The Portland daily press., 1895-04-08

marked from ears to tail with frightful
scars, the records of many tough encoun-
tiers with an animal which, timid and in
offensive AS it is by nature, develops in
peril a courage and even ferocity that are
rarely found outside the order OF carni-
vora,
The kangaroo seems poorly provided
by nature with ToffensiVe weapons. His
powers of biting are not formida bic, and
his forepaws are SO weak as to seem al
most rudimentary mem bers and of little
use. His hind legs Care muscular and
strong, but are apparently of use only to
assist flight from his enemies. In these
hind legs is found, however, a most
formidable weapon in the shape of long
claw as hard as steel and sharp as a
chisel-as terri BILE to dogs as the scythe
chariots Of the ancients were to their
enemies, When run down the kangaroo,
getting in front of Ia tree, will seize in
his fore paws such iudiscreet dog as rush
upon him, and, holding them firmly,
dlsem boweled them with sweep of his
sicklelike claws. Even the hunters
themselves, thus caught in the vice like
grip OF an "old mann kanagroo of the
larger breeds have sometimes suffered in
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 kangaroo fights with
great address and intelligence, and if he
can find stream or water-hole in which
to await his foes, will stand 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 retire from want of
breath. Against human enemies, armed
only with clubs or stirrupSirons the kan
garoo often shows himself a clever
boxer, warding off blows very dexterous-
ly with ais forepaws and now and then
making forward bounds with rapid play
of his dangerous hind feet, which ale
difficult to avoid. Shooting kangaroos
with rifle requires a large degree of
skill. On the fiat plains, the animals
"loomn in an extraordinary manner, and
it is only after much practice that hun
ter unaccutomed to measuring distances
over these unreiieved areas can get their
range. Sighting, for instance, at 500
yards, the tyrO will be likely to see his
bullet kick the dust 200 yards short of
the mark, and the kangaroo, alarmed at
the whistle Of the missile once on the
ricocher, making off at express train are
in the distance. Tine surest way to bag
kangaroos at long range is to put the rife
sight up for the greatest distance at
which the rifle is gauged, and gradually
lower it until the bullets take effect. A
j
this way, and although he will look up
as each shot sings above him, seems to
consider 1t some strange insect or other,
and directly resumes feeding.
The common opinion that kangaroos
use their strong, mucular tails as a
means IF propulsion in their flying leaps,
which often cover from twenty to thirty
feet each, is at once seen to be fallacious
by one who joins in kangaroo hunt.
When sitting erect in attitude of observa-
tion the tail is used as an important
factor in the support of the body, and
when the animal is feeding (at which
times it moves about in lazy, crawling
gait upon all four of its feet, it drags
simply over the earth. In running, how
ever, it is curved gracefully upward to
clear the ground, and never once touches
it during the kangaroo's flight, being
seen to fulfill the Office of balancing
pole, and preserving the animals equili-
brlm by shifting positions according to
the nature of the ground. So important
is the kangaroo's tail in his rapid pro-
gress that experienced hunters with guns
are accustomed to fire at the point where
this appendage joins Ethe body when,
the tail being disab bled for it's office OF
balancing, the animal is as effectually
stopped as if hamstrung. Hit elsewhere,
except with rife ball. or at a point
blank range, the kangaroo is pretty like
ly to get off. One popularity of the
kangaroo is that after being started up
he very rarely swerves from his course.
through which peouliarity he is easily
spotted" by hunters, who conceal them
selves while man on horseback drives
the herd toward them.