roams the forest until he spies a wallaby, when, holding aloft his mock-bird, and giving a motion to the long flexible rod, such as to cause the mock-bird to appear to fly and stoop, he utters the cry of the hawk, and the wallaby at once takes refuge in the nearest bush. Cautiously stealing onwards, the native throws his spear and secures the game.
Even when the native succeeds in spearing the kangaroo he is not always sure of obtaining the carcass without difficulty. An old kangaroo of great size is fierce when brought to bay, and must be approached cautiously and at- tacked at a safe distance. If the hunter recklessly seized him, the brute would endeavour to strike him with his great claw, and might seriously injure or kill him. I have seen an "old man kangaroo" of great size attack a man on horse- back. He followed the horse, and nearly succeeded in tearing open his quarter. Twice he attempted to tear the horse, and had not the animal been guided by an experienced rider, the kangaroo would have seriously injured him. When hunted, the kangaroo invariably "makes tracks" for a water-hole; and, if hard pressed, will swim a river or enter the sea.
The native secures a prize when he spears a well-grown kangaroo (a forester). Some weigh as much as 150 lbs.
When a kangaroo is killed, the native is careful to preserve the sinews of the tail. He rolls the sinews around some stick or weapon or ball, so as to keep them stretched and in a fit state for future use.
The cooking of the kangaroo was in general a very simple affair. The hair was singed, the body scraped, and the entrails removed, and it was then roasted. The favorite method in the Paroo district, Mr. Sullivan informs me, is to cook the animal in a sort of oven. A hole is made in the ground, heated stones are put into it with the body of the kangaroo, and the whole is covered with hot ashes. In many parts the oven is more carefully constructed. The stones are heated in the hole, grass is placed over the stones, and the whole is covered with earth. If the steam is not sufficient to cook the flesh properly, holes are made and water is poured in. The skin is left on, in order to preserve the juices of the meat, and it is customary to remove the entrails after the body is well warmed. The entrails are cooked separately. Sometimes the body of a large kangaroo is cut up, and separate portions of it are broiled. The blood is collected in one of the intestines, and a sort of "black pudding" is made. The elders, of course, keep the delicacies for themselves, and amongst these the blood is very highly prized.
The several kinds of kangaroo caught and eaten by the natives of Victoria are as follow:—
Native Name—Lake Tyers. | ||
| Kangaroo | Jirrah | Macropus major; weight about 150 lbs. |
| Wallaby | Tharogang | Halmaturus ualabatus; weight about 50 lbs. |
| Rock wallaby | Wyat | Petrogale penicillata (of N. S. Wales only).[1] |
- ↑ The true rock wallaby (P. penicillata) is not known, Professor McCoy says, so far south as the Lakes in Gippsland. The species named by the Rev. Mr. Bulmer may be a second local name for H. ualabatus.
