1888. Mrs. M'Cann, `Poetical Works,' p. 235:
"Scarce has July with frigid visage flown."
1845. C. Griffith, `Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales,' p. 162:
"The following is a specimen of such eloquence: `You pilmillally jumbuck plenty sulky me, plenty boom, borack gammon,' which being interpreted means, `If you shoot my sheep I shall be very angry, and will shoot you and no mistake.'"
1855. W. Ridley, `Transactions of Philological Society,' p. 77:
"When they adopt English words ending in mutes, the blacks drop the mute or add a vowel: thus, jimbugg, a slang name for sheep, they sound jimbu." [It was not English slang but an aboriginal word.]
1893. `The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 1:
"Mister Charlie, jumbuck go along of grass, blood all there, big dog catch him there, big jumbuck, m'me word, neck torn."
1896. `The Australasian,' June 6, p. 1085, col. 1:
"Jumbuck (a sheep) has been in use from the earliest days, but its origin is not known."
1861. T. McCombie, `Australian Sketches,' p. 31:
". . . on condition that he occupies it within twenty-four hours: should this rule not be observed, the right of the original holder is lost, and it may be occupied (or `jumped' as it is termed) by any other person as a deserted claim."
1861. `Victorian Hansard,' vol. vii. p. 942 (May 21):
"Mr. Wood: Some of the evils spoken of seemed indeed only to exist in the imagination of the hon. and learned gentleman, as, for instance, that of `jumping,' for which a remedy was already given by the 77th section of the present Act.
"Mr. Ireland: Yes; after the claim is `jumped.'"
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `The Miner's Right,' p. 37:
"If such work were not commenced within three days, any other miners might summarily take possession of or jump the claim."
ibid. p. 52:
"Let us have the melancholy satisfaction of seeing Gus's pegs, and noting whether they are all en regle. If not, we'll `jump' him."
Ibid. p. 76:
"In default of such advertisement, for the general benefit, they were liable, according to custom and practice, to have their claim `jumped,' or taken forcible possession of by any party of miners who could prove that they were concealing the golden reality."
1875. `Melbourne Spectator,' August 21, p. 189, col. 3:
"Jumping selections . . . is said to be very common now in the Winmera district."
1884. Rolf Boldrewood, Melbourne Memories,' c. xvi. p. 114:
"The heifer station was what would be called in mining parlance `an abandoned claim' and possibly `jumpable.'"
Jumper, n. one who jumps a claim. See Jump.
1890. Rolf Boldrewood, `Miner's Right,' c. xii. p. 127:
"Come along, my noble jumper, you've served your injunction."
1886. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 132:
"Twenty white-haired Junes have left usGrey with frost and bleak with gale."
1890. Carl Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 97:
"But what especially gives life and character to these woods are the jungle-hens (mound-builders) . . . The bird is of a brownish hue, with yellow legs and immensely large feet; hence its name Megapodius."
1855. Rev. R. Taylor. `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 439:
"White-pine, Podocarpus dacrydioides—Kahikatea, kahika, korol. This tree is generally called the white-pine, from the colour of its wood. The kahikatea may be considered as nearly the loftiest tree in the New Zealand forest; it often attains a height of little less than two hundred feet, and in that respect rivals the noble kauri, but the general appearance is not very pleasing."
1875. T. Laslett, `Timber and Trees,' p. 304:
"The kahikatea or kakaterra-tree (Dacrydium excelsum or taxifolium). This majestic and noble-looking tree belongs to the natural order of Taxaceae, more commonly known by the name of Joint Firs. Height 150 to 180 feet, rising sixty feet and upward without a branch."
1876: W. Blair, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,' vol. ix. art. 10, p. 160:
"This timber is known in all the provinces, except Otago, by the native name of `kahikatea'. I think we should adopt it also, not only on account of being more euphonious, but for the reason that so many timbers in other parts of the world are called white-pine."
1873. `Appendix to Journal of House of Representatives,' vol. iii. G. 7, p. 11:
"On the purchased land stands, or lately stood, a small kahikatea bush. . . . The wood appears to have been of no great money value, but the natives living in Tareha's pa depended upon it for their supply of fire-wood."
1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 124:
[It is Sir James Hector who assigns the tree to Coniferae, not Taxaceae.]
1888. Cassell's' Picturesque Australasia,' vol. iii. p. 210:
"The White Pine or kahikatea is a very beautiful tree, and droops its dark feathery foliage in a way which recalls the graceful branches of the English elm-tree."
1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 126:
"Kahikatoa, tea-tree of Cook. Leptospermum scoparium, Forst., N.O. Myrtaceae."
1883. J. Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand, p. 130:
"Kahikomako, a small, very graceful tree, with white sweet-smelling flowers; height twenty to thirty feet. Wood used by the Maoris for kindling fires by friction."
1807. J. Savage, `Some Account of New Zealand,' Vocab. p. 75:
"Kiki . . . food." [The i has the English not theItalian sound.]
1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 157:
"Kai, s. victuals, support, etc.; a. eatable."
1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 29:
"He explained to us that every one would cry very much, and then there would be very much kai-kai or feasting."
1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 95:
"Kai, the general word for food, is not used at Rotorua, because it was the name of a great chief, and the word tami has been substituted for it."
1895. Louis Becke and J. D. Fitzgerald, `The Maori in Politics,' `Review of Reviews,' June 20, p. 621:
"We saw some thirty men and women coming towards us, singing in chorus and keeping step to the music. In their hands they carried small baskets woven of raupo reeds, containing kai, or food. This was the `kai' dance."
