72 
SHOOT A KANGAROO. 
drays, but at best the country was very rough and 
stony. 
After clearing the hills, we made a stage of twenty- 
eight miles along the plains running under Flin- 
ders range, and at night encamped upon a channel 
coming out of it, where we obtained w^ater, but very 
little grass for our horses. 
July 20. — To-day I kept behind some of the 
low front hills, passing through some extensive 
valleys between them and the main range ; and as 
I found abundance of water lying in pools upon the 
plains, I did not make for the hills at all. 
Before sunset, I got a shot at a kangaroo with 
my rifle, which, though severely wounded, gave me 
a long chase before I could capture it ; this fur- 
nished us with a welcome and luxurious repast. We 
had been so long living upon nothing but the bush 
baked bread, called damper (so named, I imagine, 
from its heavy, sodden character), with the excep- 
tion of the one or two occasions upon which the 
native boy had added an opossum to our fare, 
that we were delighted to obtain a supply of animal 
food for a change ; and the boy, to shew how he 
appreciated our good luck, ate several pounds of it 
for his supper. Our horses were equally fortunate 
with ourselves, for we obtained both good grass and 
water for them. 
July 21. — Taking with us the best part of what 
was left of the kangaroo, we crossed a stony ridge 
to the S. W., and at four miles struck a watercourse 
