LESSON XXV.

A NEW FASHION OF PAPPOOSE.

“Still this great solitude is quick with life;Myriads of insects, gaudy as the flowersThey flutter over, gentle quadrupeds,And birds, that scarce have learned the fear of manAre here, and sliding reptiles underground.”

“Still this great solitude is quick with life;

Myriads of insects, gaudy as the flowers

They flutter over, gentle quadrupeds,

And birds, that scarce have learned the fear of man

Are here, and sliding reptiles underground.”

—Bryant.

The opossum was chosen as the first representative of the pouched animals, not because it is the most remarkable, but because it is the best known, and because living specimens of it may be easily obtained if desired. In our study of the opossum we spoke of Australian animals, because the opossum has its kinship with the quadrupeds of that great island continent.

Australia is the country of ancient forms of animal life, and most of its quadrupeds are marsupials. Zoologists have wondered why the types of animal life in Australia are so few and so ancient, and have endeavored to find the explanation of these facts in considering that during many geological ages Australia has been divided, as it now is, from the Asiatic continent and that the great series of creatures which have arisen since that division took place, including all the higher mammals, never reached Australia, until recently introduced by Europeans. Thus, as the stronger and more dominant creatures did not appear to disturb or displace them, there was nothing to hinder the continuous development of pouched forms; and families became permanentwhich in more crowded localities have been forced out of existence.

A QUEER PAPPOOSE.

Chief among all the Australian marsupials stands the kangaroo. This is really a beautiful animal; wonderful in its structure, interesting in its habits; amiable, and gentle, yet courageous in disposition; readily acclimated when carried to other countries; capable of being tamed, and finally, with flesh as useful and agreeable for food as beef or mutton.

The kangaroo receives its scientific name from its feet; the family title,syndactyla,[54]means “toes together,” because the second and third toes of its hind feet are united under the same skin up to the nails. The generic name,macropus, or “big foot,” is given because of the enormous length of the hind feet. In truth the fore-paws of the kangaroo are rather hands than feet. At first sight of this animal it is the remarkabledisproportion between the shoulders and fore-legs and the hind-legs with their enormous haunches, which chiefly impresses the beholder. It is as if the head and shoulders of a rabbit or hare had been united to the hinder part of a creature as large as a pony.

“This must be a very ill-shapen creature” we might conjecture from such a description. But no; the remarkably large tail, the strong, active motions, the thick fur, the bright and gentle expression of the eyes, the erect posture of the kangaroo, unite to make it a very attractive animal. The kangaroo does not go on all fours except when it lowers itself for grazing; it holds itself up; its fore-paws hang before it like arms at rest and it moves by rapid leaps. When standing quietly, it supports itself upon its long, strong tail as well as upon the hind-legs.

That ancient lizard, the iguanodon, which used his two hind-legs and his strong, pointed tail as a tripod whereon to seat himself, set the fashion, it seems, to some of those little marsupials which were crawling and jumping around his feet, and might have been crushed under his mighty tread. But these frail and unpromising families of mammals have survived the iguanodon and his race by countless generations.

The adult kangaroo weighs some two hundred pounds; but of kangaroos there are a number of species, and these differ in size, one species being no larger than a hare and weighing less than four pounds. This little creature is called the hare kangaroo and is the most agile of the family, making without difficulty, jumps eight or ten feet high. Fossils of the kangaroo type have been found in Australia, which suggest thatthe family formerly had monstrous members. Some were perhaps as large as the mastodon. When the kangaroo is spoken of in general, reference is had to the distinguished and most common variety,Macropus giganteus, “the giant big foot.”

The kangaroo was entirely unknown to the civilized world until 1770, when Captain Cook put into the river Endeavor on the northeast coast of Australia. While he was delaying there to repair his ship which had been damaged by a storm, a number of large and singular animals appeared from the woods and stood erect, gazing at the men and ship with mild curiosity. They were too timid to permit approach, and darted away in long bounds across the grass when people went toward them. The natives, when asked about them, replied with a strange word which the Englishmen pronounced and spelled kangaroo, or kanguru. Such a word is now unknown in any native Australian dialect, and it is uncertain whether it was intended as the name of the creature in question, or merely signified “Don’t know.” However, the word has come into general use among all nations as the common name of this animal. Finally one of Captain Cook’s party, Mr. Gore, went out gunning and shot one of the strange creatures. Then several more were killed, and Captain Cook took home the skins. These were examined by naturalists of different countries, and Schreber, a German, pronounced them animals more closely allied to the American opossums than to any other creatures; for at that time opossums were the only known pouched animals. In his work on mammals Schreber called the kangaroo the gigantic didelphys. In 1791 Dr. Shaw, being better informed about the kangaroo, called it thegiant macropus, or big foot, and that has since been its scientific name.

The kangaroos are vegetable eaters, thus differing very greatly from the carnivorous opossums. They feed on grass, roots, and nearly all green herbs. Sometimes as they browse they get down on all fours and move slowly about in this position, which is as awkward to them as creeping is to a full-grown man. But while browsing in this posture, they frequently raise themselves on their hind-legs and look about to see if enemies are approaching; for they are exceedingly timid. When alarmed they take refuge in flight, being almost as inoffensive in their dispositions as sheep.