1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 157:
"Kainga. A place of residence, a home," etc.
1873. Lt.-Colonel St. John, `Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands,' p. 164 [Heading of Chapter x.]:
"How we live in our kainga."
1896. `Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, p. 50, col. 5:
"A cosy-looking kainga located on the bank of a picturesque bend of the river."
Ibid. p. 52, col. 1:
"We steamed on slowly towards Tawhitinui, a small kainga or kaik, as it is called in the South island."
1884. `Maoriland,' p. 84:
"The drive may be continued from Portobello to the Maori kaik."
1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 157:
"Requiring from three to four months' close sitting to complete one of their kaitakas—the finest sort of mat which they make. This garment has a very silky appearance."
1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 244:
"Pukaro ended by flinging over my shoulders a very handsome kaitaka mat, which he had been wearing while he spoke."
1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p. 205:
"Highly prized and beautiful kaitaka mats."
1883. /J./ Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p. 129
"Kaiwhiria, a small evergreen tree, twenty to thirty feet high; the wood is finely marked and suitable for veneering."
1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 54:
"Kaka—a bird of the parrot kind; much larger than any otherNew Zealand parrot."
1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 259:
"The kaka, a large russet parrot, of excellent flavour, and very abundant in many places."
1851. Mrs. Wilson, `New Zealand,' p. 40:
"The bright red feathers from under the wing of the kaka or large parrot."
1854. W. Golder, `Pigeons' Parliament,' [Notes] p. 79:
"The kaka is a kind of parrot of a reddish grey colour, and is easily tamed when taken young."
1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 93:
"The hoarse croak of the ka-ka, as it alighted almost at our feet, and prepared, quite careless of our vicinity, to tear up the loose soil at the root of a tall tree, in search of grubs."
1869. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' (Supplement):
"Nestor hypopolius, ka-ka parrot."
1884. T. Bracken, `Lays of Maori,' p. 38:
"I heard mocking kakas wail and cry above thy corse."
1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 150:
"Nestor meridionalis, kaka parrot."
Ibid. p. 158:
"Sprightly in its actions, eminently social, and more noisy than any other inhabitant of the woods, the kaka holds a prominent place among our native birds."
1842. W. R. Wade, `Journey in New Zealand,' [Hobart Town]. p. 196:
"Kowai ngutukaka [parrot-bill kowai]; the most elegant flowering shrub of the country."
1892. `Otago Witness,' Nov. 24, `Native Trees':
"A plantation of a shrub which is in great demand in England and on the Continent, and is greatly neglected here—the Clianthus puniceus, or scarlet glory pea of New Zealand, locally known as kaka beak."
1869. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia' (Supplement):
"Strigops habroptilus, G. R. Gray, Kakapo, native name."
1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 149:
"Stringops, owl-parrot—ground-parrot of the colonists."
1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 117:
"Although possessing large wings, it is flightless, its breast-muscles being so small as to be practically useless. Its habits are nocturnal, and it has a ring of feathers arranged round the eye, giving it a curious resemblance to an owl, whence the name owl-parrot is often applied to it."
1893. A. R. Wallace, `Australasia,' vol. i. p. 445:
"Another remarkable bird is the owl parrot (Stringops habroptilus) of a greenish colour, and with a circle of feathers round the eye as in the owl. It is nocturnal in its habits, lives in holes in the ground under tree-roots or rocks."
1896. `Otago Witness,' June 11, p. 53:
"The Kakapo is one of our most unique birds."
1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 404:
"The Kakariki . . . (platycercus novae zeal.) is a pretty light green parrot with a band of red or yellow over the upper beak and under the throat. This elegant little bird is about the size of a small thrush."
1894. `Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,' vol. xxvii. p. 95 [Note]:
"The name Kakarika (indicative of colour) is applied alike to the green lizard and to the green Parrakeet of our woods."
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 89:
"If he [the Australian black] has to climb a high tree, he first goes into the scrub to fetch a piece of the Australian calamus (Calamus australis), which he partly bites, partly breaks off; he first bites on one side and breaks it down, then on the other side and breaks it upwards—one, two, three, and this tough whip is severed. At one end of it he makes a knot, the other he leaves it as it is. This implement, which is usually from sixteen to eighteen feet long, is called a kamin."
1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (C.M.S.), p. 158:
"Kanae, s. The mullet fish."
1888. Order in Council, New Zealand, Jan. 10, `Regulations under the Fisheries Conservation Act':
"The months of December, January, and February in each year are here prescribed a close season for the fish of the species of the mugil known as mullet or kanae."
Fornander's Polynesian Race' (1885), vol. iii. p. 154:
"Kanaka, s. Hawaiian, man, human, mankind, a common man in distinction from chiefs. Samoan, New Zealand [sc. Maori], Tongan, tangata, man. Tahitian, taata, man."
In the original word the accent is on the first syllable, which accent Mr. Rudyard Kipling preserves (see quotation, 1893), though he has changed the word in his reprint of the poem in `The Seven Seas'; but the usual pronunciation in Australia is to accent the second syllable.
1794. J. J. Jarves, `History of Hawaiian Islands,' printed at Honolulu (1872), p. 82:
"[On 21st Feb. 1794.] A salute was then fired, and the natives shouted, `Kanaka no Beritane'—we are men of Britain."
