ver which we rode was
not the smoothest in the world, being broken in some places by rocks,
and encumbered by fallen timber in others. Here is where the jumping
powers of the kangaroo came in handily, as he could clear rocks and logs
with the utmost facility, and he had the ability to select a
comparatively smooth spot to come down upon. His jumping is done with
the muscles of his very powerful hind legs. He doesn't use his fore legs
at all in walking or jumping, employing them principally as hands and
arms, very much as the American squirrel uses his paws. He can give a
tremendous hug with his fore legs, and that is one of his methods of
fighting.

"This is a good place to say something about the natural history of the
kangaroo.

"Australia is, emphatically, the home of this animal, as he is found in
a wild state in no other part of the world. Nearly all of the Australian
animals are marsupials; that is, they have pouches in which their young
are carried until able to take care of themselves. Of the large kangaroo
there are eight species, and the largest of them are fully six feet in
height and weigh one hundred and fifty pounds or more. Geologists say
that at one time there were, in Australia, marsupial animals closely
resembling the kangaroo but equaling the rhinoceros in size. They must
have been formidable fellows to attack!

"The largest of all the kangaroos is the red one, and he is the one that
we hunted. Of the small kangaroos, weighing, say from ten to fifteen
pounds, there are seventeen species. Away in the interior of Australia
there are some silky-haired kangaroos about the size of an ordinary
rabbit, and there are several varieties still smaller, until you get
down to those about as large as an ordinary squirrel. All of them are
easily domesticated if taken when young, and they are very gentle pets.
They tell me that they had two at this station last year, and the dogs,
whose business it was to hunt the kangaroo, clearly understood that
they must leave these pet ones alone. Not only did they not harm the
animals, but got on very good terms with them, so that it was no
uncommon sight to see the kangaroos and the dogs lying down together in
a very well-mannered group. But one day, while the pets were in the
front of the house, a pack of strange dogs happened along and killed
them.

"We didn't overtake the kangaroos until they reached the water; in fact,
we heard the loud barking of the dogs before we ca