me in sight of the
pond. One of the largest males, commonly denominated here as an 'old
man,' was on a little mound of earth just even with the surface of the
water, while around him was a depth of about four feet. The dogs in
front of him were at a respectful distance, as they had a great dread of
and respect for his hind feet, which are a part of his fighting
equipment. The kangaroo's hind foot has three very strong toes, the
center one especially so. His method is to seize his assailant with his
fore paws, and rip him to death with his hinder ones, and sometimes he
drowns a dog by holding him under water. Many an incautious or verdant
dog has been killed in this way, and occasionally men have fallen
victims to the powerful hind feet of these animals.

"The 'old man' kangaroo was defending himself bravely, and he had his
assailants at an advantage. The water was too deep for them to wade in.
Some were swimming about in front of him, carefully keeping out of
reach, while others were assailing his back. All of the dogs kept up a
loud barking, and kept looking around for human help.

"The kangaroo was more than fifty feet from the shore of the pond or
pool, and when our party reached it, the animal was despatched by means
of a rifle in the hands of one of our party. The carcass was brought to
the shore and skinned, and a portion of the meat was fed to the dogs as
a reward for their exertions, and they ate it with avidity. In addition
to the 'old man,' we killed a young kangaroo, and the carcass, after
being disemboweled, was placed on the black fellow's horse and sent to
the station.

"We had kangaroo steaks for dinner, and very toothsome they were,
reminding us more of mutton than any other meat. These steaks came from
the young kangaroo I just mentioned. The flesh of the 'old man' is too
rank for human food, though it is sometimes eaten when no other food is
to be had. The flesh of the young kangaroo is put up at meat-canning
establishments for transportation to England, and they also export large
quantities of soup made from kangaroo tails. Some people think this soup
is preferable to ox tail, or even to turtle. I asked one of our friends
about it, and he said, with a smile, that it was better when you
couldn't get either of the others. It is certainly an excellent soup,
and it's a pity that so much of the raw material goes to waste.

"In returning from our hunt we crossed a portion of the ground where we
had chas