1852. A. Miller, `Narrative of United States Exploring Expedition,' c. ii. p. 142:
"On Monday (Nov. 16, 1840) our gentlemen formed themselves into two parties, and started on horseback for their journey. One party consisted of Messrs. Reade, Rich, and Wall, with eight kanakas and two guides."
1873. A. Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. viii. p. 133:
"Queensland at present is supplying itself with labour from the South Sea Islands, and the men employed are called Polynesians, or canakers, or islanders."
1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia, p. 162:
"The word `kanaka' is really a Maori word, signifying a man, but in Australia it has come to be applied exclusively to the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands."
1885. R. M. Praed, `Head Station,' p. 9:
"The kanaka reverences women and adores children. He is loyal in heart, affectionate of disposition, and domestic in his habits."
1888. H. S. Cooper, `The Islands of the Pacific,' p. 5:
"The kanakas, who at present populate Hawaii, are, as a rule, well made and intelligent. That there is a cross of the Malay and Indian blood in them few can doubt."
1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 64:
"Natives of the South Sea Islands, who in Australia are called kanakas—a capable and intelligent race, especially to this kind of work [on plantations], for they are strong, and endure the tropical heat far better than the whites."
1892. Gilbert Parker, `Round the Compass in Australia,' p. 298:
"Thus, it is maintained by the planters, the kanaka, necessary as he is to the conditions of North Queensland, opens up avenues of skilled labour for the European, and makes population and commerce possible where otherwise there would be complete stagnation."
2892. `The Times,' Dec. 28:
"The principal open-air labour of the sugar plantations is furnished by kanakas, who are the native inhabitants of certain groups of South Sea Islands not at present under the protection of any European flag."
1893. R. L. Stevenson, `Island Night's Entertainments,' p. 41:
"What we want is a man-of-war—a German, if we could—they know how to manage kanakas."
1893. Rudyard Kipling, `Banjo Song':
"We've shouted on seven-ounce nuggets,We've starved on a kanaka's pay."
1893. C. H. Pearson, `National Life and Character,' p.32:
"In Australasia . . . the Maori, the Kanaka, and the Papuan are dying out. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that certain weak races—even when, like the kanaka, they possess some very high qualities—seem to wither away at mere contact with the European. . . . The kanakas (among whom we may include the Maories)."
(a) The Origin of the Name. The name was first obtained in 1770, while H.M.S. Endeavour lay beached at the Endeavour River, where Cooktown, Queensland, now is. The name first appears in print in 1773, in the book brought out by the relatives of Mr. Parkinson, who was draughtsman to Banks the naturalist, and who had died on the voyage. The object of this book was to anticipate the official account of Cook's Voyage by Hawkesworth, which appeared later in the same year. It is now known that Hawkesworth's book was like a rope twisted of four strands, viz. Cook's journal, the diaries of the two naturalists, Banks and Solander, and quartum quid, the Johnsonian pomposity of Dr. Hawkesworth. Cook's journal was published in 1893, edited by Captain Wharton, hydrographer to the Admiralty; Banks's journal, in 1896, edited by Sir J. D. Hooker. Solander's journal has never been printed.
When Englishmen next came to Australia in 1788, it was found that the word Kangaroo was not known to the natives round Port Jackson, distant 1500 miles to the South of Cooktown. In fact, it was thought by them to be an English word. (See quotation, Tench, 1789.) It is a question whether the word has belonged to any aboriginal vocabulary since. "Capt. Philip P. King, the explorer, who visited that locality [sc. Endeavour River] forty-nine years after Cook, relates in his `Narrative of the Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia,' that he found the word kangaroo unknown to the tribe he met there, though in other particulars the vocabulary he compiled agrees very well with Captain Cook's." (Curr's `Australian Race,' vol. i. p. 27.) In the fourth volume of Curr's book a conspectus is given of the words used in different parts of Australia for various objects. In the list of names for this animal there are a few that are not far from Kangaroo, but some inquirers suspect the accuracy of the list, or fancy that the natives obtained the words sounding like Kangaroo from English. It may be assumed that the word is not now in use as an aboriginal word. Has it, then, disappeared? or was it an original mistake on the part of Banks or Cook ?
The theory of a mistake has obtained widely. It has figured in print, and finds a place in at least one dictionary. Several correspondents have written that the word Kangaroo meant "I don't understand," and that Banks mistook this for a name. This is quite possible, but at least some proof is needed, as for instance the actual words in the aboriginal language that could be twisted into this meaning. To find these words, and to hear their true sound, would test how near the explanation hits the mark. Banks was a very careful observer, and he specially notes the precautions he took to avoid any mistake in accepting native words. Moreover, according to Surgeon Anderson, the aborigines of Van Diemen's Land described the animal by the name of Kangaroo. (See quotation, 1787.)
On the other hand, it must be remembered that it is an ascertained fact that the aborigines taboo a word on the death of any one bearing that word as a proper name. (See quotation under Nobbler, 1880.) If, therefore, after Cook's visit, some man called Kangaroo died, the whole tribe would expunge Kangaroo from its vocabulary. There is, however, some evidence that the word was much later in use in Western Australia. (See quotation, 1835.)
