Australian Search PartyEden, Charles H. (Charles Henry)
History
Australian Search Party
Eden, Charles H. (Charles Henry)
Australia -- Discovery and exploration
The whole island seemed to teem with game, and had we been able to
fire, we should speedily have made a good bag, but this we dared not
do, so I made a mental resolve to return at some future time and make
amends for this enforced restraint. At nearly every step, we put up
some bird or beast strange to European eyes.
I have no doubt it is known to most of my readers that Australia is
destitute of 'Ferae' proper, and that elephants, lions, tigers, etc.,
are unknown. They will also know that the kangaroos are marsupial
animals; that is to say, the females have a peculiar pouch for their
young, which are born in a far less advanced state than the young of
other animals. But perhaps it is not so generally known that, with two
or three exceptions, such as the dingo or native dog, the platypus, and
several species of bats, the 'whole' of the animals on the continent
are marsupial. The brains of this species are very small, and they
sadly lack intelligence, in which respect they exhibit a wonderful
affinity to the aboriginals who live by their capture.
[ILLUSTRATION--GROUP OF KANGAROOS.]
Of kangaroos there are more than thirty different kinds, but the
English are now so well acquainted with this curious animal that it
needs no description. There are two things about it, however, that I
may with propriety here point out--viz., the use of the pouch, and the
various ways in which the kangaroo is serviceable to the settler. The
average size of the ordinary female kangaroo is about six feet,
counting from the nose to the tip of the tail; and, marvellous though
it may appear, the young kangaroo, at its birth, is but little over an
inch in length, having a vague kind of shape, certainly, but otherwise
soft, semi-transparent, and completely helpless. Now the pouch comes
into use. The little creature is conveyed there by the mother's lips,
and immediately attaches itself to one of the nipples, which are
retractile, and capable of being drawn out to a considerable length.
Thus constantly attached to its parent, it waxes bigger daily. From
two to eight months of age it still continues an inhabitant of its
curious cradle, but now often protrudes its little head to take an
observation of the world at large, and to nibble the grass amongst
which its mother is feeding. Sometimes it has a little run by itself,
but seeks the maternal bosom at the slightest intimation of danger. It
quits the pouch for good when it can crop the herbage freely; but even
now it will often poke its head into its early home and get a little
refreshment on the sly, even though a new-comer may have succeeded to
its place.
AN AUSTRALIAN SEARCH PARTY--III.
BY CHARLES H. EDEN.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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