474 THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



gives a skip or two and goes on feeding again ; the native 

 advances, and this scene is repeated many times, until the 

 whistling spear penetrates the devoted animal ; then the wood 

 rings with shouts, women and children all join pell-mell in the 

 chase ; the kangaroo, weak from the loss of blood, and 

 embarrassed by the long spear, which catches in the brush wood 

 as it flies, at length turns on its pursuers, and to secure its rear, 

 places its back against a tree, preparing at the same time to 

 rend open the breast and entrails of its pursuer, by seizing him 

 in its fore-paws and kicking with its hind legs and claws ; but 

 the wily native keeps clear of so murderous an embrace, and 

 from the distance of a few yards throws spears into its breast, 

 until the exhausted animal drops down.' 



There are several other modes of taking kangaroos, such as 

 catching them in nets or pit-falls, or lying in wait near their 

 watering places until they come to drink ; or else a party 

 surrounds and incloses them in a narrowing circle ; but the 

 mode of tracking a kangaroo until it is wearied out is the one 

 which pre-eminently requires every qualification prized by 

 savages, — skill in tracking, endurance of hunger and thirst, un- 

 wearied bodily exertion, and lasting perseverance. To 

 perform this feat, a native starts upon the track of a kangaroo, 

 which he follows until he sights it, when it flies timidly before 

 him ; again he pursues the track, and again the animal bounds 

 from him, and this is repeated until nightfall, when the 

 native lights his fire, and sleeps upon the track ; with the first 

 light of day the hunt is resumed, and towards the close of the 

 second day, or in the course of the third, the kangaroo falls a 

 victim to its pursvier. None but a skilful huntsman, in the 

 pride of youth and vigour, can execute this feat, which beyond 

 all others excites the admiration of the natives. 



Unfortunately, my limits do not allow me to describe their 

 dexterity in fishing, or in entrapping the various kinds of wild 

 fowl with which the rivers and lagoons of Australia abound, but 

 the skill and acuteness of perception they display in hunting 

 the opossum are too interesting to be passed over in silence. 

 The savage carelessly walks up to some narrow trunk which he 

 thinks bears a suspicious appearance ; his hands are placed 

 thoughtlessly behind his back, whilst his dark eye glances over 

 the bark ; suddenly it is for one moment stationary, and lie 



