308 Animal Life 
hollow as possible, I called off the dog, who was inside vainly attempting to grip the 
animal’s rotund and tailless body, and, with the aid of what faint light was emitted 
by the flickering match, fired at the growling wombat with telling effect. The 
deafening noise of the explosion, confined within so limited a space, suggested most 
forcibly the advisability of firmg for the future into limitless space. At this stage in 
the proceedings difficulties seemed to look almost insurmountable, for, though un- 
doubtedly we had been successful in shooting a wombat, the animal had most 
effectually imprisoned itself in a place undeniably awkward to get at, and in that 
position had died. The dog’s best efforts to drag out the heavy carcase merely wasted 
his strength and energy, which conclusion he at length arrived at, for he backed 
slowly out of the log, coughing and spluttering with a mouthful of hair, and flung his 
dusty body down among the cool ferns, where he whined in disgust at his own 
incapacity. My companion—figure on the left—suddenly suggested that he should 
attempt to venture up the log himself, and strive to reach the animal in that way. 
‘Twas a lucky thought, and but a few moments elapsed before a pair of heels were 
kicking aimlessly at the entrance of the hollow, after which a rumbling and scraping 
sound alone suggested the presence of a human occupant within the log, for my 
companion had totally disappeared from view, and was inhaling dust from dry, decaying 
wood and fumes of imprisoned gunpowder. His shouting soon attracted my attention, 
and upon thrusting my head 
and shoulders into the hollow 
: < : E I learnt from various inco- 
; # herent remarks and “sunny” 
ps a interjections that he was 
gripping the wombat by the 
hind leg, but recognised the ~ 
feat of working his way 
backwards out of the log, 
: hampered by the weight— 
Sk no small encumbrance—of 
ae AY the carcase, as absolutely 
“= impossible; indeed, it was 
but a moment later that I 
received information in the same husky manner to the effect that, even if the 
wombat were abandoned, he could not work backwards in so small a hollow. The 
tone of the voice which uttered the words, “Do something quickly; I’m suffocating 
here,’ can better far be imagined than written in words with pen and ink! 
Struggling up the hollow until within reach of his feet, I tugged and pulled 
with might and main, eventually succeeding in dragging forth two trophies—man 
and beast! It seems that the splintered walls of the hollow at the smaller 
end were the principal cause of trouble, simce they caught and held my 
companion’s clothing so firmly that, in so cramped a position, he could not liberate 
himself. j 
Within a short distance of the summit of Mount Torbrek (nearly 5,000 feet above 
sea level) I shot a remarkably fine wombat, long in the hairy.coat, and beautifully 
glossy, the locality being for some months during winter partially covered with snow; 
from this fact one may, I think, conclude that these animals are blessed with hardy. 
constitutions. As seen in the accompanying illustration, a wombat was in the act 
of digging in the snow in search of roots when I photographed it. Only infinite 
caution and great patience enabled me to approach so close to the animal without 
disturbing it. 
WOMBAT DIGGING IN THE SNOW. 
