ANIMALS. 89 



CHAPTER XX. 



ANIMALS. 



The dingo — the wild dog of Australia — deservedly holds the first place in the 

 estimation of the aborigines. Previous to the advent of the white man, though 

 every wuurn had its pack of dogs, they were so very rare in their wild 

 state — at least in the inhabited parts of the country — that one ' would 

 not be seen in many days' travel.' This scarcity is attributed by the 

 aborigines to the want of food. They were usually bred in a domesticated 

 state, and no puppies were ever destroyed. Wild young ones also were caught 

 and domesticated. The dogs were trained to guard the wuurns, which they did 

 by growling and snarling. Dingoes never bark. As they would not sleep or 

 take shelter under the roof of their master, a separate place was generally erected 

 for them. In watching they were vigilant and fierce. They would fly at the 

 throats of visitors ; and strangers had often to take refuge from them by climbing 

 into a tree. They were also trained to hunt, which was their principal use. 

 They were active and skilful in killing kangaroos, and seldom got cut with the 

 powerful hind toes of these animals. When they killed one, they 3'elped to let 

 their master know where they were. Some well-trained dogs would even 

 come home and lead their owners to the dead game. In some of the mountainous 

 parts of Victoria, but especially in the Otway ranges, the dingoes were so very 

 numerous and fierce, and hunted in such large packs, that the natives were 

 afraid to venture among them, and often had to take refuge in trees. Since the 

 introduction of the European dog the dingo is not used, notwithstanding its 

 superiority in several respects to the former, which is preferred on account of its 

 afiectionate and social disposition. 



The forest kangaroo is generally hunted by stalking, and is killed with the 

 hunting spear. If the kangaroo is grazing on open ground, where there is no 

 cover to conceal the hunter, he makes a circular shield of leafy branches, about 

 two or three feet in diameter, with a small hole in the centre to look through ; 

 and, with this in front, he crawls towards the kangaroo while its head is down, 

 remains motionless if it looks up, and, when he has got within throwing distance, 



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