THE TANGUM HORSE 289 



typical animal is found with its characteristic marks 

 in a state perfectly wild, and it appears unmixed 

 with wild horses of other shape or colours. We 

 have hefore remarked that it was first observed by 

 Father Georgi on the northern declivities of the 

 Himalaya range ; it was again noticed from report 

 by D'Hobsonville, who describes the wild animal as 

 below ten hands in height, in the winter dress, 

 covered with long hair, and marked symmetrically 

 with spots. In Bell's Travels, the wild asses' skins, 

 curiously marked with waved white and brown, of 

 which he saw many in his route near the sources ol 

 the Obi, skins which have puzzled succeeding natu- 

 ralists, may indicate this animalT^Another account 

 refers to the wild spotted horses about Nipchou i) 

 Eastern Tahtary, being the size of asses, but more 

 compact and handsome. Moorcroft, again, saw the 

 species on the highest summits of Thibet, in their 

 shining summer coats, and with their antelope 

 forms, scouring along in numbers ; and a Monsieur 

 de Tavernier seems to allude to them in a recent 

 notice of his travels to the wall of China. The 

 Kiang of Moorcroft, which he insists is not the 

 Ghoor Khur, is evidently the same, as well a 

 Dr. Gerrard's wild horse, mentioned in his observa- 

 tions on the Skite valley. * u Horses," he says, 

 " alone undergo the transition from the elevated 

 pastures; but they lose the woolly covering that 



* Asiatic Researches, xviii. pi. 11, 247. We regret not to 

 have had access to this work: it is probably also the Tangut 

 Ksching 



T 



