Austral English Part 131

"Au Pays des Kangourous."

(d) Kangaroo in German--Kaenguruh:

1892. R. V. Lendenfeld, `Australische Reise,' p. 46:

"Die Kaenguruh hoben in dem Augenblick, als sie das Geheul h.o.e.rten, die Koepfe hoch and witterten, blickten and loosten in alle Richtungen."

Notice that both in French and German the u sound of the middle syllable is preserved and not changed as in English to a.

(e) The species.

The name Kangaroo is applied to the following larger species of the genus Macropus, the remaining species being called Wallabies--

Antilopine Kangaroo-- Macropus antilopinus, Gould.

Great Grey K., or Forester-- M. giganteus, Zimm.

Great Red K.-- M. rufus, Desm.

Isabelline K.-- M. isabellinus, Gould.

Owen's K.-- M. magnus, Owen.

Wallaroo, or Euro-- M. robustus, Gould.

The name Kangaroo is also applied to certain other species of Marsupials belonging to the genus Macropus, but with a qualifying adjective, such as Dorca-, Tree-, Rat-, Musk-, etc.; and it is applied to species of the genera Dorcopsis, Dendrolagus, Bettongia, and Hypsiprymnodon. The Brush-Kangaroo (q.v.) is another name for the Wallaby (q.v.), and the Rat-Kangaroo is the stricter scientific appellation of Kangaroo-Rat (q.v.).

The Banded-Kangaroo is a Banded-Wallaby (see Lagostrophus). See also Dorca-Kangaroo, Tree-Kangaroo, Musk-Kangaroo, Dorcopsis, Dendrolagus, Bettongia, Hypsiprymnodon, Rock-Wallaby, Paddy-melon, Forester, Old Man,, Joey, and Boomah.

(f) The Use of the Word.

1770. `Capt. Cook's Journal' (edition Wharton, 1893), p. 244:

May 1st. An animal which must feed upon gra.s.s, and which, we judge, could not be less than a deer."

[p. 280]: "June 23rd. One of the men saw an animal something less than a greyhound; it was of a mouse colour, very slender made, and swift of foot."

[p. 294]: August 4th. "The animals which I have before mentioned, called by the Natives Kangooroo or Kanguru."

[At Endeavour River, Queensland.]

1770. Joseph Banks, `Journal' (edition Hooker, 1896), p. 287:

"July 14.--Our second Lieutenant had the good fortune to kill the animal that had so long been the subject of our speculations. To compare it to any European animal would be impossible, as it has not the least resemblance to any one that I have seen. Its forelegs are extremely short, and of no use to 1t in walking; its hind again as disproportionally long; with these it hops seven or eight feet at a time, in the same manner as the jerboa, to which animal indeed it bears much resemblance, except in size, this being in weight 38 lbs., and the jerboa no larger than a common rat."

Ibid. p. 301:

"August 26.--Quadrupeds we saw but few, and were able to catch but few of those we did see. The largest was called by the natives kangooroo; it is different from any European, and, indeed, any animal I have heard or read of, except the jerboa of Egypt, which is not larger than a rat, while this is as large as a middling lamb. The largest we shot weighed 84 lbs. It may, however, be easily known from all other animals by the singular property of running, or rather hopping, upon only its hinder legs, carrying its fore-feet close to its breast. In this manner it hops so fast that in the rocky bad ground where it is commonly found, it easily beat my greyhound, who though he was fairly started at several, killed only one, and that quite a young one."

1773. Sydney Parkinson, `Journal of a Voyage,' p. 149:

"Kangooroo, the leaping quadruped."

[A description given at p. 145.]

1773. J. Hawkesworth, `Voyages,' vol. iii. p. 577:

"July 14, 1770. Mr. Gore, who went out this day with his gun, had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had been so much the subject of our speculation. An idea of it will best be conceived by the cut, plate xx., without which the most accurate verbal description would answer very little purpose, as it has not similitude enough to any animal already known to admit of ill.u.s.tration by reference. In form it is most like the gerbua, which it also resembles in its motion, as has been observed already, for it greatly differs in size, the gerbua not being larger than a common rat, and this animal, when full grown, being as big as a sheep: this individual was a young one, much under its full growth, weighing only thirty-eight pounds. The head, neck, and shoulders are very small in proportion to the other parts of the body; the tail is nearly as long as the body, thick near the rump, and tapering towards the end: the fore-legs of this individual were only eight inches long, and the hind-legs two-and-twenty: its progress is by successive leaps or hops, of a great length, in an erect posture; the fore-legs are kept bent close to the breast, and seemed to be of use only for digging: the skin is covered with a short fur, of a dark mouse or grey colour, excepting the head and ears, which bear a slight resemblance to those of a hare.

