A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



times, as I have heard (though I never saw more 

 than about fifty together) in vast droves. The 

 kyang (Eguus hemionus) is in shape and size more 

 like a zebra than either a horse or donkey, and is in 

 colour a rich chestnut, with a dark dorsal stripe 

 that extends from the withers to the tail, the latter 

 being of some length, reaching to the hocks. The 

 lower part of the body, and the inside of the legs, is 

 pure white, and the medial line, or division between 

 the colours of the upper and lower parts, is very 

 marked ; so much so, indeed, that at some distance, 

 and on a plain that is quivering in the midday 

 sunlight, one observes what seems to be the upper 

 half of an animal without any corresponding lower 

 half. These kyang are literally the nightmare (or 

 should one say " mares"?) of the sportsman in 

 Thibet, as they are almost always to be found in 

 places where dwell nyan and goa, and, being, I 

 should say, the most inquisitive brutes in existence, 

 they no sooner observe the ardent stalker crawling 

 on his face across the stones towards the coveted 

 game, than one of them is sure to trot up to see 

 what on earth is going on. As soon as he has 

 ascertained that it is some lunatic who is apparently 

 amusing himself in this strange way, the kyang 

 calls the rest of the herd, who, after satisfying their 

 curiosity by a brief survey, gallop away snorting 

 and kicking, and of course putting every animal in 

 the neighbourhood on the alert. I have seen them 

 come quite close to the camp (their curiosity being 



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