The fore-feet of the kangaroo have five toes, each furnished with a large, strong nail; the hind-feet are exceedingly long and have but one really well-developed toe; this one corresponding to the fourth toe of a human foot. This toe is very large and strong and has a long curved nail, furnishing the kangaroo’s chief weapon. There is no great toe on the hind-foot; the second and third toes are very slim and small and are enclosed in a common sheath up to the nails. They are used only to scratch and clean, comb-wise, the animal’s fur. Just outside the large fourth toe is a smaller one which is serviceable in walking, and also in fur-cleaning.

While usually mild and timid the kangaroo, especially the adult male, or the mother with a little one in her pouch to fight for, will arouse herself to great courage and give battle. At such a crisis the kangaroo will seize a dog in its fore-paws and squeeze it to death, or tear it to pieces with the large toes of the hind-feet. A kangaroo is also able to wield itstail with the strength and precision with which a man uses his arm. When chased by dogs the kangaroo will sometimes, with this long, heavy tail, strike its pursuer a blow so severe as to stun or kill it.

Occasionally adult male kangaroos will have a battle or duel. They stand face to face, bracing themselves by their tails, and simply claw at each other until they have satisfied their anger.

Sometimes when hunted by men or wild beasts the kangaroo is brought to bay, and defends itself in a peculiar fashion. It secures a position against a tree, or some object high enough to rest upon, clasping it with its fore-paws; then it braces itself firmly by its tail and lashes out with its hind-legs, armed with the immense toe and nail. In such circumstances an angry kangaroo is a very dangerous animal to approach. The place to lean upon while showing fight in this fashion is indispensable, because the kangaroo lifts both its hind-legs at once. It cannot make a stepping motion, lifting first one leg and then the other; nor can it rest upon one leg and kick with the other: the motion of the two legs must be similar and simultaneous.

The kangaroo differs from the opossum in the number of its teeth, having but thirty-four instead of fifty. These teeth are formed entirely for cutting and grinding vegetable substances.

The kangaroo differs from the opossum as much in the number of its family as in the number of its teeth. At the most two little ones complete the litter, and these when born are almost the tiniest of quadrupeds, are blind, helpless, andwith bare skins instead of such warm fur coats as furnish forth little kittens. These feeble babies are snugly tucked in the fur pouch of their mother, and there, kept warm and well fed, they grow rapidly. The mother meantime rambles around, feeding and attending to her affairs with all the indifference of an Indian squaw with her pappoose tied to her back. The squaw’s pappoose is hung over her shoulders, so that it looks out on the world from her back; the kangaroo’s far older style of pappoose is carried in a front pocket, where it is always within reach of its mother’s hands and under her eyes. When the kangaroo pappoose has been for some weeks tucked snugly away, it finally gets its eyes open, is covered with a lovely, soft coat, and begins to feel an interest in the world at large. Then it thrusts from the pouch its head, which is a funny little copy of the maternal head above it. Like its mother it has large, erect ears, bright eyes, and an intent expression.

The sight, smell, and hearing of the kangaroo are extremely well developed, and, owing to its timidity, the creature is always on the alert to discover if enemies are near. It stands a picture of attention, its eyes gazing steadfastly, its ears erect and set toward the wind to catch the first note of danger, the flexible nostril quivering as it scents now here, now there, for warning of a foe.

This timidity also causes the kangaroo to avoid solitude; they neither go singly, nor in pairs; but in little groups, each group or herd under the charge of some strong and wise old male kangaroo. These bands are often made up of an old father and mother kangaroo and their children. One, andsometimes two, little ones are born at one time, but as they attain their growth they linger about their parents. Thus the adult pair will be followed by a train of eight, ten, or twelve children of all ages and sizes, from full-grown specimens, seven or eight years old, down to the keen-eyed little creature peering out of its good mamma’s fur pocket. It was formerly the custom of that nearly extinct animal, the bison, to go in herds, led by the oldest and strongest fighters.

Kangaroos prefer to graze in the vicinity of woods; for they are good climbers, and given to taking refuge in trees. When the jump, for which the kangaroo is famous, is made, it is by muscular contraction of the great hind-legs, and with this effort they droop the head and shoulders, and balance them by the long tail, which during the jump is held horizontally backward.

When full grown the coat of the kangaroo is silky on the head, shoulders, and tail, and woolly on the body. The skin, especially of the legs and haunches, is thick and tough, and makes good leather. The avidity with which these animals are hunted in Australia will soon make them as scarce as bison have become from the same reckless slaughter; and unless means for their preservation are taken, the nineteenth century is likely to see the extinction of this remarkable, ancient macropus family.

The kangaroo is so easily acclimated that some effort is being made in Europe to breed kangaroos. As they are readily kept it is thought that, domesticated and carefully reared, they would be as useful for hides and flesh, as cattle or sheep.

FOOTNOTES:[54]Pronounced sin-dak-tilla.

[54]Pronounced sin-dak-tilla.

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