KANGAROO 



3202 



KANKAKEE 



seems strangely out of proportion, with its 

 small, deerlike head, short, slender forelegs, 

 large, powerful hind legs, and tails long and 

 thick at the base. The ears are large and up- 

 right; the upper lips are cleft. So sharp are 

 the teeth* that the animal clips off grasses, 

 leaves and other herbage so closely as to cause 

 great damage to crops. The hands of the fore- 

 limbs are naked beneath, and each has five 

 sharply-clawed fingers. On the strong hind 

 legs are long, four-toed feet, each armed with 

 one especially-developed claw with which the 

 animal can effectively defend itself. 



The usual attitude of the kangaroo is an 

 upright position, resting on the hind legs and 

 powerful tail. Timid and alert, with senses 



Species. The kangaroo of the zoo, the best- 

 known species, is the gray kangaroo, also called 

 old man, boomer and joresCer. The great red 

 kangaroo is larger, and the neck of the male 

 is tinged with red. Tree kangaroos are small 

 species which live in the forests of New Guinea, 

 feeding on fruits, bark and leaves. Some of the 

 smaller kangaroos, which live in the brush, are 

 known as wallabies. 



KANKAKEE, kangkakee', ILL., the county 

 seat of Kankakee County, and an important 

 distributing and manufacturing center of 

 Northern Illinois, situated in the northeastern 

 section of the state, on the Kankakee River. 

 Chicago is fifty-four miles northeast. The 

 Illinois Central, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, 



KANGAROOS 

 Male and female, and characteristic attitude of one of the animals at bay, fighting his pursuers. 



very keen, at the slightest sign of danger it 

 jumps rapidly away in leaps often exceeding 

 three or four times its length. 



Kangaroos are pouched animals, or mar- 

 supials (which see). That is, their young, num- 

 bering from one to three at a birth, are born 

 when very tiny and undeveloped, and are 

 immediately placed by the mother, by means 

 of her forepaws or teeth, in a breast-pocket- 

 like pouch, where she nourishes and cares for 

 them for weeks, or sometimes months, until 

 they are ready to hop about as their parents 

 do. The fur of kangaroos is soft and of a 

 gray-brown color. The hides are valued for 

 shoes, gloves and bags, and the flesh is con- 

 sidered a delicacy by the natives. For that 

 reason, and to protect crops when the animals 

 become pests, they are extensively hunted. 

 Kangaroos are timid and gentle in captivity. 



Chicago & Saint Louis and the Chicago, Indi- 

 ana & Southern railways meet here, and an 

 electric line extends through adjacent cities to 

 Chicago. Kankakee was settled in 1853, was 

 incorporated in 1854 and was given a city 

 charter in 1892. French and Germans com- 

 prise two-thirds of the population, which in- 

 creased from 13,985 in 1910 to 14,230 in 1916 

 (Federal estimate). The area of the city ex- 

 ceeds three square miles. 



At Kankakee the river is broad and deep and 

 provides power for manufacturing purposes, for 

 lighting the city and for operating the street 

 railways. There are large knitting mills here, 

 employing about 700 people, besides manufac- 

 tories of pianos, furniture, sewing machines, 

 plows and starch. The surrounding country is 

 rich in agricultural products, and limestone is 

 found in the vicinity. 