It is now asserted that the word is in use again at the very part of Queensland where the Endeavour was beached. Lumholtz, in his `Amongst Cannibals' (p. 311), gives it in his aboriginal vocabulary. Mr. De Vis, of the Brisbane Museum, in his paper before the Geographical Society at Brisbane (1894), says that "in point of fact the word `kangaroo' is the normal equivalent for kangaroo at the Endeavour River; and not only so, it is almost the type-form of a group of variations in use over a large part of Australia." It is curiously hard to procure satisfactory evidence as to the fact. Mr. De Vis says that his first statement was "made on the authority of a private correspondent; "but another correspondent writes from Cooktown, that the blacks there have taken Kangaroo from English. Inquiries inserted in each of the Cooktown newspapers have produced no result. Mr. De Vis' second argument as to the type-form seems much stronger. A spoken language, unwritten, unprinted, must inevitably change, and change rapidly. A word current in 1770 would change rather than disappear, and the root consonants would remain. The letters ng together, followed by r, occur in the proportion of one in thirteen, of the names for the animal tabulated by Curr.
It is a difficult matter on which to speak decidedly, but probably no great mistake was made, and the word received was a genuine name of the animal.
See further the quotations, 1896.
(b) The Plural of the Word.
There seems to be considerable doubt as to the plural of the word, whether it should take s like most English words, or remain unchanged like sheep, deer. In two consecutive pages of one book the two plurals are used. The general use is the plural in s. See 1793 Hunter, 1845 Balfour, and 1880 Senior; sportsmen frequently use the form Kangaroo.
[Since 1888 a kangaroo has been the design on the one-shilling postage stamp of New South Wales.]
1815. `History of New South Wales,' (1818) PP. 460-461:
"Throughout the general course of the journey, kangaroos, emus, ducks, etc. were seen in numbers." "Mr. Evans saw the kangaroo in immense flocks."
1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 49:
"The kangaroos are too subtle and shy for us to get near."
1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 125:
"In the afternoon we saw some kangaroos and wallaby, but did not succeed in killing any."
1884. Rolf Boldrewood, `Melbourne Memories,' c. iii. p. 23:
"Though kangaroo were plentiful, they were not overwhelming to number."
(c) Kangaroo in French.
1777. Buffon, `Supplement a l'Histoire Naturelle,' tom. iv. `Table des Matieres':
"Kanguros, espece de grosse Gerboise qui se trouve dans les terres australes de la Nouvelle Hollande."
1800. J. J. Labillardiere, `Voyage a la recherche de La Perouse,' tom. i. p. 134: [Under date April 24, 1792.]
"Un de nos chasseurs trouva un jeune kangourou sur les bords de la mer."
1880. H. de Charency, `Recherches sur les Dialectes Tasmaniens,' p. 21:
"Kangourou. Ce mot semble d'origine non Australienne, comme on l'a soutenu, mais bien Tasmanienne."
1882. Littre, `Dictionnaire de la Langue Francaise' (s.v.):
"Kanguroo ou kangarou. On ecrit aussi kangarou et kangourou."
1882. A. Daudet, `Jack,' p. 131:
Il regardait les kangaroos dresses sur leurs pattes, si longues qu'elles ont l'agilite et l'elan d'une paire d'ailes."
1890. Oscar Comettant [Title]:
"Au Pays des Kangourous."
(d) Kangaroo in German—Kaenguruh:
1892. R. V. Lendenfeld, `Australische Reise,' p. 46:
"Die Kaenguruh hoben in dem Augenblick, als sie das Geheul hoerten, die Koepfe hoch and witterten, blickten and loosten in alle Richtungen."
Notice that both in French and German the u sound of the middle syllable is preserved and not changed as in English to a.
(e) The species.
The name Kangaroo is applied to the following larger species of the genus Macropus, the remaining species being called Wallabies—
Antilopine Kangaroo—Macropus antilopinus, Gould.
Great Grey K., or Forester—M. giganteus, Zimm.
Great Red K.—M. rufus, Desm.
Isabelline K.—M. isabellinus, Gould.
Owen's K.—M. magnus, Owen.
Wallaroo, or Euro—M. robustus, Gould.
The name Kangaroo is also applied to certain other species of Marsupials belonging to the genus Macropus, but with a qualifying adjective, such as Dorca-, Tree-, Rat-, Musk-, etc.; and it is applied to species of the genera Dorcopsis, Dendrolagus, Bettongia, and Hypsiprymnodon. The Brush-Kangaroo (q.v.) is another name for the Wallaby (q.v.), and the Rat-Kangaroo is the stricter scientific appellation of Kangaroo-Rat (q.v.). The Banded-Kangaroo is a Banded-Wallaby (see Lagostrophus). See also Dorca-Kangaroo, Tree-Kangaroo, Musk-Kangaroo, Dorcopsis, Dendrolagus, Bettongia, Hypsiprymnodon, Rock-Wallaby, Paddy-melon, Forester, Old Man,, Joey, and Boomah.
(f) The Use of the Word.
1770. `Capt. Cook's Journal' (edition Wharton, 1893), p. 244:
May 1st. An animal which must feed upon grass, and which, we judge, could not be less than a deer."
[p. 280]: "June 23rd. One of the men saw an animal something less than a greyhound; it was of a mouse colour, very slender made, and swift of foot."
[p. 294]: August 4th. "The animals which I have before mentioned, called by the Natives Kangooroo or Kanguru." [At Endeavour River, Queensland.]
1770. Joseph Banks, `Journal' (edition Hooker, 1896), p. 287:
"July 14.—Our second Lieutenant had the good fortune to kill the animal that had so long been the subject of our speculations. To compare it to any European animal would be impossible, as it has not the least resemblance to any one that I have seen. Its forelegs are extremely short, and of no use to 1t in walking; its hind again as disproportionally long; with these it hops seven or eight feet at a time, in the same manner as the jerboa, to which animal indeed it bears much resemblance, except in size, this being in weight 38 lbs., and the jerboa no larger than a common rat."
