MAMMALS OF AUSTRALIA 



'93 



pipes, when there was suddenly heard a shout from the camp of 

 the natives. My companions rose, turned their faces toward the 

 mountain, and shouted, ' Boongary, Boongary ! * A few black men 

 were seen coming out of the woods and down the green slope as 

 fast as their legs could carry them. One of them had a large dark 

 animal on his back. 



"Was it truly a * Boongary'? I soon caught sight of the dog 

 1 Balnglan ' running in advance and followed by Nilgora, a tall, 

 powerful man. 



"The dark animal was thrown on the ground at my feet, but 

 none of the blacks spoke a word. They simply stood waiting for 

 presents from me. 



"At last, then, I had a Boongary, which I had been seeking so 

 long. It is not necessary to describe my joy at having this animal, 

 hitherto a stranger to science, at my feet. Of course I did not forget 

 the natives who had brought me so great a prize. To Nilgora I 

 gave a shirt, to the man who had carried the Boongary a handker- 

 chief, and to all food. Nor did I omit to distribute tobacco." 



Dr. Lumholtz obtained some information regarding the Boon- 

 gary from the natives, and also observed it himself. 



"Upon the whole," he says, "the Boongary is the most beautiful 

 mammal I have seen in Australia. It is a Marsupial, and goes out 

 only at night. During the day it sleeps in the trees, and feeds on 

 the leaves. It is able to jump down from a great height, and can 

 run fast on the ground. So far as my observation goes, it seems 

 to live exclusively in one very lofty kind of tree which is very 

 common on the Coast Mountains, but of which I do not know the 

 name. During rainy weather the Boongary prefers the young low 

 trees, and always frequents the most rocky and inaccessible 

 localities. It always stays near the summit of the mountains, and 

 frequently far from water, and hence the natives assured me that it 

 never went down to drink." 



It is sad to learn that the first Boongary skin obtained by Dr. 

 Lumholtz was stolen, when drying, by a Dingo, or Wild Dog, and 

 mutilated. The Dingo ate the whole of the head and part of the 

 tail and legs. The natives afterwards brought in other skins, 

 and so the naturalist's sorrow was softened and his wrath turned 

 away. 



BENNETT'S TREE KANGAROO. Bennett's Tree Kangaroo 

 (D. bennettianus) has been described as a distinct species, from 



