THE YAK. 47 



cattle of England) any more than those of Hindostan ; 

 but make a low grunting noise, scarcely audible, and that 

 but seldom, when under some impression of uneasiness. 

 These cattle are pastured in the coldest part of Tibet, 

 upon short herbage, peculiar to the tops of mountains and 

 bleak plains. That chain of lofty mountains situated 

 between lat. 27 and 28, which divides Tibet from Bootan, 

 and whose summits are most commonly covered with 

 snow, is their favourite haunt. In this vicinity the 

 Southern glens afford them food and shelter during the 

 severity of the winter; in milder seasons the Northern 

 aspect is more congenial to their nature, and admits a 

 wider range. They are a very valuable property to the 

 tribes of illiterate Tartars, who live in tents, and tend 

 them from place to place, affording their herdsmen a mode 

 of conveyance, a good covering, and subsistence. They 

 are never employed in agriculture, but are extremely 

 useful as beasts of burden; for they are strong, sure- 

 footed, and carry a great weight. Tents and ropes are 

 manufactured of their hair, and I have seen, though 

 amongst the humblest ranks of herdsmen, caps and jackets 

 worn of their skins. Their tails are esteemed throughout 

 the East, as far as luxury or parade have any influence on 

 the manners of the people ; and on the continent of India 

 are found, under the denomination of Chowries, in the 

 hands of the meanest grooms, as well as, occasionally, in 

 those of the first ministers of state. Yet the best requital 

 with which the care of their keepers is at length rewarded 

 for selecting them good pastures, is in the abundant quan- 

 tity of rich milk they give, yielding most excellent butter, 

 which they have a custom of depositing in skins or 

 bladders, and excluding the air; it keeps in this cold 



