or cattle
pasturage. The settlers presented their case to the colonial
governments, and the latter placed a bounty on kangaroo scalps.
Meantime, it was found that the skins were worth something, and then the
slaughter of the creatures began.

"Hunting with dogs in the way I have already described was altogether
too slow, and a quicker method was devised and found successful. This is
the way of it:--

"A clump of trees a few acres in extent is selected as a central point.
Among these trees a stout yard is built, with a fence not less than ten
feet high and strong enough to resist any attack the kangaroo can make.
From the entrance of this yard two diverging fences of a somewhat
lighter character are built out upon the plain, the point of the fences
where they terminate being not less than a mile apart. When all is
ready, a day is appointed for the hunt, and notice is sent to everybody
within thirty or forty miles. The hunt is in charge of one of the oldest
settlers, and everybody is bound to obey his orders.

"The day before the hunt or drive is to take place, the principal men to
engage in it meet at the house of the leader and receive their orders.
All the squatters and other settlers who can do so come to the hut, and
with them all their stockmen and black fellows who can be spared from
their daily work. Sometimes as many as a hundred people take part in the
drive, and they are spread out in such a way as to include a very large
area of ground.

"At the appointed hour, they begin to move in a long line in the
direction of the clump of bushes where the yard is located, or rather in
the direction of the jaws of the extended fences. Whatever kangaroos
there may be in the area of the country enclosed by the hunters are
driven in the direction of the yard, and the driving is done very
quietly, to avoid alarming the animals before the ends of the line of
men reach the ends of the diverging fence. When this takes place the
drive is pushed more rapidly, and the thoroughly frightened animals make
rapid leaps in the direction of the clump of timber, not suspecting that
in doing so they are going to their death. Before they are aware of it
they are inside the yard, and as the last of the drove enters, the gate
is closed and the animals are hopelessly imprisoned.

"Sometimes thousands of kangaroos are taken in a single drive, and the
bounty obtained from the government, added to the value of the hides, is
divided among tho