416 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept, g , 1911. 
Yarding Kangaroos. 
Victoria, Australia, July 30. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: We have in Australia such large 
areas of both plain and forest country still com¬ 
paratively unsettled that kangaroos in large 
numbers are yet easily found. A few years ago, 
however, in many districts they were so numer¬ 
ous that the settlers had regularly to take active 
steps to thin their numbers ; and one of the princi¬ 
pal methods by which this was done was by 
means of yards, into which the kangaroos were 
driven. The kangaroo is so wild and fleet, and 
such a fine jumper, that at first sight a proposal 
to “yard” him seems really ludicrous. I have, 
in the earlier days, seen a kangaroo jump a 
fence eight feet in height that was supposed to 
be kangaroo-proof, and I have seen kangaroos 
that could outpace the fastest stock-horses. A 
full-grown, two-year-old kangaroo going at top 
speed covers a remarkable distance with each 
bound. I have measured their leaps in the soft 
earth and have found them range from twenty 
to thirty-two feet. This last was an extraordi¬ 
nary one. It was made by a young female, 
which was being chased by a fast greyhound, 
and occurred when the kangaroo flew a low 
brush fence in her track. She got away from 
her pursuer, as she well deserved to do. 
Yet, in spite of all these facts, kangaroos can 
be driven into yards, and I have several times 
taken part in the process. Of course, the kan¬ 
garoos have to be numerous, as a good many 
escape; and the country has to be fairly open. 
One of the most remarkable of these drives 
took place in the west of the State of Victoria 
some years ago, on the occasion of the visit of 
an Englishman of some tonnage. The visitor 
had heard of kangaroo drives and wanted to 
see one. So we obliged him. The district in 
which the drive took place was wild and hilly. 
But there was little or no scrub, and fences 
were few and far between. It was on a big 
sheep station (or ranch), and the sheep were 
quietly shifted away from the scene of opera¬ 
tions a few days previously. In the meantime, 
at the end of a gully, we built the yard. This 
took the shape of an almost circular enclosure, 
about forty yards in diameter. The fence was 
seven feet high, and along the top, about 
eighteen inches above it, we ran a stout wire 
which made the effective height of the fence 
eight feet six inches. From one side of the 
yard an ordinary post and wire fence extended 
in a direct line for more than a mile. Along 
the top wire of this fence we hung branches of 
trees and scrubs. A second and temporary wire 
fence ran out from the mouth of the yard, mak¬ 
ing, with the other fence, a V or funnel. This 
second fence, however, was only about 500 yards 
long. 
The modus opefandi was to drive the 
kangaroos up toward the yard, and bearing to¬ 
ward the long fence. Then we were to edge 
them down into the yard. It was a lovely 
autumn morning when we set out for the drive. 
The station bell had roused all hands at six, and 
soon after seven we were well on our way 
to the hunting ground, which was less than 
three miles distant. All hands were mounted, 
most of us on hacks that were fairly speedy. 
Nearly all the station hands had stock-whips. 
There were four visitors, and one of them un¬ 
wisely insisted upon having a stock-whip. I 
don't know whether your readers have seen an 
Australian stock-whip, or whether you have 
anything like it over there. It has a short 
handle, less than two feet long, but the lash, 
which is heavy, runs up to ten and twelve feet 
in length. In the hands of a stockman it is 
a deadly and artistic weapon, and its crack is 
like the report of a rifle. I have seen stock- 
men with one in each hand, and cracking both 
at the same time. Our visitor tried to use his 
whip—as he saw the stockmen doing—while on 
horseback. Instantly he lassoed his own horse, 
and that animal, resenting the familiarity, 
promptly threw him off. Rather angry, the 
visitor essayed to crack the whip while off the 
horse; but after flicking a neighbor’s hat off, he 
got the lash around his own neck. Then he 
gave it up. 
On our way out to the big paddock, where 
we were to commence the drive, we saw a good 
many kangaroos, mostly feeding quietly. They 
were fairly used to the sight of an old horse¬ 
man; but our brigade was too much for their 
nerves, and they scuttled away off into the 
timber. There were several “joeys” (young 
kangaroos), and it was amusing to see the 
little fellows hop into their mother’s pouch at 
the first sign of danger. We had a few dogs 
with us. but we did not let them go after these 
kangaroos, as we wished to reserve their 
energies for the day’s work. Hares and rabbits, 
too, were plentiful, and hopped off in front of 
us in all directions. It was eight o’clock when 
the manager of the station, who, of course, had 
charge of the drive, drew us up in line and 
gave us our orders. There were twenty-eight 
horsemen, and our instructions were to always 
keep both the man on our right and the man 
on our left in sight. By this means we would 
be pretty certain to properly sweep the pad- 
dock and keep the kangaroos in front of 11s. 
