Hunt Kangaroo with Automobiles, Daily Racing Form, 1919-11-09

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HUNT KANGAROO WITH AUTOMOBILES Three sturdy automobiles, each bearing several men armed with heavy army rifles, speed through the Australian landscape. They come from Adelaide, South Australia, and head northward toward the heart of the plain which extends in unbroken dreariness for hundreds of miles ia that" direction. The lookout in the leading car scans the horizon with a field-glass. "There they are!" he calls out, pointing to a slight rise. The heads of a few kangaroos are plainly visible above the salt brush, which grows beyond Burra Burra, the juinping-off place of civilization. The whirr of the engines must rcacli the animals sensitive ears, for they take flight with tremendous bounds. At a distance of 300 yards they stop. The automobiles continue in their wild rush over the rough ground, and now the hunters let their rifles speak. One of the animals is wounded. The remainder of the herd, keeping well together, leap away in one direction, while the wounded animal hops with terrific speed in the opposite direction. The nearest car takes up the pursuit, and for three miles continues in its course, parrallel to that taken by the wounded kangaroo. The brush becomes thinner and the hunters head their car in a straight line for the animal, which shifts its course to an angle that brings it directly across the path of the oncoming car. A well-aimed shot ends the flight. Now, back to the pursuit of the rest of the herd. After a drive of a few miles the animals are sighted. At a distance of fifty or sixty yards the hunters open fire, killing four of the animals. The fifth, a young kangaroo, takes to the open country. The hunters have decided to catch it alive. As they approach their prey one of the hunters creeps forward on the runningboard, seizes the kangaroo by the tail, and manages to hold 6n to both car and animal until the car is stopped. Each year, during the prolonged drought in the Australian bush sections, the kangaroo becomes a pest in the farming sections, great numbers invading the ranches and destroying the crops. Before automobiles were pressed into service kangaroo hunting was almost a hopeless job.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1919110901/drf1919110901_5_5
Local Identifier: drf1919110901_5_5
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800