Identifier: boytravellersina00knox Title: The boy travellers in Australasia : adventures of two youths in a journey to the Sandwich, Marquesas, Society, Samoan and Feejee islands, and through the colonies of New Zealand, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia Year: 1889 (1880s) Authors: Knox, Thomas Wallace, 1835-1896 Harper & Brothers. pbl Subjects: Voyages and travels Adventure and adventurers Tutors and tutoring Friendship Sailing Sailors Animals Natural history Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers

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Text Appearing Before Image: emoved, the kangaroos, which live Avhollvon grass, have increased till they have become a nuisance# A kangaroo A KANGAROO DRIVE# 423 eats as much as a sheep, and when a drove is undisturbed its numbersmultiply with a rapidity that dismays the squatter on whose land it hasmade its home# Our host gave us the foregoing information while we were ridingto the place where we were to enjoy the sensation of hunting the kan-garoo# He furthermore told us that it was no uncommon thing for-them to kill several hundred kangaroos in a single drive, but it couldnot be called sport# He said a drive wasnt a hunt, and I asked himto explain the difference, which he did# The necessity of killing off the kangaroos to prevent their utterdestruction of all the grass in the country was forced upon the settlersby the rapid increase of the animals# The Government passed a lawgiving a bounty for the scalps of kangaroos; and none too soon, as insome parts of the country the droves fairly blackened the plains for

Text Appearing After Image: DINGOES, OR AUSTRALIAN WILD DOGS# many miles, and literally starved the sheep out of the country# Thebounty on the scalps, added to the value of the meat and skins, partlypaid for the trouble, which required a muster of all the squatters andtheir employes for a considerable distance around# A drive, or battue, is managed in this way: A yard with a high 424 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN AUSTRALASIA# fence is built in one of the scrubs on the plains, and from this yard two fences run out on the plain for a long distance, widening like the sides of the letter V# All the men, boys, and blacks in the neighborhood are mounted on horseback, and scour the country for many miles around; they move in the direction of the jaws of the Y, and when the herd is once inside it, the animals are doomed# They go straight towards the scrub which conceals the yard, and do not discover where they are till they are inside the enclosure# Then the rails are put up, the blacks enter with clubs, and the slaut!;hterino;

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