PR 
MAMMALOGY OF THE HIMALAYAS. Ixxi 
Ass ; and as he attributed to it a whole hoof, like the horse, and a single horn in the forehead, specula~ 
tion required but one step further to produce the fabulous Unicorn, such as it appears in the royal 
arms of England, and such as it has retained its hold on popular credulity for the last two thousand 
years. ‘The works of Ctesias have perished, but this curious passage is preserved by Phocius;* Aristotle 
adopted his statements regarding the Indian Ass, from Ctesias; and no other passage of his writings 
has given rise to a tenth part of the commentaries, discussions, and speculations which have originated. 
in this. Religion was, as usual, pressed into the discussion, and as the Septuagint had used the word 
Monoceros, it was at one time next to rank heresy to doubt the existence of the Unicorn, and might 
have brought the imprudent sceptic to the stake. But it is not my intention to renew this fruitless and 
childish discussion ; my only wish is to point out the perfect applicability of Ctesias’s description to the 
Indian Rhinoceros, as it is now well known to naturalists; those who wish to pursue a subject of consi- 
derable interest in the history of human knowledge, will find many curious details in the writings of the 
learned Bochart,{ in Scaliger, Hardouin, Sivry, and others of the older commentators on Aristotle andl 
Pliny. 
Wild Hogs, but of a smaller variety than those of Bengal, are extremely numerous in all the wooded 
parts of the mountains ; they donot appear to be specifically different from the common wild boar or 
Europe. Horses do not breed on the southern face of the mountains, but are imported from Thibet.§ A 
valuable and sure-footed variety, called Tangun, is described by Turner.|| The Ass does not appear to 
have been introduced into any part of the mountains, at least neither Dr. Hamilton nor Mr. Hodgson 
makes any allusion to its being found in Nepal,4] and Mr. Traill expressly states that it does not exist in 
Kemaon.** The Dziggetai, however, (Equus hemionus), is found on the plains of Thibet and Tartary, 
and is called Kiang by the natives. 
: RUMINANTIA. 
The Ruminantia of the Himalayas, as composed of the larger four-footed game most commonly followed 
by sportsmen, are probably better known than any other department of Hill Mammalogy. Yet even 
here much still remains to be done to make us thoroughly acquainted with all the different species or 
varieties which have been mentioned by Mr. Hodgson++ and other writers ; the nomenclature, in parti- 
cular, is extremely confused, and there is strong reason to believe that the number of species, particularly 
among the deer tribe, has been greatly increased by the variety of names given to the same animal in 
the ever varying dialects of the hill tribes. I have, however, only mentioned those of which the exist- 
ence is known with some degree of certainty. : ae 
The Musk (Moschus moschiferus), called Kastooree, is not uncommon in the higher hills. It is said 
to derive its peculiar odoriferous secretion from feeding on the Kastooree plant, a kind of ground nut, 
which is strongly impregnated with the same pungent scent, and which the animal digs up with its long 
tusk. Mr. Hodgson, in a recent number of the Journal of the Asiatic Society,t! 3g expresses his belief in 
the existence of three different species ‘of this animal among the ‘Himalayas, and even assigns them dis- 
tinct names; but the characters are founded entirely on the difference of colour, which i is too variable to 
be depended on for the purpose of specific distinction ; and, in fact, Lieut. Smith assures me that the 
colours vary with the age of the animal ; a remark on which Iam disposed to place the greater reliance 
from its agreeing with my own observations, made on many individuals preserved i in the museums of this 
country and the Continent. Whether the “Second species of Musk,” mentioned by Dr. Falconer s 
having been discovered during his recent journey into Cashmere and Little Thibet, be founded on more : 
* Photii Biblioth. cod., 72, p. 91. T Hist., lib. ii., c. 1. + Hierozoi, lib. iii., cd age 
§ Mundy’s Tour, ii., 75. ~«. © Praser’s Journey, p. 351. § Hamilton's Nepaul, 19 ~ ee 
** Journey, Zl. z ' + t Asiat. Res., xvi., 351. } # New Series, 1,20 ee ee 
k 2 oe 
