Five days in the bush with the natives

( 124 ) September 9th, 1839.
Yesterday a group of about 30 - 40 natives had gone into the bush, accompanied by their European dogs, to hunt kangaroos. I had long wanted to observe the lives and activities of the natives in the open air for a few days, convinced that this would not only provide a closer insight into their entire nature, but would also be the best exercise in their language. I was therefore very welcome at the opportunity offered to me today by two young natives, Tuitpurro* and Kudna Ipiti, to carry out this wish of mine; and I was no less pleased that Brother Teichelmann decided to go along. All my equipment for this excursion consisted of a woolen blanket, some tea, biscuits, and salt; Hunting should provide us with the rest. And we were not mistaken in this, because about three German miles from the city we found several of the group that had set out yesterday already busy preparing a kangaroo that had just been hunted. The way in which the natives make a kangaroo edible is remarkable and may therefore find a place here:
"As soon as the prey has been killed, a place suitable for stewing is sought nearby, which must be dry and have wood and stones present; then the animal is brought in and the most skilful person prepares to skin it except for the head and the larger pointed part of the tail, which is cut off and singed in the fire, while ( 125 ) that another digs a hole about 1 1/2 feet deep in the earth, a third brings small stones and a fourth wood, and when the hole is finished, they light a fire in it, in which the stones are made glowing. When the fire has burned out, the butcher has already gutted the animal, cut off the legs and thighs and slit the thick meat of the leg three times, while someone else cleans the larger intestines and makes a sausage from the blood that has collected in the chest cavity. After this has happened, the stones are pulled out of the embers and the smaller ones are put partly into the chest and abdominal cavity, partly into the slit thighs, mixed with the leaves of the small rubber tree for seasoning. Branches from the same tree are now placed both on the coals immediately below and on top of the kangaroo; The legs, the tail, the sausage, together with the noble parts of the entrails, are then stuck into the branches above and the whole thing is then covered with glowing stones. Meanwhile someone has peeled off a piece of bark from a neighboring tree, large enough to cover the kangaroo from head to tail, which is placed on the roast. The gaps between the bark and the edge of the hole are now filled with earth so that no air can penetrate. They now rest comfortably for half an hour, then the grave is opened and the most plentiful, delicious braised meat is pulled out. The butcher's business is now to play the rugger again, as he is a little less clean ( 126 ) and uses the club (wodna*) pointed at one end more than the knife. With the former he tears the ligaments of the joints in a very clever manner, dividing the whole thing into about 8 - 10 large pieces. When everyone has satisfied their appetite to some extent, they pack up the rest in order to continue eating it the following evening and morning with the entourage, which consists of women, children and a few men, and which does not take part in the hunt, but simply moves from one campsite to the other, looking for roots and similar edible plants."