In form it is most like the gerbua. This animal is called by the natives `kangaroo.'" [This account, it will be seen, is based on the notes of Banks.]

1774. Oliver Goldsmith, `Animated Nature,' Book VII. c. xvi., The Gerbua,' [in four-vol. ed., vol. iii. p. 30]:

"But of all animals of this kind, that which was first discovered and described by Mr. Banks is the most extraordinary. He calls it the kanguroo; and though from its general outline and the most striking peculiarities of its figure it greatly resembles the gerbua, yet it entirely differs, if we consider its size, or those minute distinctions which direct the makers of systems in a.s.sorting the general ranks of nature. The largest of the gerbua kind which are to be found in the ancient continent do not exceed the size of a rabbit. The kanguroo of New Holland, where it is only to be found, is often known to weigh above sixty pounds, and must consequently be as large as a sheep. Although the skin of that which was stuffed and brought home by Mr. Banks was not much above the size of a hare, yet it was greatly superior to any of the gerbua kind that have been hitherto known, and very different in many particulars. The snout of the gerbua, as has been said, is short and round, that of the discovered animal long and slender; the teeth also entirely differ, for as the gerbua has but two cutting teeth in each jaw, making four in all, this animal, besides its cutting teeth, has four canial teeth also; but what makes a more striking peculiarity, is the formation of its lower jaw, which, as the ingenious discoverer supposes, is divided into two parts which open and shut like a pair of scissors, and cut gra.s.s, probably this animal's princ.i.p.al food. The head, neck, and shoulders are very small in proportion to the other parts of the body; the tail is nearly as long as the body; thick near the rump and tapering towards the head and ears, which bear a slight resemblance to those of the hare. We are not told, however, from the formation of its stomach to what cla.s.s of quadrupeds it belongs: from its eating gra.s.s, which it has been seen to do, one would be apt to rank it among the ruminating animals; but from the canial teeth which it is found to have, we may on the other hand suppose it to bear some relation to the carnivorous.

Upon the whole, however, it can be cla.s.sed with none more properly than with the animals of the gerbua kind, as its hind-legs are so much longer than the fore; it moves also precisely in the same manner, taking great bounds of ten or twelve feet at a time, and thus sometimes escaping the fleetest greyhound, with which Mr. Banks pursued it. One of them that was killed proved to be good food; but a second, which weighed eighty-four pounds, and was not yet come to its full growth, was found to be much inferior."

1787, Surgeon Anderson, quoted by W. Eden, in `History of New Holland' (second edition), p. 71:

"However, we must have a far more intimate acquaintance with the languages spoken here [Van Diemen's Land] and in the more northern parts of New Holland, before we can p.r.o.nounce that they are totally different; nay, we have good grounds for the opposite opinion; for we found that the animal called kangaroo at Endeavour River was known under the same name here."

1781. T. Pennant, `History of Quadrupeds,' vol. i. p. 306:

No. 184. [A Scientific Description of the Kangaroo.]

1789. Governor Phillip, `Voyage':

[p. 106]: "The kangaroo."

[p. 168]: "Skeleton of the head of the kangaroo."

[At each of these places there is a description and a picture.

Under each picture the name is spelt "Kangooroo." At p. 289 there is a further note on the kanguroo. In the text at p. 149 the spelling " Kangooroo " is adopted.]

Ibid. p. 104:

"The kanguroo, though it resembles the jerboa in the peculiarity of using only the hinder legs in progression, does not belong to that genus."

Ibid, p. 168:

"Since stating the dimensions of the kanguroo, in page 106, Lord Sydney has received from Governor Phillip a male of a much larger size... . Lieutenant Shortland describes them as feeding in herds of about thirty or forty, and a.s.sures us that one is always observed to be apparently upon the watch at a distance from the rest."

1789. Watkin Tench, `Account of the Settlement of Port Jackson,' p. 171:

"Kangaroo was a name unknown to them [the aborigines of Port Jackson] for any animal, until we introduced it. When I showed Colbee [an aboriginal] the cows brought out in the Gorgon he asked me if they were kangaroos."

1793. Governor Hunter, `Voyage,' p. 66:

"The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour, called the kangaroo (but by the natives patagorang), we found in great numbers."

Ibid. p. 568:

"I had a kanguroo on board, which I had directions to carry to Lord Grenville, as a present for his Majesty.--Nov. 26, 1791."

[There is no statement whether the animal reached England.]