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.
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