The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-07
HOW KANGARO0S ARE HUNTED.
Tree Khngaros and the Waa bies-A Little
EggB-The Dugongs, Australian Mermaids =
Moles Which Garry Their Young>in Their

oosoaai oDsFsspundsace Of Tho Sunday Republic
/, BS4sbana, Queensland, May 2s.-Auatralia
ID . country where every other animal oerc
,s1ss its baby In its breast pocket It b the
land OF the marsupial. It has 10 different
varieties Of animals which have pouches
Fastened to their bellies, In which they car
~ thstr young. Some Of these animals are
caller than . man and some are no bigger
than your thumb. Some climb trees, some
gallop over the plains and some spend
moro than half their time In the water.
have aeen some OF these animals during
s7y travels and photographed others in the
geological gardenA Every city here has its
SOCIOLOGICAL garden. and every town has its
museum. % that there IL no trouble seeing
Ill Australia alive and stuffed.
The Kangaroo.
what interests me most Is the kangaroo.
had an idea that all kangaroos were alike
before I came to Australia. I now know
that there are forty-nine varieties, rang
ing In size from the great gray kanga-
goo. tho male Of which measures over Z
feet from nose 10 tan tip. down to the
kangaroo rabbit ana kangaroo rat In
Sydney and Melbourne they have nearly
every variety. saw some there that were
taller than = man jumping around in fields
Enclosed By wire fences. They have enor-
nous hind legs which send them flying
along ~ though they were moved by steel
springs. They can leap thirty feet at q
jump and can gallop over the country fast
er on two legs than horse can on four.
Tho largest OF the kangaroos are tho red
and gray varieties which are found all
over Australia, being hunted and killed by
tho thou4anda. Horses and dogs are bred
for tho sport. The dogs are a cross be-
tween the greyhound and the deerhound,
very feet OF foot and very fierce. The big
kangaroo is dangerous when brought to
bay. 1t will attack dog or a man. 1t
backs itself mp against tree and waits
Tor its enemy. AS the dog comes up It
grasps It with its forepaws and hugs it
tightly. while 1t disembowels it with the
single long-nailed claw which 1t has on each
OF fte hind feet These claws are as hard
as ivory: they are three or four inches IN
length. and moved by the force Of the steel
like legs, they cut like knife
{, Sometimes the kangaroos jump into tho
water when they are hunted. and II the
dogs follow them they seize them with
their hands. pull their heads under and
hold them there until they are drowned.
The kangaroos can swim as we'll as run,
and they take to the water when possible.
800 Little Kangaroos.
Tho kangaroos 20 about IN pairs You
usually see o male and q female together.
and often spy q little head of a baby kan
:garoo sticking out OF the mothers pouch.
Tie animals are very small when born ana
they live for eight or nine months in tho
pouch. 1t Is said that the baby kangaroo
IL not more than.an Inch long when it first
sees the light OF day. 1t has no hair and
Il 10 almost as transparent as an earth
worm. Ns mother puts 1t into tho pouch,
and thefe Il lies and sucks until It grows
big enough to come forth and eat grass.
Even then It crawls back into the pouch
whenever It Is tired or at the least sign OF
danger. poking Its head out now and thea
Ito seo II the coast is clear. It leaves the
pouch only when 1t weighs eight or zen
pounds. at which time 1t becomes too heavy
Tor the mother to carry.
Kansaroos which Live In Trees.
Until within q few years the kangaroes
were supposed to be confined to the plains.
They were looked upon grass feeders.
Carl Lumholtz was the first to discover a
variety OF these animals which lives in
trees He found them through the blacks
OF North Queensland. and through them
Was able to get several specimens. / saw
some IN the museum at Sydney and am told
that others have been sent to the museums
OF Christian1a and London. The tree kan
garoo is q baby beside the big gray and
red kangaroos- It has head like SPUR
rsl's and Q body which is better proper
toned than that OF the kangaroos of the
plains. It has arms and legs about or
10 inches long. a tail about feet inches
lang and q trunk feet long. It spends
the most OF tho time In the trees. sleep
ing there In the daytime and coming down
only at night Its food IL tree leaves and
It seldom comes out Of the tree except for
water. This animal Is esteemed great
delicacy by the blacks. They spend much
time hunting It. and have so trained the
dingoes Or native dogs that they win track
and tree It. After the kangaroo has been
treed the natives climb not only the tree
upon which 1t Is, but all the others nearby,
In order to catch It II It jumps from branch
70 branch.
There are . score or 30 Of email kan.
garoos In ali parts Of Australia. One of
DE most common is the Wallaby. which