A KANGAROO BATTUE.

Press, Volume XII, Issue 1586, 6 December 1867, Page 3

A KANGAROO BATTUE.

. [From the " Geelong Advertiser."] Since the small remnant left of the aborigines have given up the chase, and hang about the townships and depend upon the whites for food, aod the shepherd kings have destroyed the dingo, kangaroos have an immunity from their natural enemies, and their lumbers have of late years increased to an extent on some of the stations in the "Western district so as to render it necessary that some means should be devised of reducing the number beyond that of the rifle or dogs. With this object in view a-system has been adopted similar to that pursued in South Africa to capture the wild animals of that country. Apiece of E r oußd is enclosed of some two or three

acres in extent. This is surrounded With, a double log feuce," and between the logs pieces of timber are placed perpendicularly, forming a stockade some twelve feet high. At the further end of this enclosure is a smaller one, constructed in a similar manner, of about a quarter of an acre in extent, and communicating with the larger enclosure by a swing gate, which easily opens and shuts. A man in command of the gate stands on an elevated platform, hidden by boughs, who admits the animals as they approach, but prevents their egress. An opening is left in the first enclosure of a few yards wide, from which wings extend for about a mile in exteut on each side, which diverge, affording a wide mouth, into which the kangaroos are driven and then urged forward to the stockade enclosure. The wings are formed of brushwood, sufficiently high to prevent the kangaroos from hopping over. Lastweek three of these battues took place to the westward, on the stations of Messrs Carmichael, De Little, and Twomey. On Wednesday the hunt was on the Caramut station. The day was beautifully fine, and the bush from the recent rains was in excellent condition /for riding over. Shortly after eight I some twenty-five horsemen started from the township, and were soon after joined by the men from the Gum's and M'Arthur's stations. The men then encompassed a large area of ground, and gradually headed the kangaroo towards the mouth of the enclosure. Eleven o'clock was the hour fixed for the general rendezvous, at the wicket-gate between the Caramut and Gum's stations ; the part} then mustered between sixty and seventy equestrians. The meet was graced by the presence of several ladies on horseback, with the junior members of their families on ponies. The battue was under the leadership of Mr Gaunt. The men then spread out, forming a semicircle, and gradually converged towards the mouth ol the wings, driving jtoe kangaroos before them. They had not proceeded very far within the wings before a large mob of kangaroos were seen heading to them. The kangaroos had evidently been round the large stockade, and finding no means of escape had doubled back, with the determination of forcing their way through the approaching phalanx of horsemen. This was a most animating scene. The kangaroos were dodging about in all directions between the horsemen, and all the shouting, waving of handkerchiefs, and cracking of stockwhips were unavailing to turn them back, and several hundreds thus escaped. A few were brought down by the timely cut of a stockwhip, and before they could recover their legs they were despatched by the loaded end of the whip. This was the most exciting and amusing part of the whole hunt. The grotesque movement of the kangaroos, and the horsemen galloping about to head a retreating column, made capital sport; an occasional spill of some one into the mud was provocative of laughter.. After the main body had escaped, the horsemen proceeded and drove in the few stragglers. Joeys —the young kangaroos which had been ejected from the mothers' pouches—were hopping about in all directions, and were seen taking refuge in the brush fence. The hunters having closed up, formed a compact mass at the opening of the stockade, while a few of them entered and drove the animals into the smaller enclosure, where they were despatched by being knocked on the head with waddies. A smaller hunt was made after lunch, and a few more driven in. The number killed amounted to upwards of 400. We were surprised we did not see a single tail cut off. Probably, there is no soup more delicious than that of kangaroo, when properly made, and it seemed lamentable that the tails and, hind quarters should be wasted, and not boiled down for the purpose, and put into tins for export or home consumption. We were astonished to see that the animals were not even skinned, when we have seen similar pelts realise 17s a-dozen in the Melbourne markets. The number of animals destroyed at the three battues was close upon 4000. Two kangaroos are computed to eat as much as three sheep, therefore the necessity iof their wholesale destruction.