CHAPTER XIII A Kangaroo Hunt

The men of the kampong are planning a kangaroo hunt in the lowlands not far distant from the kampong. They say the hunt will take two days and that if we wish to go with them it will be necessary to make provision ourselves for our food and shelter. They, of course, sleep in rude palm-leaf lean-tos and subsist¹ on their staple² sago cake. The prospect³ of witnessing a kangaroo drive fills us with enthusiasm, and with all speed we prepare to accompany them. Early the next morning we set out with a light outfit⁴ and enough food for two days. By dint⁵ of much coaxing⁶ and promises of much tobacco we have persuaded three of the young men of the tribe to carry our barang.

This man confessed to having eaten many human beings. To estimate the number accurately⁸ was beyond his power of reckoning

The sharp-edged stone war-club in the hands of such men as these makes quick work of a victim

161The way leads up the coast for about ten miles and thence into the jungle through swampy⁹ tangles¹⁰ of tapa grass to a point three miles from the ocean. Here we strike camp, and after a hurried meal the hunters go out to reconnoiter. There are kangaroos in the vicinity; in the course of our hike into the swampy region we see several of the timid creatures, which turn at sight of us and bound away to the protection of the thickets¹². They are a very small variety of kangaroo and not at all like the giant bush animal of Australia. The kangaroos of New Guinea seldom reach a height of over three feet when standing¹³ erect¹⁴.

About seventy of the natives have come to participate in the hunt and these soon take to the jungle, where they make their way silently to points which form a semicircle a mile in radius¹⁵. The center of this half-circle is a swamp where the water is a foot or so in depth and the rushes scarce. It is to this place the natives will drive the little animals when the hunt begins in the morning.

With the earliest signs of dawn the men are 162up and stirring. A hasty breakfast concluded, they spread out and start slowly toward the swamp, beating the brush and thickets with flails¹⁶ and at the same time shouting at the top of their voices. In this manner they slowly drive the game before them, though at first the jungle seems to be deserted¹⁷, so wary¹⁸ are the animals.

As the men advance and the circle closes up we see now and then swift-moving dun-colored objects bounding ahead of us through the half-light of the jungle. The men on the right and left of us nod their satisfaction, for there seems to be a good-sized herd¹⁹ of kangaroos enclosed in the converging²⁰ human trap. Now and then one of the animals tries to break through the line, but it is almost invariably headed off and driven back into the thickets ahead.

The men, as the line approaches the swamp, are scarcely six yards apart and within this close-drawn ring are nearly a hundred of the animals. The ground has become increasingly marshy²¹, and soon we are wading²² ankle-deep in water. As we break through the last thicket¹¹ the open 163swamp is disclosed to view. Here an exciting scene greets our eyes.

Entirely²³ surrounded by a cordon²⁴ of naked, yelling savages²⁵ are a hundred kangaroos leaping and bounding here and there in the swamp, trying to escape the advancing line of men. Their splashing is prodigious²⁶, and because of their leaping this way and that there seem to be many more of them than there really are. Their frightened little cries appeal to our sympathies and we drop out of the line, not caring to engage in the coming slaughter²⁷.

The Kia Kias soon get within striking-distance and in a very short time the excitement is over. Many of the animals escape, much to our satisfaction, but when the toll²⁸ of the hunt is taken there are sixty of them stretched out on a strip of dry ground which caps a low rise beside the swamp. The natives are wild with joy at their success, for they tell us that in their last drive they succeeded in catching²⁹ only twelve animals.

Grasping the kangaroos by their powerful 164hind legs and carrying them dangling³⁰ down their backs from the shoulders, the natives set out on the return to the kampong. Unaccustomed to the bearing of burdens, they stop for rest frequently and it is late in the afternoon when we enter the kampong. Here the women greet us with great joy, for their stomachs will be full for a long time to come. While immediate³¹ preparations are made for roasting some of the animals, the men prepare to cure the remainder by drying and smoking them.

Strangely enough, there is no attempt to save or cure the skins, and when we question the savages regarding this, they shake their heads. They have no use for them, they say, and let it go at that. Wearing no clothes, they do not require the skins for bodily covering and the only use they have for leather is for covering the heads of their drums, for which purpose they invariably use pigskin. A few of the women save narrow strips of the hide, from which they will make the seed-decorated bandoleers that some of them affect, but this is the only use to 165which they seem to put the skin of the kangaroo. Yet, properly tanned, it would make admirable leather, for it is as soft as kid.

