第30章 CHAPTER XV(3)

Of the natural history of the kangaroo we are still very ignorant.We may,however,venture to pronounce this animal,a new species of opossum,the female being furnished with a bag,in which the young is contained;and in which the teats are found.These last are only two in number,a strong presumptive proof,had we no other evidence,that the kangaroo brings forth rarely more than one at a birth.But this is settled beyond a doubt,from more than a dozen females having been killed,which had invariably but one formed in the pouch.Notwithstanding this,the animal may be looked on as prolific,from the early age it begins to breed at,kangaroos with young having been taken of not more than thirty pounds weight;and there is room to believe that when at their utmost growth,they weigh not less than one hundred and fifty pounds.A male of one hundred and thirty pounds weight has been killed,whose dimensions were as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------Feet.Inches.

Extreme length 73Ditt of the tail 341/2Ditto of the hinder legs 32Ditto of the fore paws 171/2Circumference of the tail of the root 15------------------------------------------------------------------After this perhaps I shall hardly be credited,when I affirm that the kangaroo on being brought forth is not larger than an English mouse.It is,however,in my power to speak positively on this head,as I have seen more than one instance of it.

In running,this animal confines himself entirely to his hinder,legs,which are possessed with an extraordinary muscular power.Their speed is very great,though not in general quite equal to that of a greyhound;but when the greyhounds are so fortunate as to seize them,they are incapable of retaining their hold,from the amazing struggles of the animal.The bound of the kangaroo,when not hard pressed,has been measured,and found to exceed twenty feet.

At what time of the year they copulate,and in what manner,we know not:

the testicles of the male are placed contrary to the usual order of nature.

When young the kangaroo eats tender and well flavoured,tasting like veal,but the old ones are more tough and stringy than bullbeef.They are not carnivorous,and subsist altogether on particular flowers and grass.

Their bleat is mournful,and very different from that of any other animal:

it is,however,seldom heard but in the young ones.

Fish,which our sanguine hopes led us to expect in great quantities,do not abound.In summer they are tolerably plentiful,but for some months past very few have been taken.Botany Bay in this respect exceeds Port Jackson.The French once caught near two thousand fish in one day,of a species of grouper,to which,from the form of a bone in the head resembling a helmet,we have given the name of light horseman.To this may be added bass,mullets,skait,soles,leather-jackets,and many other species,all so good in their kind,as to double our regret at their not being more numerous.Sharks of an enormous size are found here.One of these was caught by the people on board the Sirius,which measured at the shoulders six feet and a half in circumference.His liver yielded twenty-four gallons of oil;and in his stomach was found the head of a shark,which had been thrown overboard from the same ship.The Indians,probably from having felt the effects of their voracious fury,testify the utmost horror on seeing these terrible fish.

Venomous animals and reptiles are rarely seen.Large snakes beautifully variegated have been killed,but of the effect of their bites we are happily ignorant.Insects,though numerous,are by no means,even in summer,so troublesome as I have found them in America,the West Indies,and other countries.

The climate is undoubtedly very desirable to live in.In summer the heats are usually moderated by the sea breeze,which sets in early;and in winter the degree of cold is so slight as to occasion no inconvenience;once or twice we have had hoar frosts and hail,but no appearance of snow.The thermometer has never risen beyond 84,nor fallen lower than 35,in general it stood in the beginning of February at between 78and 74at noon.Nor is the temperature of the air less healthy than pleasant.Those dreadful putrid fevers by which new countries are so often ravaged,are unknown to us:

and excepting a slight diarrhoea,which prevailed soon after we had landed,and was fatal in very few instances,we are strangers to epidemic diseases.

On the whole,(thunder storms in the hot months excepted)I know not any climate equal to this I write in.Ere we had been a fortnight on shore we experienced some storms of thunder accompanied with rain,than which nothing can be conceived more violent and tremendous,and their repetition for several days,joined to the damage they did,by killing several of our sheep,led us to draw presages of an unpleasant nature.Happily,however,for many months we have escaped any similar visitations.