THE ORNITHORHYNCHUS PARADOXUS. 253 
Having no new observations on these extraordinary animals to record during the 
remainder of my stay in the Tumat, Murrumbidgee, and Yas countries, I will now 
continue my observations in another field. I left Yas on the 23rd of December, and 
arrived at Lansdown Park, the estate of Mr. Bradley, at Goulburn Plains, on the 24th. 
On the 28th of December, with a small party of aborigines, we visited a very beautiful 
part of the Wollondilly River, which passes near this estate, and which has the native 
name of Koroa. It was a noble sheet of water, extending to some distance, and 
abounded in Musk, black, and other kinds of Ducks, as well as in various descriptions 
of Water-Fowl. We proceeded to explore the burrow of an Ornithorhynchus which had 
been discovered. The aborigines used their hard pointed sticks'!, and although the 
ground was firm, they succeeded as quickly as we could have done with our spades. 
The method of laying open the burrow was by holes dug above at certain distances, as 
I have before described. The holes were opened at about four or five feet apart, a stick 
being passed up to ascertain the direction of the excavation. 
As we proceeded in exploring, there were abundant good omens to encourage us ; 
for besides fresh tracks of the feet of the animal, pieces of grass, weeds, &c., such as 
they strew at the bottom of the termination of the burrow to form a warm nest 
for their young, were seen. On every indication of the presence of the animal, the 
older blacks quietly passed either the earth from the under surface of the burrow having 
recent impressions of its feet or tail, or the pieces of grass, reeds, &c., to one another, 
for the opinion of each; and if in favour of the presence of the animal, the digging 
up of the burrow was continued, the indications so well known to them giving fresh 
hopes and renewed vigour to the diggers. The extent to which this burrow was 
continued up the bank in a serpentine form was very great; and after a very laborious 
task in exploring it, in consequence of the great hardness of the ground, the termina- 
tion was attained at a distance of thirty-five feet from the entrance to the inhabited part. 
Extensive as this may appear, burrows have been found of even fifty feet in length. 
On arriving at the termination of this very large burrow, a growling was distinctly 
heard: this I at first thought proceeded from the old one, which I now believed that I 
should have an opportunity of viewing with her young; but thinking it on reconsi- 
deration more probable that the old one had forsaken them, as I had observed during 
the course of laying open the burrow that we had not seen her come down, in the usual 
manner, to ascertain why we destroyed her habitation, I could not account for it, more 
especially when the burrow at its termination being laid a little more open, the fur of 
the animal or animals was seen. What then surprised me was, that although there 
was abundance of growling there was no movement of the animals to escape. On 
being taken out they were found to be full-furred young ones, coiled up asleep, and 
they growled exceedingly at being exposed to the light of day. There were two, a male 
! The stick used for this purpose is called Kiar by the aborigines: the same name is also given in their lan- 
guage to our spade. 
2u2 