The dogs make short work of the many skins, eating them hair and all and disgorging the balled-up hair later. The men save some of the leg bones, from which they make nose ornaments³², but in the main the dogs get these also. It is surprising how the dogs fatten³³ up after one of these feasts. Between feasts one can count every rib⁷ and the poor creatures are so gaunt that it would seem an act of mercy to put them out of their misery³⁴. Nature never intended dogs to exist on a diet consisting mainly of cocoanut. After a feast, however, the dogs drag themselves around with stomachs bulging³⁵. In a few days, and until the bones and meat are quite gone, their hair is sleek³⁶ and shiny and in contrast to their former appearance they are positively³⁷ fat.

The men and women gorge³⁸ themselves exactly as the dogs do, with the result that there is little activity in the kampong until the meat is entirely 166consumed. They then fall back on their staple diet until such time as the women can prevail upon the men to go on another excursion.

The natives generously offer us two of the kangaroos to vary our diet of tinned goods, but the little animals seem so much like things to be petted rather than eaten that we thank our hosts warmly and tell them that, inasmuch as we have plenty of our own kind of food and they have so little, we could not think of taking their meat from them. The excuse passes muster³⁹ with them and they do not press the matter, much to our satisfaction; for at times it becomes awkward to explain certain things which to us are a matter of course.

1 subsist   

vi.生存，存在，供养

参考例句：

• We are unable to subsist without air and water.没有空气和水我们就活不下去。
• He could subsist on bark and grass roots in the isolated island.在荒岛上他只能靠树皮和草根维持生命。

2 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

3 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

4 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

5 dint   

n.由于，靠；凹坑

参考例句：

• He succeeded by dint of hard work.他靠苦干获得成功。
• He reached the top by dint of great effort.他费了很大的劲终于爬到了顶。

6 coaxing   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应

参考例句：

• No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
• It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

7 rib   

n.肋骨，肋状物

参考例句：

• He broke a rib when he fell off his horse.他从马上摔下来折断了一根肋骨。
• He has broken a rib and the doctor has strapped it up.他断了一根肋骨，医生已包扎好了。

8 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

9 swampy   

adj.沼泽的，湿地的

参考例句：

• Malaria is still rampant in some swampy regions.疟疾在一些沼泽地区仍很猖獗。
• An ox as grazing in a swampy meadow.一头牛在一块泥泞的草地上吃草。

10 tangles   

（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Long hair tangles easily. 长头发容易打结。
• Tangles like this still interrupted their intercourse. 像这类纠缠不清的误会仍然妨碍着他们的交情。

11 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

12 thickets   

n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物

参考例句：

• Small trees became thinly scattered among less dense thickets. 小树稀稀朗朗地立在树林里。 来自辞典例句
• The entire surface is covered with dense thickets. 所有的地面盖满了密密层层的灌木丛。 来自辞典例句

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

15 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

16 flails   

v.鞭打( flail的第三人称单数 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克

参考例句：

• The son silently took a flail and they began threshing with four flails. 儿子也开始悄悄乘枷脱粒四枷。 来自互联网

17 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

18 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

19 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

20 converging   

adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。 来自辞典例句
• This very slowly converging series was known to Leibniz in 1674. 这个收敛很慢的级数是莱布尼茨在1674年得到的。 来自辞典例句

21 marshy   

adj.沼泽的

参考例句：

• In August 1935,we began our march across the marshy grassland. 1935年8月，我们开始过草地。
• The surrounding land is low and marshy. 周围的地低洼而多沼泽。

22 wading   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The man tucked up his trousers for wading. 那人卷起裤子，准备涉水。
• The children were wading in the sea. 孩子们在海水中走着。

23 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

24 cordon   

n.警戒线，哨兵线

参考例句：

• Police officers threw a cordon around his car to protect him.警察在他汽车周围设置了防卫圈以保护他。
• There is a tight security cordon around the area.这一地区周围设有严密的安全警戒圈。

25 savages   

未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
• That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。

26 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

27 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

28 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

29 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

30 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

31 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

32 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 fatten   

v.使肥，变肥

参考例句：

• The new feed can fatten the chicken up quickly enough for market.新饲料能使鸡长得更快，以适应市场需求。
• We keep animals in pens to fatten them.我们把动物关在围栏里把它们养肥。

34 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

35 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”

36 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

37 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

38 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

39 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。