Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-07-06

mas uIt Ahll'l Aaff''
are no bigger than your thumb 'o'"1
climb trees. some gallop over me pl''i'
and some spend more than hall 'he'r
time In the water. have seen some ol
these animals during my travels ana
have examined and photographed DINERS
I'm the geological gardens. Every wy
here has It's geological garden ent
every town has us museum 30 tl9'
there Is no trouble seeing an Aus''o''"
alive aud stuffed,
THE KANGAROO,
What interests me most IS me KAN
CARGO had an idea that an kauso-
roos were alike before ] came To AUS
tralia. / now know that there are iol-
ty-nlne varieties ranging In SIZE nom
the great gray kangaroo the lnale "
which measures over seven rect II"nl
rose TO tail tip, down 20 the Kangaroo
rabbit and Kangaroo rat In Sydhey
and Melbourne they have nearly every
variety 1 saw some there That were
taller than a man, jumping around IN
fields Inclused by wire fences Ihey
have enormous hind legs, when send
them flying along as though they We're
moved by steel springs They can leap
thirty feel at jump ana can gar
LOB over the country faster on TWO les9
than hose can on four.
The larlest Of the kangaroos are the
red and gay varieties, which are fonhu
MI over Australia, being hunted 9nd
killed by the thousands. Horses anu
dogs are bred for the sport. me
dogs are a cross between the greyhound
and the deerhound very fleet OF 1907
and very fierce. The big kangaroo ~
dangerous when brought 20 bay. II WIN
attack a dog or a man. II backs llsei
IN against n tree and waits tor us
enemy. AS the dog comes up II grasps
A. with It's forepaws and hugs Y tlghtiy
while II tllsembOwels II with the single
lonR-nailed claw which IL has on each
NJ Its hind feet. These claws are as
hard az ivory. they are three or lour
Inches In length, and moved ny the
force Of the steel-llke legs, they cut IKE
q knife
Sometimes the kangaroos jump into
the water when they are hunted, ana u
The dogs follow them they seize them
with their hands, pull their heads uh-
der and hold them there until they are
drowned. The kangar0os can swim as
well as run, and they take TO the water
when possible.
LITTLE KANGARoos.
The kangaroos 20 about In pairs. You
usually see q male and female together
and often spy a little head of baby
kangaroo sticking out Of the mothers
pouch. The animals are very small
when borns and they live for eight or
nine months in the pouch II Is SAID
that the baby kangaroo Is not more
than an inch long when II first sees the
light of day. II has no hair and II Is
almost as transparent as an earth
worm. Its mother puts 1t into the
pouch, and there II lies and sucks un-
III II grows big enough TO come torth
and eat grass. Even then II cuwl3
back into the pouch whenever 1t Is tired
or at the least sign OF danger, pokinG
It's head out now and then TO see "
the coast Is clear II leaves the
pouch only when II weighs eight or ten
pounds at which time II becomes too
heavy for the mother to carry.
KANGARoos WHICH LIVE IN
TREES.
Until within few years the kanga-
roos were supposed TO be confined TO
the plains. They were looked upon as
grass feeders. Carl Lumholtz was the
first 10 discover u variety Of these ami
mails which lives In trees, He found
them through the blacks Of North
Queensland, and through them was able
10 get several specimens. ! saw some
IN the museum at Sydney and am told
that others have been sent TO the mu-
seums OF Chrlstania and London. The
tree kangaroo is baby beside the big
gray ana red kangaroos II has a head
like squirrels, and a body which Is
better proportioned than that OF the
kangaroos Of the plains. II has arms
and legs about eight or ten inches long,
n tail about two feet four inches long
and a trunk two feet long. IL spends !
the most Of the time in the trees. sleep
ing there in the daytime and coming |
down only at night, Its food IL tree |
leaves and II seldom comes out Of the |
tree except for water, This animal |
IS esteemed a great dellcacy by the |
blacks. They spend much time hunting |
II, and have so trained the dingoes or /
native dogs that they will track II and /
tree Il. After the kangaroo has been |
freed the natives climb not only the |
tree upon which II Is, but all the other |
trees nearby In order TO catch il II 1t !
jumps from branch to branch.
There are a score or so Of small kan
garoos In all parts ~ Australia one
OF the most common Is the wallaby /
which Is killed for It's skin as are many
other varieties There is "a great de-
mand for kangaroo leather for bags,
shoes and other things and quite a lot
is yeurly exported 10 the United States.
The musk kangaroo Is SO small you
can put IL In your pocket. There is
kangaroo, which looks like rabbit.
known as the hare kangaroo and an
other Ike an enormous rat, which Is
called the rat kangaroo.
THIS ANIMAL LAYS EGGS.
The eggs OF the United States are
laid by fowl, fish, torto.s ana reptiles.
Down here there Is curious little
beast which produces Its young ln this
way Have you ever heard OF the p'aty-
pusf II Is the connecting link between
The mammals, birds and reptiles hay
ing some features common o. an IL
has a BIN Ike duck ana is feet are
COS cred with Webbing sa that DO can
swim through the water % buckles ts
aOung Ike a mammal aui DC hures i'm
the earth Ike mole. Ii Is usually
found along the fresh water streams
OF Tasmania and Victoria. 10 lives In
little tunnels one 0f the openings OF
which is below the water aud the 9TH
or I'm the land above To- The platypus
has two doors 90 its house. on NJ
which leads 10 into the stream and the
other into the ocean ~ nest is In thp
tunnel half way between the two.
Here 10 lays ana matches ifs young. lay.
Ing two eggs for each setting ana iii.
ting IN them as birds do.
The FUR ~ the platypus is very beau. /
tiful, although the animal is sn scarce
that 1t Is hardly am article of com.
merce. / have a skin about twelve
inches wide by eighteen inches long.
which cost me 81 The FUR b. as soft
and smooth as moleskiu. but the bil
and legs aye as hard as horn The skin
j. sometimes used 90 make rugs. .oi