XIX 
KA NGAROO -HUNTING 
469 
in this case rather more numerous than usual, owing to some 
of the valleys being swampy and producing a coarser pasture. 
Two or three flat pieces of ground near the house were cleared 
and cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men were now 
reaping ; but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for the 
annual support of the labourers employed on the establishment 
The usual number of assigned convict-servants here is about 
forty, but at the present time there were rather more. Although 
the farm was well stocked with every necessary, there was an 
apparent absence of comfort; and not one single woman 
resided here. The sunset of a fine day will generally cast an 
air of happy contentment on any scene; but here, at this 
retired farmhouse, the brightest tints on the surrounding woods 
could not make me forget that forty hardened, profligate men 
were ceasing from their daily labours, like the slaves from 
Africa, yet without their holy claim for compassion. 
Early on the next morning Mr. Archer, the joint superin¬ 
tendent, had the kindness to take me out kangaroo-hunting. 
We continued riding the greater part of the day, but had very 
bad sport, not seeing a kangaroo, or even a wild dog. The 
greyhounds pursued a kangaroo rat into a hollow tree, out 
of which we dragged it; it is an animal as large as a rabbit, 
but with the figure of a kangaroo. A few years since this 
country abounded with wild animals ; but now the emu is 
banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become 
scarce ; to both the English greyhound has been highly 
destructive. It may be long before these animals are 
altogether exterminated, but their doom is fixed. The 
aborigines are always anxious to borrow the dogs from the 
farmhouses: the use of them, the offal when an animal is 
killed, and some milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings 
of the settlers, who push farther and farther towards the 
interior. The thoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling 
advantages, is delighted at the approach of the white man, 
who seems predestined to inherit the country of his children. 
Although having poor sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride. 
The woodland is generally so open that a person on horseback 
can gallop through it. It is traversed by a few flat-bottomed 
valleys, which are green and free from trees : in such spots 
the scenery was pretty like that of a park. In the whole 
