Some years ago in the Liverpool Plains District in New South Wales; a party consisting of another gentleman, myself, a black tracker and two stockmen had been collecting wild cattle by moonlight, and emerged from the dense myall scrub just as the first streaks of dawn enabled us to see a short way ahead of us—

Suddenly we perceived a large mob of Kangaroo all close together & apparently playing— we observed them more particularly as it is rare to find more than one old male (old man) with one mob, and here there must have been at least a dozen— The females were all seated round in a sort of circle, while the males were jumping round and round occasionally stopping and sparring at each other in a most ludicrous way; not fighting in earnest as we at first supposed—though it is certain that male Kangaroos do sometimes fight desperately as is evident from the scars I have found all over them—

We watched this with great amusement for some time, even the black fellow acknowledging that he had never seen one of these “corroborees” (the native name for a dance) though he had heard of them   Till at last in our laughing outright, they observed us and dispersed in all directions each little mob of females going off with some particular male—

I may mention that I have never to my recollection found an old male alone.

James L A Hope.