GOUTY-STEM TREES 243 



seeds. The fruit is pleasant in taste, and is one of the 

 stock articles of native food. The tree does not seem to 

 grow near Port Darwin, and I never met with it further 

 north than on this unknown river, which probably is the 

 Fitzmaurice, or a branch of it. The gouty-stem tree is 

 always of scattered growth ; I never saw them growing in 

 woods or large clusters. Some of them are of enormous 

 growth. One which I measured in the Gascoyne River 

 district was forty feet in girth at the level of the ground, 

 and sixty-three, nine feet above it. Some of the rougher 

 individuals in settled districts take a mischievous delight 

 in digging deep holes in these remarkable trees, which leads 

 to their speedy death. Unfortunately, in Australia, the 

 idle element does not always meet with that sharp 

 magisterial correction which would teach it to respect the 

 feelings of those who are desirous of protecting the native 

 plants and animals, many species of which are so utterly 

 unlike anything of a similar class to be found in other parts 

 of the world. 



Just before I hobbled the horse and camped for the 

 night I saw a pack of six dingoes kill a large kangaroo, 

 the only occasion on which such a sight was witnessed by 

 me. Although these dogs are usually very noisy, and 

 howl during both night and day, it would seem that they 

 hunt in silence. I first saw these dogs in the distance, 

 and I think they had only just started their game. They 

 came straight towards me at a tremendous pace, the 

 kangaroo making frantic bounds in its efforts to escape ; 

 but it made a perfectly straight run, and never once 

 attempted to double. At most it did not run, or rather 

 leap, more than three-quarters of a mile, before the 

 dingoes were upon it. Two of them siezed it by the 

 throat, the others behind. I think at least one dingo 

 seized it by the root of the tail ; at any rate, they had it 

 down in an instant, killing it far more quickly and skil- 

 fully than I ever saw kangaroo-dogs kill one. 



This happened at a distance of about one hundred and 

 fifty yards from the spot where I had reined in my horse 

 to watch the run, and the dingoes proceeded to tear their 



