gum-trees, and
brought down with a shot-gun.

Besides its human enemies, the 'possum has the 'goanna (of which more
later) to contend with. The 'goanna--a most loathsome-looking
lizard--can climb trees, and is very fond of raiding the 'possum's home
when the young are there. Between the men who want its coat and the
'goannas who want its young the 'possum is fast being exterminated.

Two other characteristic Australian animals you should know about. The
wombat is like a very large pig; it lives underground, burrowing vast
distances. The wombat is a great nuisance in districts where there are
irrigation canals; its burrows weaken the banks of the water-channels,
and cause collapses. The dugong is a sea mammal found on the north coast
of Australia. It is said to be responsible for the idea of the mermaid.
Rising out of the water, the dugong's figure has some resemblance to
that of a woman.

Then there is the bunyip--or, rather, there isn't the bunyip, so far as
we know as yet. The bunyip is the legendary animal of Australia. It is
supposed to be of great size--as big as a bullock--and of terrible
ferocity. The bunyip is represented as living in lakes and marshes, but
it has never been seen by any trustworthy observer. The blacks believe
profoundly in the bunyip, and white children, when very young, are
scared with bunyip tales. There may have been once an animal answering
to its description in Australia; if so, it does not seem to have
survived.

In Tasmania, however, are found, though very rarely, two savage and
carnivorous marsupials called the Tasmanian tiger and the Tasmanian
devil. The tiger is almost as large as the female Bengal tiger, and has
a few little stripes near its tail, from which fact it gets its name.
The Tasmanian tiger will create fearful havoc if it gets among sheep,
killing for the sheer lust of killing. At one time a price of L100 was
put on the head of the Tasmanian tiger. As settlement progressed it
became rarer and rarer, and I have not heard of one having been seen for
some years. The Tasmanian devil is a marsupial somewhat akin to the wild
cat, and of about the same size. It is very ferocious, and has been
known to attack man, springing on him from a tree branch. The Tasmanian
devil is likewise becoming very rare.

The existence of these two animals in Tasmania and not in Australia
shows that that island has been a very long time separated from the
mainland.

Australia is very well pro