Ibid. p. 301:
"August 26.—Quadrupeds we saw but few, and were able to catch but few of those we did see. The largest was called by the natives kangooroo; it is different from any European, and, indeed, any animal I have heard or read of, except the jerboa of Egypt, which is not larger than a rat, while this is as large as a middling lamb. The largest we shot weighed 84 lbs. It may, however, be easily known from all other animals by the singular property of running, or rather hopping, upon only its hinder legs, carrying its fore-feet close to its breast. In this manner it hops so fast that in the rocky bad ground where it is commonly found, it easily beat my greyhound, who though he was fairly started at several, killed only one, and that quite a young one."
1773. Sydney Parkinson, `Journal of a Voyage,' p. 149:
"Kangooroo, the leaping quadruped."[A description given at p. 145.]
1773. J. Hawkesworth, `Voyages,' vol. iii. p. 577:
"July 14, 1770. Mr. Gore, who went out this day with his gun, had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had been so much the subject of our speculation. An idea of it will best be conceived by the cut, plate xx., without which the most accurate verbal description would answer very little purpose, as it has not similitude enough to any animal already known to admit of illustration by reference. In form it is most like the gerbua, which it also resembles in its motion, as has been observed already, for it greatly differs in size, the gerbua not being larger than a common rat, and this animal, when full grown, being as big as a sheep: this individual was a young one, much under its full growth, weighing only thirty-eight pounds. The head, neck, and shoulders are very small in proportion to the other parts of the body; the tail is nearly as long as the body, thick near the rump, and tapering towards the end: the fore-legs of this individual were only eight inches long, and the hind-legs two-and-twenty: its progress is by successive leaps or hops, of a great length, in an erect posture; the fore-legs are kept bent close to the breast, and seemed to be of use only for digging: the skin is covered with a short fur, of a dark mouse or grey colour, excepting the head and ears, which bear a slight resemblance to those of a hare. In form it is most like the gerbua. This animal is called by the natives `kangaroo.'" [This account, it will be seen, is based on the notes of Banks.]
1774. Oliver Goldsmith, `Animated Nature,' Book VII. c. xvi., The Gerbua,' [in four-vol. ed., vol. iii. p. 30]:
"But of all animals of this kind, that which was first discovered and described by Mr. Banks is the most extraordinary. He calls it the kanguroo; and though from its general outline and the most striking peculiarities of its figure it greatly resembles the gerbua, yet it entirely differs, if we consider its size, or those minute distinctions which direct the makers of systems in assorting the general ranks of nature. The largest of the gerbua kind which are to be found in the ancient continent do not exceed the size of a rabbit. The kanguroo of New Holland, where it is only to be found, is often known to weigh above sixty pounds, and must consequently be as large as a sheep. Although the skin of that which was stuffed and brought home by Mr. Banks was not much above the size of a hare, yet it was greatly superior to any of the gerbua kind that have been hitherto known, and very different in many particulars. The snout of the gerbua, as has been said, is short and round, that of the discovered animal long and slender; the teeth also entirely differ, for as the gerbua has but two cutting teeth in each jaw, making four in all, this animal, besides its cutting teeth, has four canial teeth also; but what makes a more striking peculiarity, is the formation of its lower jaw, which, as the ingenious discoverer supposes, is divided into two parts which open and shut like a pair of scissors, and cut grass, probably this animal's principal food. The head, neck, and shoulders are very small in proportion to the other parts of the body; the tail is nearly as long as the body; thick near the rump and tapering towards the head and ears, which bear a slight resemblance to those of the hare. We are not told, however, from the formation of its stomach to what class of quadrupeds it belongs: from its eating grass, which it has been seen to do, one would be apt to rank it among the ruminating animals; but from the canial teeth which it is found to have, we may on the other hand suppose it to bear some relation to the carnivorous. Upon the whole, however, it can be classed with none more properly than with the animals of the gerbua kind, as its hind-legs are so much longer than the fore; it moves also precisely in the same manner, taking great bounds of ten or twelve feet at a time, and thus sometimes escaping the fleetest greyhound, with which Mr. Banks pursued it. One of them that was killed proved to be good food; but a second, which weighed eighty-four pounds, and was not yet come to its full growth, was found to be much inferior."
1787, Surgeon Anderson, quoted by W. Eden, in `History of New Holland' (second edition), p. 71:
"However, we must have a far more intimate acquaintance with the languages spoken here [Van Diemen's Land] and in the more northern parts of New Holland, before we can pronounce that they are totally different; nay, we have good grounds for the opposite opinion; for we found that the animal called kangaroo at Endeavour River was known under the same name here."
1781. T. Pennant, `History of Quadrupeds,' vol. i. p. 306:
No. 184. [A Scientific Description of the Kangaroo.]
1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage':
[p. 106]: "The kangaroo."
[p. 168]: "Skeleton of the head of the kangaroo."
[At each of these places there is a description and a picture. Under each picture the name is spelt "Kangooroo." At p. 289 there is a further note on the kanguroo. In the text at p. 149 the spelling " Kangooroo " is adopted.]
Ibid. p. 104:
"The kanguroo, though it resembles the jerboa in the peculiarity of using only the hinder legs in progression, does not belong to that genus."
Ibid, p. 168:
"Since stating the dimensions of the kanguroo, in page 106, Lord Sydney has received from Governor Phillip a male of a much larger size. . . . Lieutenant Shortland describes them as feeding in herds of about thirty or forty, and assures us that one is always observed to be apparently upon the watch at a distance from the rest."
