THE FASCIATED KANGAROO. 135 



the best food of any of the kangaroo kind, and strongly re- 

 commend its introduction into Europe, both on that ground, 

 as well as its beauty. 



" At the period," they observe, " when we were on these 

 coasts, all the full-grown females had in their pouch a tolera- 

 bly sized young one, which they strove to defend and preserve 

 with an admirable degree of courage. When wounded, they 

 fled, bearing along their young one in the pouch, and did not 

 abandon it until being overcome with fatigue, and exhausted 

 by loss of blood, they were unable any longer to carry it; 

 then they would stop, and sitting upright on their hind legs, 

 would assist the young one out of the pouch with their fore 

 legs, and endeavour, as it were, to direct it to the place where 

 it could find the most easy means of escape. Thus disem- 

 barrassed, they would then continue their flight with as much 

 rapidity as their powers would permit; but if the pursuit 

 was given over or slackened, they would then be seen to 

 return to the bush which protected their young ; to call them 

 by a sort of grunt peculiar to them; and, on their return, 

 affectionately to caress them as if to dissipate their alarm, 

 again to receive them in the pouch, and to seek, with their 

 beloved burthen, some other jungle remote from the persecu- 

 tion of the hunter. Similar proofs of intelligence and affection, 

 but still more touching, were exhibited by the poor mothers 

 when they felt themselves mortally wounded ; all their cares 

 were then directed to the safety of their offspring; far from 

 seeking to save .themselves, they would stand still beneath 

 the blows of the hunter, and their last efforts would be given 

 to the preservation of their young. Generous devotion ! of 

 which the history of animals offers so many examples, and 

 which we are often reduced to envy. 



" During our sojourn at the Island of Bernier, we took 

 several of these young kangaroos; they were, however, loo 

 feeble, and survived their captivity but a short time. One 

 alone lived and became tame : this animal ate bread with 

 readiness, and was particularly fond of the sugared water 

 which was offered to it. This last taste seems the more ex- 

 traordinary, as, in the desert islands which these animals 

 inhabit, every kind of fresh water is constantly wanting. 

 This young kangaroo was killed accidentally at Timor : we 

 felt its loss the less sensibly, because, having but one, we 

 could not hope to have naturalized it in Europe ; but this first 

 attempt is enough to prove with certainty, that this species 

 can accommodate itself very readily to the cares and society 

 of man ; and we repeat, that it would be a valuable acquisition 

 for our parks and pleasure-grounds. " 



The pouch above mentioned, which Nature has given the 



