His wives, who are at some distance behind him, the moment they see him assume this attitude fall to the ground as if they had been shot; their children cower by them, and their little faces express an earnestness and anxiousness which is far beyond their years; at length a suppressed whistle is given by one of the women, which denotes that she sees a kangaroo near her husband.

All is again silence and quietude; and an unpractised European would ride within a few yards of the group and not perceive a living thing.
Looking about a hundred yards to the right of the native, you will see a kangaroo erect upon its hind legs and supported by its tail; it is reared to its utmost height, so that its head is between five and six feet above the ground--its short fore-paws hang by its side, its ears are pointed, it is listening as carefully as the native, and you see a little head peering out from its pouch to enquire what has alarmed its mother; but the native moves not, you cannot tell whether it is a human being or the charred trunk of a burnt tree which is before you, and for several minutes the whole group preserve their relative position; at length the kangaroo becomes reassured, drops upon its fore-paws, gives an awkward leap or two, and goes on feeding, the little inhabitant of its pouch stretching its head farther out, tasting the grass its mother is eating, and evidently debating whether or not it is safe to venture out of its resting place and gamble about amongst the green dewy herbage.
Meantime the native moves not until the kangaroo, having two or three times resumed the attitude of listening, and having like a monkey scratched its side with its fore-paw, at length once more abandons itself in perfect security to its feed, and playfully smells and rubs its little one.

Now the watchful savage, keeping his body unmoved, fixes the spear first in the throwing-stick, and then raises his arms in the attitude of throwing, from which they are never again moved until the kangaroo dies or runs away; his spear being properly secured, he advances slowly and stealthily towards his prey, no part moving but his legs; whenever the kangaroo looks round he stands motionless in the position he is in when it first raises its head, until the animal, again assured of its safety, gives a skip or two and goes on feeding; again the native advances, and this scene is repeated many times until the whistling spear penetrates the devoted animal; then the wood rings with shouts; women and children all join pell-mell in the chase; the kangaroo, weak from the loss of blood, and embarrassed by the long spear which catches in the brushwood as it flies, at length turns on its pursuers, and to secure its rear places its back against a tree, preparing at the same time to rend open the breast and entrails of its pursuer by seizing him in its fore-paws and kicking with its hind legs and claws; but the wily native keeps clear of so murderous an embrace, and from the distance of a few yards throws spears into its breast until the exhausted animal falls and is then soon despatched; when, with the assistance of his wives, he takes its forelegs over his left, and the hind legs over his right shoulder, and totters with his burden to some convenient resting place, where they can enjoy their meal.
HUNTING IN PARTIES IN THE BUSH.
The chase of the kangaroo conducted by a number of natives is a much more lively and noisy affair, but it is not to my taste nearly so interesting.
When a single native hunts you see the whole energy and perseverance of which a savage is capable called forth, and his graceful movements, cautious advance, the air of quietude and repose which pervade his frame when his prey is alarmed, all involuntarily call forth your admiration and compel you to murmur to yourself, "how beautiful, how very beautiful." But where a party hunt there is more bustle and animation in the scene; and this kind of hunting is called "Yowart-a-kaipoon," or kangaroo-surrounding.

The animals which are to be killed by a party who proceed for this purpose are either surprised in a thick bushy place, where they have retired to lie down in the heat of the day, or else in an open plain; in the former case they are tracked to their retreat, and the party then encircling it first ascertain that they have not quitted it; as each native takes up his position he gives a low whistle, and when the blockade is completed they fire the bushes; the frighted animals now fly from the flames in the direction of the open plains, but no sooner do they reach the outskirts of the wood than the bushes are fired in the direction in which they are running, and they are driven back by loud calls and terrific cries, which augment their terror, and they run wildly about; until, becoming maddened by fear, they make a rush through the midst of their enemies, who allow but few of their victims to escape.
IN THE PLAINS.
When kangaroos are surrounded upon a plain the point generally chosen is an open bottom surrounded by wood; each native has his position assigned him by some of the elder ones, and a great deal of art and caution are sometimes required to gain it; for this end they avail themselves of every inequality of the ground, of every bush, of every shrub, and as there are so many witnesses of their skill and cunning they put forth all their art to approach as near the kangaroos as possible without disturbing them, and thus the circle narrows in around the unconscious animals, till at last some one of them becomes alarmed and bounds away, but ere it has proceeded many yards its flight is arrested by a savage with fearful yells; terrified it sits down with its frightened comrades to look for a means of escape, but armed natives brandishing their spears and raising loud cries come running in upon them from every side; and ere the animals have recovered the first moments of terror and surprise a slaughter has already commenced, which seldom terminates before the greater number of them have fallen.
These great public hunts or battues are conducted under certain rules.
The proprietor of the land must have invited the other natives, and must be present himself, for should these regulations be violated a very bloody fight is certain to take place.

The first spear which strikes a kangaroo determines whose property the dead animal is to be; it being no matter how slight the wound may have been; even if a boy threw the spear the rule holds good, and if the animal killed is one which by their laws a boy is not allowed to eat, then his right passes on to his father or eldest male relation.