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Show A KAXfiAKOO HUNT. HOW THE ANIMAL FICHTS THE DOCS IN THE WAT EH, in Kf!tlnr hau oral auitrallaa lluatrr, a Spill aal a Narrow IVape Saved If tae WaadrrTal Bravery of 0 f tka lloaadi. A writer for the New York Ledger thus describes his first kangaroo hunt: In my first kangaroo hunt I came very near 'losing the number of my mess." My friend had a pack of kangaroo-dogs kangaroo-dogs that were considered the best in that part of the country; they were bred and trained for that purpose just as fox-hounds are bred and trained in your part of the world. We wero mounted on two of tho best horses on the station, and had two blacks along also well mounted, their business being be-ing to take charge of the dogs and make themselves usoful. A black was sent out two or three hours ahead of us to locate a group of kangaroos and meet us at a designated point "We met him as agreed, and he indicated in-dicated where some kangaroos were feeding, a little distance beyond a clump of trees which he pointed out We went along very quietly, using the trees as a screen, and managed to got within a quarter of a mile of them before be-fore they saw us. Then they stood on their hind legs and took a good look at us, and then tliey jumped as though an electric battery had been turned on beneath them. "We started the dogs, and it was a sharp race between them and the kangaroos, kan-garoos, tho latter having such a good . ..l . . , JiiU ... I... .... start that tho dogs didn't seem to have much of a show. We had roused up a kangaroo family of seven in all, the younger being a "joey" that was soon overtaken by the dogs and killed. Tho head of tho family was an "old man," as wo call the full-grown males, and he was a fine follow, standing nearly six feet high. ' The 'old man' led off s though he had started to win the Melbourne cup, and his leaps scorned to be 30 or forty feet long, but of course, were not He went over the ordinary cattle cat-tle fences as though they were so many straws, and the rest of them did the same, all save another joey that camo to grief and was disposed of by the dogs as the first one had beon. The killing of the joeys delayed things so much that the dogs had not yet got up to the old man when he reached a water-hole nnd 1 realized the dangers of a kangaroo hunt "The old man was in tho water up to his neck, and tho dogs wero swimming swim-ming around or standing at the edge of the hole as we camo up. We came on at full speed, and my horse stopped so short at the edge of the water that I was pitched over his head right into the pool. The impetus carried me a good distance forward, and as the water-hole was a small ono I was within a few feet of the kangaroo, who was standing at bay, ready lo iifht to that lata. Ha amad for ma af once. "When a kangaroo is pursued nnl can get to water e has men and dog! at an advantage The experience! dogs know enough to keep out of hB reach, but the youi'g ones are apt t) venture too near, nd are suddenlf seized In the creature's forelegs, whiei serve him for arms. He holds thS does under water till he' drowns then, or ho may rip them open with his hinl leg, which has a powerful claw i) front; this claw can inflict a fat; wound at a single blow, and very oftei in a hunt one or more of the dogs ai apt to be killed by it. When he effl not get to water, tho kangaroo placti his back against the largest tree hi can find and defends himself with a bravery that is worthy of admiration It is dangerous for dogs or men t venture within his roach at this thro, and if his hunters are unprovidid with firenrms, the fight may last fir some timo and quite likely result p favor of the kangaroo. f "The kangaroo reached me with lis forepaws, but before ho could gra.p me ono of the dogs had him by tio throat and diverted his attontion loig enough to enable me to get out of tto way with tho aid of one of the blacle, who jumped into the pool almost s Boon as I was thrown there. Tie water was about four feet deep, ndl scrambled out very quickly. "Seeing that I was safe, my frionc's next concern was for his favorite dig, Jack, that was risking himself on ay account. Tho kangaroo folded lis arras around the dog and then pt-ceeded pt-ceeded to push him under the waur, but his proceedings were broughtto an eavd by a shot from my frienl's rifle, which he had unslung from lis shoulder. He mado a good shot; ho kangaroo fell, his hold on the ipg relaxed, and the black who had held save me from the animal's cluteies rushed in to bring tho faithful Jacinto the surface. Before ho could get thjre the dog was on tho top of tho wair, considerably bruised by the rogh embrace ho had received, and his lungs partly full of water, but he lad no bones broken, and was not woiad-ed woiad-ed In any way." |