with their mandibles, and rise one against the other with their fore feet, as if in mock combat, and roll over in the water in the midst of their gambols. It was most ludicrous to observe the uncouth looking little beasts running about, overturning and seizing one another with their mandibles in "sportive gaiety;" and then, in the midst of their fun and frolic, coolly incline to one side, and scratch themselves in the gentlest manner imaginable. After the cleaning operation was concluded, they would perambulate the room for a short time, and then seek repose,

KANGAROO AND OPOSSUM HUNTING.

PERHAPS there is no object in wild life to be seen more interesting than an Austral aborigine in search of his game. With all his natural instincts awakened, his appetites sharpened by want, and his self-esteem excited by the desire to excel, let us endeavor to reproduce him as we saw him hunting the kangaroo.

He was a young man, perhaps from twenty to twenty-five, more slender than athletic, and the muscles of his limbs as hard as India-rubber. Pipe-clay and red ochre, or burnt clay, fulfilled all the ornamental purposes deemed requisite for the adornment of his person. Round his middle was wound in several folds a girdle of opossum-fur, of about an inch in thickness, into which were inserted his boomerang, tomahawk, and a short, heavy stick, to throw at any smaller animals which he might see perched upon the branches of the trees ... In his hands were his throwing-stick, and several spears, pointed in two or three different ways, so as to be suitable either for the purposes of war, for hunting, or fishing. Over his shoulders was a kangaroo-skin cloak when he first started, but this was shortly afterwards doffed as an encumbrance.

He moved with a quick, noiseless, and stealthy pace, glancing from side to side in an uneasy manner, as if his own life was encompassed with danger, rather than as if he wished to compass the life of another. Nothing escaped his sight. What he did was done mostly by the movement of his eyes, his head being held erect, whilst he proceeded with the same uncertain and stealthy pace.

At length his step is arrested. He stands as immovable as a statue, and scarcely distinguishable from the charred stumps of the trees by which he is surrounded. His eyes roll from side to side, the whites of them being recognised, at a considerable distance, in a state of rapid motion. Meanwhile, the

animal is standing erect upon its hind-legs, and looking watchfully around in case of any alarm; but, being reassured, it drops upon its fore-paws, makes a leap or two, and quietly commences feeding again All this while, the aborigine has stood as if he had been transfixed to the earth, nor does he move until the object of his chase has twice or thrice listened again, and finally abandoned itself to its provender in the perfect confidence of security. It is now the hunter's turn again; and, without moving his body, he manages to fix his spear in his wommora, and raises his arms in the position of throwing, from which he never takes them until the kangaroo dies or takes to flight.

All now being in readiness, he watches his opportunity to steal slowly upon his prey, no other parts of his body moving but his legs. The kangaroo, however, is again alarmed, and rises to look round. Behold the savage again, fixed in his position, as motionless as a stone! There he stands, no matter how long, until the animal is again assured of its safety, and once more commences to nibble the herbage... Again the wary native advances, and so on for several times, until his spear penetrates the devoted beast, when the woods reverberate the shouts of the women and children, who all join pell-mell in the destruction of the animal. This being accomplished, it is carried to some convenient resting-place, where it is cut up and enjoyed with a relish worthy of the patience, skill, and dexterity displayed in its capture and death.

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The kangaroos make no use of their short fore-legs, except in grazing, when they rise upon them and their tail, bring their hind-legs forward, and go nibbling upon all-fours; pulling up occasionally some favorite plant with their fore-paw, and sitting up bold and erect upon their hind-houghs and tail, while they slowly bite and nibble it, shifting it from paw to paw like a boy protracting his repast on a juicy apple. When chased, they hop upon their hind-legs, bounding onwards at a most amazing rate, the tail wagging up and down as they leap, and serving them for a balance. They will bound over gulleys and down declivities the distance of thirty yards, and fly right over the tops of low brush-wood, so that in such places dogs stand very little chance with them, but in a clear, open country the former soon tire them out...The dogs seize them generally by the hip, and throw them over; then fasten upon their throats, and despatch them. But few dogs will attack a large kangaroo singly, some of the two-hundred weight size often hopping off with three or four assailants hanging about them; and we hear of one that actually carried a man to some distance. When a

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dog gets up close to a large kangaroo, it will often sit up on its tail and haunches, and fight the dog, turning adroitly round and round, so as always to face him, and pushing him off with the fore-paws; or it will seize and hug him like a bear, ripping him up with the long, sharp claw on its powerful hind-leg. They are constantly, indeed, cutting, and often killing dogs with this terrible weapon, which will tear out the bowels at a single kick; and a large kangaroo is on this account very dangerous even for a man to approach, when set at bay. The white kangaroo hunters immediately hamstring them when thrown, to prevent injury to themselves or the dogs; while the natives give them a heavy blow over their loins with their waddie (a kind of club), which completely paralyses their hind-legs. The kangaroo being now much more rare than it used to be, the natives are driven to a greater dependence upon other animals for their subsistence. Amongst these, the opossum takes the most prominent place. This animal is followed either by day, or during a moonlight night, when the sport is wonderfully enjoyed The marks by which a native discerns the ascent of an opossum up a tree are too faint for the optics of the white man; but to him they at once appear, and determine his proceedings. When he approaches some massive stem which looks likely to be the haunt of the opossum, he throws his arms behind his back, and carefully scrutinises the bark. He sees something which arrests his eye upon a single spot; then, looking up the line of tree, he discovers the marks made by the nails of the animal in its ascent... But this is not all. He has yet to determine whether these footmarks be new or old; and this is done by selecting one which has left a little sand behind it. This is examined, and gently blown upon, when, if the particles are too damp to fly away, he concludes that the animal has recently ascended the tree, and is still there secreted... Out, then, comes his tomahawk, with which he notches the bark about four feet from the ground, in order that he may insert his great toe and take his first step in his ascent. Into this goes the toe of his right foot, when, throwing his dexter arm round the tree, he with his left hand fixes the point-handle of his hatchet into the bark as high as he can reach, and thus gets a stay by which he drags himself up... Having made this step good, he cuts another for his left foot, and thus proceeds alternately right and left, until he gains the hole where the opossum is hid; which being speared out, or smoked out, the native dexterously catches him by the tail, and dashes him against the tree or the ground with such force as to finish its existence. Boys' Magazine.

