The following description of this animal, which is peculiar to New
Holland, is taken from Dawson's "Present State of Australia:"--
"The country on our right consisted of high and poor, stony hills,
thickly timbered; that on the left, on the opposite side of the river,
was a rich and thinly-timbered country. A low and fertile flat meadow
there skirted the river; and, at the extremity of the flat, hills
gradually arose with a gentle slope, covered with verdure, upon which
an immense herd of kangaroos were feeding. I crossed over with Maty
Bill and a brace of dogs, leaving the party to proceed on their route.
The moment we had crossed, the kangaroos moved off. It is extremely
curious to see the manner in which a large herd of these animals jump
before you. It has often been asserted that they make use of their
tails to spring from you when they are pursued. This is not correct.
Their tails never touch the ground when they move, except when they are
on their feed, or at play; and the faster they run or jump, the higher
they carry them.
"The male kangaroos were called, by the natives, old men, 'wool man;'
and the females, young ladies, 'young liddy.' The males are not so
swift as the females; and the natives, in wet seasons, occasionally run
the former down when very large, their weight causing them to sink in
the wet ground, and thus to become tired. They frequently, however,
make up for this disadvantage by fierceness and cunning, when attacked
either by men or dogs; and it is exceedingly difficult for a brace of
the best dogs to kill a 'corbon wool man.' When they can, they will hug
a dog or a man as a bear would do; and as they are armed with long,
sharp claws, they not unfrequently let a dog's entrails out, or
otherwise lacerate him in the most dreadful manner, sitting all the
while on their haunches, hugging and scratching with determined fury.
"The kind of dog used for coursing the kangaroo is, generally, a cross
between the greyhound and the mastiff, or sheep-dog; but, in a climate
like New South Wales, they have, to use the common phrase, too much
lumber about them. The true-bred greyhound is the most useful dog. He
has more wind; he ascends the hills with more ease, and runs double the
number of courses in a day. He has more bottom in running; and, if he
has less ferocity when he comes up with an 'old man,' so much the
better, as he exposes himself the less, and lives to afford sport
another day. The strongest and most courageous dog can seldom conquer a
'wool man' alone, and not one in fifty will face him fairly; the dog
who has the temerity is certain to be disabled, if not killed.
"The herd of kangaroos we had thus come upon was too numerous to allow
of the dogs' being let loose; but, as the day's walk was drawing to a
close, I had given Maty Bill liberty to catch another kangaroo, if we
should fall in with a single one. After moving up to the foot of the
hill, about a quarter of a mile from the river, my sable companion eyed
a 'corbon wool man,' as he called it, quietly feeding at a distance, on
the slope of the hill. His eyes sparkled; he was all agitation; and he
called out, 'Massa, massa! You tee! you tee! wool man! wool man! corbon
wool man!' and off he ran with his dogs, till he was within a fair
distance, when he slipped their collars. I was at this time on foot,
and the whole of them, therefore, were soon out of my sight. They had
turned round the bottom of the hill, in the direction of the river;
and, as I was following them down, I heard the dogs at bay, and the
shrill call of 'coo-oo-oo,' from my companion, to direct me to the
spot; and, on turning the corner of the hill, I met him, running, and
calling as fast and as loud as he could. As soon as he saw me, he
stopped, and called out, 'Massa, massa! Make haste! Dingo (dogs) have
got him in ribber. Many corbon wool man, all the same like it bullock.'
"All this was said in a breath; and as I could not pretend to run with
him, I desired him to go as fast as he could, and help the dogs, till I
should arrive. When I got up to the spot, he was in the middle of the
river, with about two feet depth of water, while the kangaroo, sitting
upright on its haunches, was keeping both him and the dogs at a
respectful distance, and had laid bare the windpipe of one of the dogs.
Billy's waddy was too short to reach him without coming to close
quarters, and he knew better than to do that; at length he got behind
him, and, with a blow on the head, he despatched him. No huntsman could
have shown more ardor in the pursuit, or more pleasure at the death of
a fox, than did poor Maty Bill upon this occasion. The kangaroo was so
heavy, weighing about a hundred and fifty pounds, that he could not
lift him out of the water, and we were obliged to leave him till our
party arrived on the opposite side."