THE  ORNITHORHYNCHUS  PARADOXUS. 
243 
the  whole  art  of  capturing  them,  the  distinct  marks  of  the  hind  and  fore  feet  of  one 
of  these  animals  on  the  moist  clay  near  the  river;  and  afterwards  inserting  his  hand  up 
the  burrow,  brought  from  thence  some  lumps  of  clay  taken  from  the  under  surface. 
These  he  regarded  closely,  and  placing  them  in  my  hands  pointed  out  recent  impres- 
sions of  the  fore  feet  of  one  of  the  Mallangong  tribe,  which  were  certainly  distinctly 
visible.  He  then  removed  some  other  pieces  from  the  interior  of  the  burrow,  on  which 
there  were  further  proof  impressions  of  the  animal's  recent  presence,  and  it  was  there- 
fore declared  to  be  an  inhabited  one.  I  was  anxious  to  explore  it,  but  as  Daraga  said 
that  no  "pickaninnies"  (eggs  were  not  mentioned  by  him)  would  be  found  therein, 
nor  "  old  women"  either,  I  was  overruled :  indeed  as  respected  the  first,  I  was  aware 
by  the  recent  dissection  of  specimens  that  no  young  would  be  found  at  this  early  pe- 
riod of  the  season,  and  I  depended  on  native  accuracy  for  the  living  one  not  being  in 
the  burrow.  This  I  afterwards  regretted,  for  I  subsequently  procured  a  living  female 
specimen  by  not  relying  on  similar  information  given  by  the  same  native ;  and  some 
time  after,  on  exploring  this  burrow,  I  found  it  forsaken,  the  old  one  either  having  been 
killed  or  having  deserted  her  habitation. 
Returning  early  in  the  evening  from  Mr.  Manton's,  there  was  time  to  visit  the  banks 
of  the  Yas  River  at  Mundoona ;  and  at  6  p.m.  a  female  was  seen  and  fired  at,  which 
laid  it  tranquil  as  if  dead  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  When  brought  out,  however,  it 
was  found  not  to  be  quite  dead  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  afterwards  it  revived,  although 
severely  wounded.  By  the  time  we  had  reached  the  house,  the  animal  had  become 
more  recovered,  ran  rapidly  (with  a  sidelong  motion,  on  account  of  its  wounded  side,) 
about  the  room,  and  dashing  in  its  passage  through  the  burning  wood  fire,  got  much 
singed,  but  was  not  otherwise  injured.  It  was  extremely  restless,  and  ran  round  and 
round  the  room,  seeking  some  crevice  from  which  it  might  escape  :  from  the  power 
which  the  animal  possesses,  by  means  of  strong  cutaneous  muscles,  to  contract  its  loose 
integuments  as  well  as  its  body,  it  can  pass  out  of  an  aperture  which,  to  a  person  igno- 
rant of  these  circumstances,  it  would  appear  impossible  for  it  to  force  itself  through. 
When  I  took  it  into  my  hand,  it  made  strenuous  efforts  to  escape  from  my  grasp  ; 
and  from  the  flaccid  nature  of  its  skin,  I  found  some  difficulty  in  retaining  it ;  but  it 
made  no  attempt  to  bite  or  otherwise  inflict  injury  ;  indeed,  its  weak  mandibles  would 
be  useless  for  such  a  purpose.  As  the  animal  was  so  very  restless,  I  tied  it  up  by  a 
string  attached  to  the  hind -leg ;  but  it  still  renewed  the  efforts  to  escape  from  its  place 
of  confinement,  scratching  very  violently  until  it  became  exhausted,  expelling  air  from 
the  nostrils,  and  uttering  also  a  faint  moaning  noise,  which  excited  our  pity.  When 
I  placed  it  in  a  bucket  of  water,  it  sank,  but  immediately  afterwards  came  to  the  sur- 
face, expelling  air  from  the  nostrils  :  it  appeared  evident,  that  in  its  wounded  condition 
it  was  unable  to  support  itself  in  the  water ;  and  in  about  two  minutes,  on  taking  it 
out,  it  was  quite  exhausted,  and  did  not  again  move  for  several  minutes.  It  died  in  the 
course  of  the  night. 
VOL.  I.  2  k 
