Identifier: amongcannibalsac1889lumh (
find matches)Title:
Among cannibals; an account of four years' travels in Australia and of camp life with the aborigines of Queensland;Year:
1889 (
1880s)Authors:
Lumholtz, Carl, 1851-1922 Anderson, Rasmus Björn, 1846-1936, trSubjects:
Ethnology Natural historyPublisher:
New York, C. Scribner's sonsContributing Library:
Boston Public LibraryDigitizing Sponsor:
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view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.Text Appearing Before Image:Ofcourse I did not forget the natives who had brought me sogreat a prize. To Nilgora I gave a shirt, to the man whohad carried the boongary, a handkerchief, and to all, food.Nor did I omit to distribute tobacco. I at once began to skin the animal, but first I had toloosen the withies with which its legs had been tied for themen to carry it. The ends of these withies or bands restedagainst the mans forehead, while the animal hung down hisback, so that, as is customary among the Australians, thewhole weight rested on his head. I at once saw that it was a tree-kangaroo (Dciidrolagics).It was very large, but still I had expected to find a largeranimal, for according to the statements of the natives, a full-grown specimen was larger than a wallaby—that is to say,about the size of a sheep. This one proved to be a youngmale. The tree-kangaroo is without comparison a better pro-portioned animal than the common kangaroo. The fore-feet,which are nearly as perfectly developed as the hind-feet.Text Appearing After Image:HaraldJensen lith. Hoffensber* &Trap? Efabi. DENDROLAGUS LUMHOLTZH.rs^ 2^^ L XVIII A BOONGARY AT LAST 227 have large crooked claws, while the hind-feet are some-what like those of a kangaroo, though not so powerful. Thesole of the foot is somewhat broader and more elastic, onaccount of a thick layer of fat under the skin. In soft groundits footprints are very similar to those of a child. The earsare small and erect, and the tail is as long as the body ofthe animal. The skin is tough, and the fur is very strongand beautiful. The colour of the male is a yellowish-brown,that of the female and of the young is grayish, but the head,the feet, and the under side of the tail are black. Thus itwill be seen that this tree-kangaroo is more variegatedin colour than those species which are found in NewGuinea. Upon the whole, the boongary is the most beautifulmammal I have seen in Australia. It is a marsupial, andgoes out only in the night. During the day it sleeps in thetrees, and feeds on theNote About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.