1789. Watkin Tench, `Account of the Settlement of Port Jackson,' p. 171:
"Kangaroo was a name unknown to them [the aborigines of PortJackson] for any animal, until we introduced it. When I showedColbee [an aboriginal] the cows brought out in the Gorgon heasked me if they were kangaroos."
1793. Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 66:
"The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour, called the kangaroo (but by the natives patagorang), we found in great numbers."
Ibid. p. 568:
"I had a kanguroo on board, which I had directions to carry toLord Grenville, as a present for his Majesty.—Nov. 26, 1791."[There is no statement whether the animal reached England.]
Ibid. p. 402:
"In rowing up this branch, we saw a flock of about thirty kangaroos or paderong, but they were only visible during their leaps, as the very long grass hid them from our view."
1809. G. Shaw, `Zoological Lectures,' vol. i. p. 94:
"The genus Macropus or kangaroo . . . one of the most elegant as well as curious animals discovered in modern times." [Under the picture and in list of contents: Kanguroo.]
1814. M. Flinders, `Voyage to Terra Australis,' Introd. p. lxiii:
"An animal found upon one of the islands is described [by Dampier, `Voyage to New Holland,' vol. iii. p. 123] as `a sort of raccoon, different from that of the West Indies, chiefly as to the legs; for these have very short fore legs; but go jumping upon them' [not upon the short fore, but the long hind legs, it is to be presumed] `as the others do; and like them are very good meat.' This appears to have been the small kangaroo, since found upon the islands which form the road; and if so, this description is probably the first ever made of that singular animal" [though without the name].
1820. W. C. Wentworth, `Description of New South Wales,' p. 57:
"Coursing the kangaroo and emu forms the principal amusement of the sporting part of the colonists.
(p. 68): The colonists generally pursue this animal [kangaroo] at full speed on horseback, and frequently manage, notwithstanding its extraordinary swiftness, to be up at the death."
1833. Charles Lamb, `Essays of Elia' [edition 1895], p. 151, `Distant Correspondents':
"The kangaroos—your Aborigines—do they keep their primitive simplicity un-Europe-tainted, with those little short fore puds, looking like a lesson framed by nature to the pick-pocket! Marry, for diving into fobs they are rather lamely provided a priori; but if the hue and cry were once up, they would show as fair a pair of hind-shifters as the expertest loco motor in the colony."
1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. I. c. iii. p. 106:
"Those that were noticed were made of the red kangaroo-skin."
1834. L. E. Threlkeld, `Australian Grammar of the Language spoken by the Aborigines, at Hunter's River,' p. 87:
"Kong-go-rong, The Emu, from the noise it makes, and likely the origin of the barbarism, kangaroo, used by the English, as the name of an animal, called Mo-a-ne."
1835. T. B. Wilson, `Narrative of a Voyage round the World, etc.' p. 212:
"They [natives of the Darling Range, W.A.] distinctly pronounced `kangaroo' without having heard any of us utter that sound: they also called it waroo, but whether they distinguished `kangaroo' (so called by us, and also by them) from the smaller kind, named `wallabi,' and by them `waroo,' we could not form any just conclusion."
1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 23:
"Kangaroos are of six different species, viz. the forester, the flyer, the wallaby, the wallaroo, the kangaroo-rat, and the kangaroo-mouse." [This is of course merely a popular classification.]
1845. J. A. Moore, `Tasmanian Rhymings,' p. 15:
"A kangaroo, like all his race,Of agile form and placid face."
1861. W. M. Thackeray, `Roundabout Papers', p.83:
"The fox has brought his brush, and the cock has brought his comb, and the elephant has brought his trunk and the kangaroo has brought his bag, and the condor his old white wig and black satin hood."
1880. W. Senior, `Travel and Trout,' p. 8:
"To return to the marsupials. I have been assured that the kangaroos come first and eat off the grass; that the wallabies, following, grub up the roots."
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 114:
"Sometimes a kangaroo would come down with measured thud, thud, and drink, and then return without noticing the human beings."
1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 118:
"According to the traditions of the bush—not always reliable—the name of kangaroo was given under a misconception. An aborigine being asked by one of the early discoverers the name of the animal, replied, `Kangaroo' (`I don't know'), and in this confession of ignorance or misapprehension the name originated. It seems absurd to suppose that any black hunter was really ignorant of the name of an animal which once represented the national wealth of Australians as the merino does to-day."
[The tradition is not quite so ridiculous, if the answer meant—"I don't know what you mean,—I don't understand you." See above.]
1891. `Guide Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':
"In this enclosure is a wooden model of a kangaroo of ancient times. This is copied from a restoration by Professor McCoy, who was enabled to represent it from fossil remains which have been unearthed at various places in Australia."
1896. E. Meston, `Sydney Bulletin,' April 18:
"The origin of the word `kangaroo' was published by me six years ago. Captain Cook got it from the Endeavor River blacks, who pronounce it to-day exactly as it is spelled in the great navigator's journal, but they use it now only for the big toe. Either the blacks in Cook's time called the kangaroo `big toe' for a nick-name, as the American Indians speak of the `big horn,' or the man who asked the name of the animal was holding it by the hind foot, and got the name of the long toe, the black believing that was the part to which the question referred."
1896. Rev. J. Mathew, Private Letter, Aug. 31:
"Most names of animals in the Australian dialects refer to their appearance, and the usual synthesis is noun + adjective; the word may be worn down at either end, and the meaning lost to the native mind.