SOUTH-SEA WHALE FISHERY.

THIRTY days out from Hobart Town, our vessel floated under an unbroken arch of pure blue sky, clear and translucent. On the distant horizon rested the light trade-wind clouds reflecting all the splendor of the rising sun. The quiet dreamy beauty of the scene was indescribable- so I am saved the trouble of describing it... The helmsman felt it, and leaned sleepily against the wheel. The officer of the watch shut his eyes to it, and nodded on the sky-light. I was resting with head and arms on the bulwarks, when from the topmast crosstrees a clear voice rang out, "There she spouts! Black-skin a-head! There, there she blows again!" "Where away?” shouted the mate.- "Three points on the weather bow. Hurrah! There she breaches clean out! Single spouts- a school of sperms!"... The quiet people of the ship were wakened up as though they had all suddenly been galvanised, and jumped about with a delirious activity. The captain rushed up half-dressed from his cabin, with one side of his face elaborately lathered, and a little rivulet of blood trickling from the other. The men blocked up the fore scuttle, and tumbled over each other in their eagerness to reach the deck. Then followed rapid orders, rapidly executed... The ship, which had been slipping along under double-reefed topsail, foresail, and mizen, was easily hove to. "Haul up the foresail! Back the main-yard! Pass the tubs into the boats. Bear a hand, and jump in! See the tackle falls clear. Ready?"-" Ay, ay, sir; all ready!"—"Lower away!"...The falls whizzed through the davit heads; the men, already seated at their oars, struck out the instant the boats touched the water. Among the men who struck out I was one, and I was then about for the first time to commit assault and battery against the monarch of the sea, and help, if possible, to part leviathan among the merchants.

South Sea whalers may be distinguished at sea by their boats; they usually carry five, sometimes seven, hung over the side by tackles attached to wooden or iron cranes, called davits, the bow of each boat hanging from one davit, and the stern from another. The tackle falls are carefully coiled upon the davits, so that they can be let go with a certainty of running clear; and to the bottom of the tackle blocks is attached a weight which instantly unhooks them when the boat touches the water... The boats are of peculiar shape; made low, and of great beam amid-ships, they gradually taper towards each end. Head and stern are alike, both sharp as a wedge, and raised by a gentle curve which traverses the whole length of the boat.

The whale boats, being made in this way, are nearly flat-bottomed in the middle, and have little hold of the water. Their light build, sharp stems, and rounded sides, give them great swiftness; and their width and low centre of gravity cause them to be, when properly managed, very safe... They are steered by a long and heavy oar, which passes through a rope strap attached to the stern-post. The long leverage gives to the steersman great power over his boat, and enables him to alter her direction, or to turn her round in far less time than if he used the common rudder. In the stern of the boat is fixed a strong, round piece of timber called the loggerhead, to which the towing rope is affixed, and which also serves to check the line when fast to a whale... The head-sheets are covered in by a strong board having a deep circular cut on its inner edge, used by the harpooner as a support when in the act of striking. The harpoon, or "iron " as we whalers call it -I say we whalers on the strength of my first cruise—is made of the very best wrought iron, so tough that it will twist into any shape without breaking. It is about three and a half feet in length, with a keen, flat, barbed point at one end, and at the other a socket, in which is inserted the point of a heavy pole or staff... The whale-line is firmly fastened to the iron itself, and then connected with the staff in such a manner that, when the blow is struck and the line tightens, the staff comes out of the socket, leaving only the iron in the whale. If this plan were not adopted, the heavy pole, by its own weight and its resistance to the water, would tear out the iron, and so we should lose the fish... When in chase, the harpoon lies on the boat's head with its point over the stem ready for immediate use. Two harpoons are frequently fastened to the same line. Beneath the gunwale in the bows are several brackets, containing a hatchet, knives, and a couple of lances. The whaler's lance resembles, in some measure, the harpoon —but instead of barbs, it has a fine steel blade, and is only attached to a short handline. Leather sheaths are provided for all instruments when not in use.

In the stern, or sometimes in the middle of each whale boat, is a tub. In this the line is coiled with the greatest care, as the least hitch, when it is running out, would probably turn the whole boat's crew into the water. The line, which though small is of great strength, passes along the whole length of the boat, between the rowers, and runs on a roller fixed into the stem... The rollocks, in which the oars work, are muffled with rope matting. Every oar is fastened to the boat with a strong lanyard (a piece of small line), so that, when in tow of