| In the Zoological Gardens of Adelaide I saw the only laughing jackass
that ever showed any disposition to be courteous to me. This one opened
his head wide and laughed like a demon; or like a maniac who was consumed
with humorous scorn over a cheap and degraded pun. It was a very human laugh.
If he had been out of sight I could have believed that the laughter came
from a man. It is an odd-looking bird, with a head and beak that are much
too large for its body. In time man will exterminate the rest of the wild
creatures of Australia, but this one will probably survive, for man is his
friend and lets him alone. Man always has a good reason for his charities
toward wild things, human or animal -- when he has any. In this case the
bird is spared because he kills snakes. If L.J. will take my advice he will
not kill all of them. - Following the Equator |
 AI image created by Barbara Schmidt |
Illustration
from MELBOURNE PUNCH, October 1895
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