the
object being to unbalsnce the kanga-
roo and throw him down. Once they
succeed in doing this and the silent
victims moments are numbered. Then
the tail Is taken as trophy of the
chase aud the sportsmen repair to their
respective homes.