Sept. 1849. PONIES. INCIDENTS AT MOMAV. 131 



burnt by a tropical sun, it might still be us utterly sterile ; 

 but with such sterility I had long been familial". Here 

 the colourings are those of the fiery desert or volcanic 

 island, while the climate is that of the poles. Never, in 

 the course of all my wanderings, had my eye rested on a 

 scene so dreary and inhospitable. The " cities of the 

 plain" lie sunk in no more death-like sea than Cholamoo 

 lake, nor are the tombs of Petra hewn in more desolate 

 cliffs than those which flank the valley of the Tibetan Arun. 



On our return my pony strained his shoulder amongst 

 the rocks ; as a remedy, the Lachoong Phipun plunged a 

 lancet into the muscle, and giving me his own animal, 

 rode mine down.* It drizzled and sleeted all the way, 

 and was dark before we arrived at the tent. 



At night the Tibetan dogs are let loose, when they howl 

 dismally : on one occasion they robbed me of all my meat, a 

 fine piece of yak's flesh. The yaks are also troublesome, 

 and bad sleepers ; they used to try to effect an entrance 

 into my tent, pushing their muzzles under the flaps at the 

 bottom, and awakening me with a snort and moist hot 

 blast. Before the second night I built a turf wall round 

 the tent, and in future slept with a heavy tripod by my 

 side, to poke at intruders. 



Birds flock to the grass about Momay ; larks, finches, 

 warblers, abundance of sparrows, feeding on the yak- 



* These animals, called Tanghan, are wonderfully strong and enduring ; they 

 are never shod, and the hoof often cracks, and they become pigeon-toed : they are 

 frequently blind of one eye, when they are called " zemik" (blind ones), but this 

 is thought no great defect. They average 51. to 101. for a good animal in Tibet ; 

 and the best fetch 40£. to 501. in the plains of India, where they become 

 acclimated and thrive well. Giantchi (Jhansi-jeung of Turner) is the best mart 

 for them in this part of Tibet, where some breeds fetch very high prices. The 

 Tibetans give the foals of value messes of pig's blood and raw liver, which they 

 devour greedily, and it is said to strengthen them wonderfully ; the custom is, I 

 believe, general in central Asia. Humboldt (Pers. Nar. iv. p. 320) describes the 

 horses of Caraccas as occasionally eating salt meat. 



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