132 THE FASCIATED KANGAROO. 



leather, &c; they would also drink wine or brandy. We have 

 heard that advantage has occasionally been taken of this ap- 

 titude to drink intoxicating liquors, to occasion the ludicrous 

 spectacle of their singular modes of progressive motion as mo- 

 dified by a state of inebriation. 



In their more leisurely motions as quadrupeds, with the 

 four legs on the ground, they raise the hinder part of the body 

 by making use of their tail as a prop or support, then carry- 

 ing the hind legs past the fore legs they rest them on the 

 ground, and simultaneously throw forward the fore legs and 

 the tail; on which again the body is supported while the hind 

 legs are again brought forward, &c. — but when pushed to a 

 swifter motion, they make leaps of from twenty to thirty feet in 

 extent, and from six to nine in height, clearing the obstacles 

 which impede their less gifted pursuers, and using the tail as 

 an essential instrument in this vigorous species of locomotion. 



The kangaroo is hunted by the colonists with a strong race 

 of dog, partaking of the qualities of the greyhound and stag- 

 hound ; it is observed, when hard pressed by these pursuers 

 in the open plains, not to use the saltatory mode of progres- 

 sion, but to run on its four legs, leaping only when it has an 

 obstacle to overcome; for it appears that the tail cannot be 

 brought with sufficient rapidity into the position necessary for 

 the performance of its part in the leap, to enable the kanga- 

 roo to escape by this means when on level and unobstructed 

 ground. The chase is not without its dangers to the dogs. 

 The kangaroos inflict stunning blows with their heavy and 

 muscular tail ; the kick from the hind leg is often fatal, and al- 

 ways inflicts a severe wound ; the strong males will also grap- 

 ple with the dog, and whilst they hold it fast in the fore paws 

 they will tear open the belly of their enemy with the strong 

 hinder claws. 



The genus Macropus has been divided into two groups, from 

 differences in the form of the nose. In one of the divisions, 

 there is only a very small naked and glandular border over each 

 nostril ; in the other group, this glandular circle is remarkably 

 developed, and is divided in the middle by a little furrow. 



To the first of these divisions belong the Kangaroos, pro- 

 perly so called, — animals remarkable for their great size; their 

 long, conical head ; and their large, oval, villous ears ; they 

 have, besides, their fore legs longer, and their tail for the most 

 part shorter and stronger than the species included in the 

 second group. They are all peculiar to New Holland, and 

 the species are difficult to determine, the distinctive cha- 

 racters resting chiefly on slight differences of the fur, which 

 differences seem also to pass by a series of gradations or 

 shades into one another. The only species known to Dr. 



