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
Illustration
from MELBOURNE PUNCH, October 1895
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