The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1908-05-14
QUEER AUSTRALIAN GAME.
Native Pheasant and Quail-The Bus
tard-SOup of Kangaroo Tail.

1t IS on the blllabOngS and
creeks of the back country that
the best sport is to be obtained.
In wet seasons ducks and teal are
to be shot, and in the ranges be-
tween the Murray and the Muir
m-bridgee rivers the native
/ pheasant, - or malice hen, is to be
found. This is a fine table bird
quite equal, in my opinion, to any
English pheasant. 1t is very shy
and not easy to obtain. | knew a
man who kept a few bloodhounds
for hunting dingoes. He used to
go into the scrub where there were
malice hens, put the dogs on their
tracks and Canter after them. The
birds would sometimes rise in an
open space in the scrub, and
have known him to bring down a
brace of them when shooting from
the saddle.
Good duck shooting might be
had at the large water holes if it
were possible to get near without
being seen, and in the summer
evenings excellent sport is obtain
able by waiting for the bronze
winged pigeons, which at sunset
fly to water. There is also a
small quail, like the Egyptian, to
be Shot in New South Wales after
harvest. There they strip the
wheat /. e., merely the heads off
with a stripping machine, leaving
the straw. l have known half a
dozen guns make a capital bag
without dogs.
The Australian game bird, how
eyer, is the native bustard. or
wild turkey" as it is there call
ed, although it is now very scarce
except in the extreme back coun-
try. At one time it was common
enough in Victoria, though now
rare in that State, but on the back
blocks of New South Wales it was
quite plentiful a few years ago.
They were, nevertheless, diff
cult to stalk on foot, but, curious
ly enough, will allow one to drive
quite within range, and | have
seen many shot from a buggy to-
ward the Darling river. They
are capital table birds. often larger
than the biggest turkey one could
buy at an English Christmas mar
ket, The flesh of the breast is
brown and tastes like wild duck.
Properly cooked the Australian
bustard has hardly its equal. 1t
prefers arid plains, and I have
shot them on the gold-helds of
Western Australia, where there
is little or no water, They must
be able to fly great distances, for
one never sees them about the
desert country of West Australia
in the hot weather.
Imported hares are very num-
erous in certain parts, and the
rabbit is ubiquitous. | remember
an Australian squatter, who was
ruined by rabbits, saying that he
had not much left, but he would
be glad to subscribe a pound to-
ward monument to the idiot who
introduced rabbits and foxes into
Australia Rabbit shooting is to
be had almost everywhere, and as
they are trapped and poisoned by
the hundred thousand perhaps they
too may become extinct in time.
No one has not seen the rabbit
warrens in the sandy back country
OF the Darling would credit the
enormous number which exist
there. | have passed miles OF
sandhills at dusk which seemed
absolutely alive with the vermin,
as Australians call them. This
reminds me of an Englishman en-
gagged to coon for the shearers on
a back station, who by way of a
treat made a rabbit pie for the
men. He was nearly murdered
for his pains Australian shearers
had not come, they said, to eat
vermin
Twenty or thirty years ago the
back country Squatters, in order