escriptions now began to appear, and shrubs of large
size; among others were several nettle-trees, twenty feet in height at
least. There was no mistaking their leaves. Once before, though I had
forgotten to mention it, I had had my hands severely blistered by merely
touching them. Their power of injury, indeed, is proportionate to their
size.

We kept along the side of the hill, on the probability of starting
another kangaroo; resolved to chase it either up or down the slope,
should we fail to kill it at the first shot. We accordingly kept our
guns ready to fire; looking, as we walked along, for more
pitcher-plants, in case we should fail to find water.

We had gone on for some distance, and I was again beginning to feel
excessively thirsty, when we saw before us a valley, by following which
we hoped that we might reach the foot of the mountain-range. We were
making our way into it, when, just before us, another kangaroo started
up from the sunny spot where it had been basking, and looked round at
us, doubtful, apparently, which direction to take. We thought that it
would go up the hill; but instead of doing so, it came bounding towards
us. I felt sure that I should hit it, when suddenly it took a leap over
a precipice on our right. I immediately fired, and so did Mudge, but
not before the animal had taken its spring. In consequence, over the
precipice it went, and rolled down the steep slope towards the bottom of
the valley. Uncertain at first whether either of us had really hit it,
I handed my gun to Mudge, and looked out for a place where I could make
my descent. Scrambling down, I was not long in reaching the kangaroo.
The poor creature was still living, and tried to raise itself, as if
about to fight in its defence; but my knife soon put it out of pain.

Wishing to carry our prize to the spot on which we had been standing
when we shot it, as the place was convenient for camping, I dragged it
to the foot of the precipice, and fastened round it a long vine which I
found growing close at hand; with this, having climbed to the top of the
rock, I without difficulty hauled it up--just as Mudge, who had gone
round to assist me, came back.

The animal we had so fortunately killed was about four feet long,
including the tail; which was, however, very nearly half that length.
Its fur was of a purplish hue, warming into a rich rusty red towards the
tail. It had strong, powerful claws on its hinder feet, almost