"A number of the distinct names for kangaroo show a relation to words meaning respectively nose, leg, big, long, either with noun and adjective to combination or one or other omitted.
"The word kangaroo is probably analysable into ka or kang, nose (or head), and goora, long, both words or local equivalents being widely current."
(2) Wild young cattle (a special use)—
1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 290:
"A stockyard under six feet high will be leaped by some of these kangaroos (as we term them) with the most perfect ease, and it requires to be as stout as it is high to resist their rushes against it."
(3) Used playfully, and as a nickname for persons and things Australian. An Australian boy at an English school is frequently called "Kangaroo." It is a Stock Exchange nickname for shares in Western Australian gold-mining companies.
1896. `Nineteenth Century' (Nov.), p. 711:
"To the 80,000,000 Westralian mining shares now in existence the Stock Exchange has long since conceded a special `market'; and it has even conferred upon these stocks a nickname—the surest indication of importance and popularity. And that `Kangaroos,' as they were fondly called, could boast of importance and popularity nobody would dare to gainsay."
(4) A kind of chair, apparently from the shape.
1834. Miss Edgeworth, `Helen,' c. xvi. (`Century'):
"It was neither a lounger nor a dormeuse, nor a Cooper, nor a Nelson, nor a Kangaroo: a chair without a name would never do; in all things fashionable a name is more than half. Such a happy name as Kangaroo Lady Cecilia despaired of finding."
1863. M. K. Beveridge, `Gatherings among the Gum Trees,' p. 86:
"The Kangarooade—in three Spirts."[Title of a poem.]
1834. Ross, `Van Diemen's Land Annual, p. 133:
`Solanum laciniatum, the kangaroo-apple, resembling the apple of a potato; when so ripe as to split, it has a mealy sub-acid taste."
1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,' p. 85:
"The kangaroo-apple (Solanum laciniatum) is a fine shrub found in many parts of the country, bearing a pretty blue flower and a fruit rather unpleasant to the taste, although frequently eaten by the natives, and also by Europeans."
1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 132:
"The kangaroo-apple comes from a bush or small tree bearing blue blossoms, which are succeeded by apples like those of the potato. They have a sweetish flavour, and when ripe may be boiled and eaten, but are not greatly prized."
1857. F. R. Nixon (Bishop), `Cruise of Beacon,' p. 28:
"Of berries and fruits of which they partook, the principal were those of Solanum laciniatum, or kangaroo-apple, when dead ripe."
1877. F. v. Mueller, `Botanic Teachings,' p. 105:
"Solanum aviculare, on which our colonists have very inappropriately bestowed the name Kangaroo-apple, while in literal scientific translation it ought to be called Bird's Nightshade, because Captain Cook's companions observed in New Zealand that birds were feeding on the berries of this bush."
1806. `History of New South Wales' (1818), p. 265:
"Shortly before the Estramina left the River Derwent, two men unfortunately perished by a whale-boat upsetting, in which they were transporting four valuable kangaroo-dogs to the opposite side, none of which ever reached the shore."
1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 141:
"The kind of dog used for coursing the kangaroo is generally a cross between the greyhound and the mastiff or sheep-dog; but in a climate like New South Wales they have, to use the common phrase, too much lumber about them. The true bred greyhound is the most useful dog: he has more wind; he ascends the hills with more ease; and will run double the number of courses in a day. He has more bottom in running, and if he has less ferocity when he comes up with an `old man,' so much the better, as he exposes himself the less, and lives to afford sport another day."
1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 31:
"They . . . are sometimes caught by the kangaroo-dogs."
1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 126:
"A fine kangaroo-dog was pointed out to us, so fond of kangarooing that it goes out alone, kills the game, and then fetches its master to the dead animals."
1847. J. D. Lang, `Cooksland,' p. 422:
"With the gun over his shoulder, and the kangaroo-dog in a leash by his side."
1850. J. B. Clutterbuck, `Port Phillip in 1849,' c. iii. p. 35:
"On every station, also, a large kind of greyhound, a cross of the Scotch greyhound and English bulldog, called the kangaroo-dog, which runs by sight, is kept for the purpose of their destruction."
1888. Cassell's `Picturesque Australasia,' vol. ii. p. 91:
"Kangaroo-dogs are a special breed, a kind of strong greyhound."
1893. `The Argus,' April 8, p. 4, col. 1:
"That big, powerful, black kangaroo-dog Marmarah was well worth looking at, with his broad, deep chest, intelligent, determined eyes, sinews of a gymnast, and ribs like Damascus steel. On his black skin he bore marks of many honourable fights; the near side showed a long, whitish line where the big emu he had run down, tackled single-handed, and finally killed, had laid him open. His chest and legs showed numerous grey scars, each with a history of its own of which he might well be proud."
1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. I. c. ii. p. 71:
"Our camp was infested by the kangaroo-fly, which settled upon us in thousands."
1865. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, `History of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia,' vol. i. p. 313 [Note]:
"Rather smaller than the house-fly, it acts with such celerity that it has no sooner settled on the face or hands than it inflicts instantaneously a painful wound, which often bleeds subsequently. It is called by the colonists the kangaroo-fly; and though not very common, the author can testify that it is one of the most annoying pests of Australia."
1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i. p. 209:
"Of native grasses we possess the oat-grass, rye-grass, fiorin, kangaroo-grass, and timothy,—blady grass growing in wet, flooded, alluvial spots, and wire-grass upon cold, wet, washed clays."
