The little creature is
conveyed there by the mother's lips, and immediately attaches itself to one
of the nipples, which are retractile, and capable of being drawn out to a
considerable length.
Thus constantly attached to its parent, it waxes
bigger daily. From two to eight months of age it still continues an
inhabitant of its curious cradle, but now often protrudes its little head
to take an observation of the world at large, and to nibble the grass
amongst which its mother is feeding. Sometimes it has a little run by
itself, but seeks the maternal bosom at the slightest intimation of danger.
It quits the pouch for good when it can crop the herbage freely; but even
now it will often poke its head into its early home and get a little
refreshment on the sly, even though a new-comer may have succeeded to its
place.
AN AUSTRALIAN SEARCH PARTY - III.
BY CHARLES H. EDEN.
A FULL-GROWN "paddy melon," a small and beautiful species of kangaroo,
bearing the same resemblance to the "boomer" that a Cingalese mouse-deer
does to an elk, was once given to me as a pet, and we became great friends.
Whenever I went into the room and opened my shirt or coat, the little
fellow would bound in and coil himself snugly away for hours, if permitted;
thus showing, I think that he still retained a recollection of the snug
abode of his childhood. Like most pets, he came to an untimely end - in
fact, met with the fate that ultimately befalls all the members of his
tribe who are domesticated and allowed to run about the bush huts in
Australia. The fireplaces are large recesses in the wall, and on the same
level as the floor. Wood only is burnt, and large heaps of glowing ashes
accumulate, for the fire never really goes out, by night or day. As long
as it is blazing, the pet kangaroo will keep his distance, but when it has
sunk down to living coals, his foolish curiosity is sure to impel him,
sooner or later, to jump right into the thick of it; and then - and here
his want of brains is painfully shown - instead of jumping out again at
once, he commences fighting and spurring the burning embers with his hind
feet, and, as a natural sequence, is either found half roasted, or so
injured that his death is inevitable
The uses to which the settler puts this animal are many. He has to take
the place of the stag when any hunting is going on (as the dingo has to act
for the fox); and most remarkably good sport an "old man" or "boomer" - as
the full-grown males are called - will afford; and most kangaroo dogs bear
witness, by cruel scars, how keen a gash he can inflict with his sharp hind
claw when brought to bay. From ten to twelve miles is by no means an
unusual run, and when thoroughly exhausted he makes a stand, either with
his back against a tree, or in the water. In both of these positions he is
no despicable adversary, and will do much damage to a pack of hounds, by
grasping them in his short fore arms and ripping them open, if on land; or
by seizing and holding them under, if in the water. Instances are on
record of a despairing kangaroo dashing through the dogs on the approach of
a dismounted hunter, and severely wounding him. The common practice when
the animal is brought to bay is to ride up and pistol him. But, however he
may be killed, his useful qualities have by no means departed with his
breath. His skin, properly cured, will make good door-mats, boots,
saddle-cloths, stock-whips, gaiters, and numberless other useful articles.
His long and heavy tail is much valued for the soup it yields; and the hams
can be cured, and, thus preserved, find many admirers. The hind-quarters
of a large "boomer" will run little short of seventy pounds; and, with the
tail, form the only parts commonly eaten by Europeans.
The birds that we encountered were of every form and size; pigeons, some
coloured like parrots, others diminutive as sparrows, and of the same
sombre hue: pheasants, quail, every kind of feathered fowl that could
gladden the heart of the sportsman, were found in abundance, and amongst
these the scrub turkey and its nest. This latter bird is so little known,
that I am tempted to give a short account of it.
The Australian scrub turkey ('Tallegalla Lathami') is common in all the
thick jungles in the north of Queensland, and, though smaller than the
domestic bird, is sufficiently like it to be easily recognised, having the
same wattle, and neck denuded of feathers. The most remarkable feature
about this turkey is its nest, which is composed of sand, leaves, and
sticks, piled up into a great mound three feet or so in height, and ten or
more in diameter. This enormous mass is not the unaided work of one pair,
but of a whole colony, and the material is got together by the bird
grasping a quantity in its foot, and throwing it behind him; the ground in
the immediate vicinity of the mound is thus entirely stripped of every
blade of grass,or fallen leaf. In process of time, the heap partially
decomposes, and when the female judges that enough heat has been engendered
to serve her purpose, she proceeds to lay her eggs. These are enormous
when compared with the size of the bird, and are not simply deposited and
covered over, but buried at a depth of eighteen or twenty inches, each egg
nearly a foot from its neighbour, and standing on end, with the larger half
uppermost. Thus they remain until hatched, though how the bird manages to
plant them with such dexterity has, I believe, never been ascertained; no
one yet having been sufficiently lucky to witness the proceeding.
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