At last the line was set in motion. The stock- 
men started cracking their whips, making the 
drive resemble the advance of a detachment of 
mounted infantry. The effect upon the kanga¬ 
roos was magical. Soon, through the trees and 
the small patches of scrub we could see them 
hopping off, in great haste, away to the front. 
The paddock which we were driving was noted 
for its profusion of sweet, native grasses, and 
the kangaroos used to come to it from all 
quarters. I could see that there was a full 
muster of the animals this morning. As far as 
my vision could penetrate among the trees I 
could notice the familiar brown forms, with 
their little heads and sharp ears, bounding 
along to the front. We worked slowly but 
steadily on. Now and again there was a crack 
as a belated big kangaroo dived away from al¬ 
most beneath our horses’ feet. It was an hour 
befa re we sighted the first fence. I was on the 
left wing, where the long fence was, and as 
soon as I came up to it, I saw that the yarding 
was going to be a big one. The kangaroos 
were drifting aimlessly and hesitatingly down it 
toward the yard. They had been used to go¬ 
ing through the wires (the kangaroo never 
jumps a fence unless closely pursued), but the 
branche.s hung on the wires puzzled them. The 
kangaroo, by the way, has a very small brain 
and has no native cleverness whatever. When 
they found the fence hung with bushes, they 
never dreamed of pushing through, as they 
could easily have done. Instead, they hopped 
along the fence looking for an opening. 
It was my duty to skirt this fence, keep them 
moving and see that there were no openings 
left. Half way down I suddenly noticed kanga¬ 
roos on the other side of the fence. I galloped 
along, sending a number of kangaroos stamped¬ 
ing to the front and found that the wind, or 
some other cause, had shifted some of the 
branches, left an opening, through which the 
kangaroos were hopping. I quickly closed up 
the gap and back to my place. Gradually we 
came on, and as we made a complete line across 
between the fences, the excitment commenced. 
For many of the kangaroos, after going down 
the yard and finding no opening, were on their 
way back. The cracking of the stock-whips had 
scattered their wits, and often they made wild 
charges to get through. Our horses, of course, 
were well used to kangaroos and took no notice 
of these charges; but I was amused to see one 
of our visitors hastily pull his horse aside to 
let an “old man” kangaroo pass. The “old 
man” was nearly seven feet high, and of a siz¬ 
able bulk, and he looked nasty. But, unless you 
are on foot and have no stick, their charge is 
not dangerous. If, however, you try to grasp 
one, the result will be a terrible rip from one 
of the deadly hind claws. This day an “old 
man” caught one of our best dogs. The dog 
had driven him to bay against a big tree and 
had incautiously rushed in. Instantly the kan¬ 
garoo grabbed him, there was a flash of the 
kangaroo’s hind foot in the air and the dog, 
with a fearful gash in his side, was flung bleed¬ 
ing and dying several feet away. While inflict¬ 
ing this wound, the kangaroo stands on one foot 
and his tail. The tail is a very powerful affair, 
and is of great use for balancing. 
A few of the kangaroos broke through, but 
the whips and the dogs turned most of them 
back. When we had got to within a hundred 
yards of the yard the country was quite open 
and treeless. This made our work easier. The 
stock-whips made a tremendous fusilade; the 
dogs barked and we yelled. Soon the kanga¬ 
roos were pouring into the yard. In the rush 
and crush a few broke through the fence on 
either side, but by far the majority found their 
way through the yard gate. Then two of the 
stockmen rushed in and put up the gate. Others 
stationed themselves on the outside in Case any 
of the kangaroos got through or over. There 
were 300 in the yard, and only one was able 
to get out. Curiously enough this was a small 
doe, who jumped on to the top wire and fell 
over outside. A stockman ran to dispatch her, 
but she was up and off like the wind. Two dogs 
went after her, but they lost her in less than 
half a mile. 
Those in the yard had to be. killed, which was 
not a pleasant operation. Fortunately, however, 
the kangaroo is easily killed. A sharp tap on 