1838. `Report of Van Diemen's Land Company,' in J. Bischoff's `Van Diemen's Land' (1832), c. v. p. 119:
"The grasses were principally timothy, foxtail, and single kangaroo."
1845. T. L. Mitchell, `Tropical Australia, p. 88:
"A new species of Anthistiria occurred here, perfectly distinct from the kangaroo grass of the colony."
1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 131:
"The most conspicuous of the native Gramineae that so widely cover the surface of Australia Felix."
1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania and Victoria,' p. 36:
"Where are the genial morning dews of former days that used to glisten upon and bespangle the vernal-leaved kangaroo grass?"
1862. G. T. Lloyd, `Thirty-three Years in Tasmania,' p. 393:
"Between the Lake River and Launceston . . . I was most agreeably surprised in beholding the novel sight of a spacious enclosure of waving kangaroo grass, high and thick-standing as a good crop of oats, and evidently preserved for seed."
1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 8:
"Not even a withered wisp of kangaroo-grass."
(p. 193):
"The long brown kangaroo-grass."
1891. `The Argus,' Dec. 19, p. 4, col. 2:
"Had they but pulled a tuft of the kangaroo-grass beneath their feet, they would have found gold at its roots."
1875. `Spectator' (Melbourne), May 22, p. 27, col. 2:
"The young lady that affects waterfalls, the Grecian-bend, or the kangaroo hop."
1865. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 28:
"A large dog, a kangaroo-hound (not unlike a lurcher in appearance)."
1852. Mrs. Meredith, `My Home in Tasmania,' p. 257:
"In chasing kangaroos, or, as it is technically termed, `kangarooing,' large powerful dogs are used . . ."
1870. E. B. Kennedy, `Four Years in Queensland,' p. 194:
"You may be out Kangarooing; the dogs take after one [a kangaroo], and it promises to be a good course."
1888. Rolf Boldrewood, `Robbery under Arms,' p. 15:
"We were sick of kangarooing, like the dogs themselves, that as they grew old would run a little way and then pull up if a mob came jump, jump, past them."
1888. D. Macdonald, `Gum Boughs,' p. 256:
"It is a long chain from the big forester, down through the different varieties of wallaby to the kangaroo-rat, and finally, to the tiny interesting little creature known on the plains as the `kangaroo-mouse'; but all have the same characteristics."
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 45:
"I found . . . four fine kangaroo-nets, made of the bark of sterculia."
(1) Potorous, (2) Caloprymnus, (3) Bettongia, (4) AEpyprymnus.
(1) The first genus (Potorous, q.v.) includes animals about the size of a large rat; according to Gould, although they stand much on their hind-legs they run in a totally different way to the kangaroo, using fore and hind-legs in a kind of gallop and never attempting to kick with the hind-feet. The aboriginal name was Potoroo. The species are three—the Broad-faced Kangaroo-Rat, Potorous platyops, Gould; Gilbert's, P. gilberti, Gould; Common, P. tridactylus, Kerr. They are confined to Australia and Tasmania, and one Tasmanian variety of the last species is bigger than the mainland form. There is also a dwarf Tasmanian variety of the same species.
(2) A second genus (Caloprymnus, q.v.) includes the Plain Kangaroo-Rat; it has only one species, C. campestris, Gould, confined to South Australia. The epithet plain refers to its inhabiting plains.
(3) A third genus (Bettongia, q.v.) includes the Prehensile-tailed Rat-Kangaroos and has four species, distributed in Australia and Tasmania—
Brush-tailed Kangaroo-Rat—Bettongia penicillata, Gray.
Gaimard's K.-R.—B. gaimardi, Desm.
Lesueur's K.-R.—B. lesueuri, Quoy and Gaim.
Tasmanian K.-R.—B. cuniculus, Ogilby.
(4) A fourth genus (AEpyprymnus, q.v.) includes the Rufous Kangaroo-Rat. It has one species, AE. rufescens, Grey. It is the largest of the Kangaroo-Rats and is distinguished by its ruddy colour, black-backed ears, and hairy nose.
[Mr. Lydekker proposes to call the animal the Rat- Kangaroo (see quotation, 1894), but the name Kangaroo- Rat is now so well-established that it does not seem possible to supersede it by the, perhaps, more correct name of Rat-Kangaroo. The introduction of the word Kangaroo prevents any possibility of confusion between this animal and the true rodent, and it would seem to be a matter of indifference as to which word precedes or follows the other.]
1788. Governor Phillip (Despatch, May 15), in `Historical Records of New South Wales,' vol. I. pt. ii. p. 135:
"Many trees were seen with holes that had been enlarged by the natives to get at the animal, either the squirrel, kangaroo rat, or opossum, for the going in of which perhaps they wait under their temporary huts, and as the enlarging these holes could only be done with the shell they used to separate the oysters from the rocks, must require great patience."
1793 Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 61:
"As most of the large trees are hollow by being rotten in the heart, the opossum, kangaroo-rat, squirrel, and various other animals which inhabit the woods, when they are pursued, commonly run into the hollow of a tree."
1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,' c. xi. p. 430:
"The poto roo, or kangaroo-rat. . . . This curious animal which is indeed a miniature of the Kangaroo."
1832. J. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' c. ii. p. 28:
"The kangaroo-rat is a small inoffensive animal and perfectly distinct from the ordinary species of rat."
1836. C. Darwin, `Naturalist's Voyage,' c. xix. p. 321: