Page:Dawson - Australian aborigines (1900).djvu/105

Rh CHAPTER XX. ANIMALS. The dingo — the wild dog of Australia — deservedly holds the first place in the estimation of the aborigines. Previous to the advent of the white man, though every wurn had its pack of dogs, they were so very rare in their wild state — at least in the inhabited parts of the country — that one 'would not be seen in many days' travel.' This scarcity is attributed by the aborigines to the want of food. They were usually bred in a domesticated state, and no puppies were ever destroyed. Wild young ones also were caught and domesticated. The dogs were trained to guard the wuurns, which they did by growling and snarling. Dingoes never bark. As they would not sleep or take shelter under the roof of their master, a separate place was generally erected for them. In watching they were vigilant and fierce. They would fly at the throats of visitors; and strangers had often to take refuge from them by climbing into a tree. They were also trained to hunt, which was their principal use. They were active and skilful in killing kangaroos, and seldom got cut with the powerful hind toes of these animals. When they killed one, they yelped to let their master know where they were. Some well-trained dogs would even come home and lead their owners to the dead game. In some of the mountainous parts of Victoria, but especially in the Otway ranges, the dingoes were so very numerous and fierce, and hunted in such large packs, that the natives were afraid to venture among them, and often had to take refuge in trees. Since the introduction of the European dog the dingo is not used, notwithstanding its superiority in several respects to the former, which is preferred on account of its affectionate and social disposition. The forest kangaroo is generally hunted by stalking, and is killed with the hunting spear. If the kangaroo is grazing on open ground, where there is no cover to conceal the hunter, he makes a circular shield of leafy branches, about two or three feet in diameter, with a small hole in the centre to look through; and, with this in front, he crawls towards the kangaroo while its head is down, remains motionless if it looks up, and, when he has got within throwing distance,