THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 41 



dangerous foe to eitlier man or dog when attaclved in close quarters ; 

 and, notwithstanding the powerful jaws and teeth of the Tasmanian 

 Devil, the Macroims would make small work of him if he once got him 

 in his embrace. Viewing the question in this light, there is very 

 1 ttle doubt, in my mind, at least, that the giant of existing 

 kangaroos, whose bones I found here, was killed by the Native Tiger, 

 who would be a fair match for him, and that portions of the carcase 

 were dragged into the cavern by the Sarcophilus. 



There is one apparent difficulty offered to ingress and egress of 

 the latter animal, and that is presented by the pit-shaped depression 

 by which access is gained from the third chamber to the fourth, 

 owing, not only to its depth, but also to the few facilities presented 

 for climbing by the conformation of its sides, which are more 

 concave than convex. The Sarcophilus is not an animal possessed 

 , of much agility. On the contrary, it is sluggish in its movements, 

 lying in wait, and, cat-like, seizing its prey. Therefore, leaping 

 down a hole 14 feet deep, with the hind leg of a Forester Kangaroo 

 in its mouth would be a feat of strength and agility not to be 

 expected from an animal of its size and habits. 



In discussing the question with a geological friend, of how these 

 bones came to be deposited in this labyrinthine vault, some time 

 after my second visit to the place, he ingeniously suggested that 

 probably, at the time the bones were placed there the cavern 

 presented a somewhat different form to what it does at the present 

 time, and that at some subsequent period a shock of earthquake 

 bad so disj)laced the masses of rock as to give to it its present 

 configuration. I merely mention this for what it is worth. Be it 

 as it may, there are the bones, whatever may have been the origin 

 of their deposit. 



It would appear, as I afterwards learned, that the existence of 

 this cavern was known to some of the kangaroo hunters of the 

 district yt ais before I exj)lored it, but it had not been penetrated 

 beyond the second entrance. It would also seem that a rusty clasp 

 knife, and a tinder box and flint had been found in it, and it is 

 asserted by more than one of the oldest settlers in the district, that 

 it was -the secret haunt of some of the bushrangers in the early 

 days of the colony, long before the advent of lucifer matches. 

 This is quite probable, for its very inconspicuous entrance, and 

 out-of-the-way situatioUj would render it eminently calculated as a 

 place of secret retreat — a very bushranger's sanckiary. 



Notwithstanding that the carboniferous, or mountain limestone, 

 abounds throughout a considerable part of Tasmania, caves of 

 disintegration, as might naturally be expected to exist in such a 

 formation, like those known to obtain in other parts of the globe, 

 are few ; and those few have shed very little light on the ancient 

 Fauna of the island. Referring to this marked absence of osseous 



