The Portland daily press., 1898-04-02

many remained in the saddle and fired
from that position. The kangarooS,
many of which by this time were passing
us, ran stDgly for the most part, ais,.
with such speed through the thick ccpsc
that it was hard to hit them, especially
as the men had to be careful not 10 shoot
the hunters.
"We regulated our march so that We
arrived at the rendezvous at p. IN.
sharp. Here we suddenly obtained an
open view. Before us lay q space about
three-ffths of a mile wide, oval and tree
less, and at the lower part of it there
was a small lake bordered by thicket,
Everywhere clouds of smoke rose in the
bordering woods Shots cracked continu-
ally. In the middle of the space were
numerous kangaroos, and scattered
among them were the dead. The wound
ed animals crawled back to the thicaet.
AS we reached the border Of tho forest
some Of the animals tried again to break
through, but not one succeeded; we had
a good position now, and each kangaroo
that approached the line was dropped
by a bullet. In the excitement every
body was shooting at every animal he
saw and from every distance. The bull
let's whistled by and stuck in the trees
The waste OF ammunition was extraor-
binary. The dogs were kept outside the
circle Then there was a lull for a
half hour until all the men had taken
their positions. The leader of the hunt
rode along the line and made some
changes in order to fill up gaps between
the shooters. Upon hearing a trumpet
signal the whole band moved toward the
thioket. The order was perfect There
was distance of some 300 feet between
the shooters, which diminished continu-
ally The kangaroos which had been
wounded were hnished as we advanced.
When we came to within about 700 fees of
iAr, Il h.
hunters was reduced to from 20 to 80 feet
There we made halt. All sat down, and
about 100 dogs were sent into the thioket
The loud barking of the dogs and the
cracking of the branches broken by the
fleeing kangaroos drowned the shouts of
the hunters. The kangaroos came from
all directions, looking in vain for an open
space in the shooting line, and then dis.
appeared again In tho thioket No one
fired. This, however, did not last long.
The kangaroos, followed eagerly by the
dogs, had to leave their shelter, broke
:, from all sides of the thicket, and preoipi.
ta,ted themselves with frantic haste upon
the. shoot ing line. Then began the
cracking of rifles again, and soon the
firing was general along the whole line.
Some of the kangaroos succeeded in
breaking through, but most remained
there [ fired sixteen times in five MINI
utes. The shooting was diminishing,
and then there were pauses between vol
leys. while some of the men went into
the thicket to kill the wounded animals
and drag out the dead. We shot a few
more, but the hunt was at an end.
Son the plain, which was the scene
of the last act of this INTERESTING hunt,
bonfres were kindled, round which
groups of bearded hunters were seated.
Kangaroo rail soup was boiling IN great
kettles, and glasses filled with. wh1skey
and hot water were frequently eFmpt1ed.
Songs broke the stiffness of theS night,
while the bowling of the dingoesN that
were feasting on the carcasses was heard
in the distance Finally everything was
still, one after another stretched himself
on the ground, and the clear, starry sky
was the only cover of the tired sleepers
1.-The following morning search WIS
made for the dead animals. One hundred
and sixty six scalps were br,ught in.
which gave some three kangaroos 10 each
of the fifty-six hunters. As many Of The
hunters refused to accept the reward tbs
others made quite handsome slIn,
from the scalp bounty and the hides.