Dec. 1848. MUSK-DEER, OR KOSTURAH. 269 



the following morning we saw two musk-deer,* called 

 " Kosturah" by the mountaineers. The musk, which hangs 

 in a pouch near the navel of the male, is the well-known 

 object of traffic with Bengal. This creature ranges between 

 8000 and 13,000 feet, on the Himalaya, often scenting 

 the air for many hundred yards. It is a pretty grey 

 animal, the size of a roebuck, and something resembling it, 

 with coarse fur, short horns, and two projecting teeth 

 from the upper jaw, said to be used in rooting up the 

 aromatic herbs from which the Bhoteeas believe that it 

 derives the odour of musk. This I much doubt, because 

 the animal never frequents those very lofty regions where 

 the herbs supposed to provide the scent are found, nor 

 have I ever seen signs of any having been so rooted up. 

 The Delphinium glaciale smells strongly and disagreeably 

 of musk, but it is one of the most alpine plants in the 

 world, growing at an elevation of 17,000 feet, far above 

 the limits of the Kosturah. The female and young male 

 are very good eating, much better than any Indian venison 

 I ever tasted, being sweet and tender. Mr. Hodgson 

 once kept a female alive, but it was very wild, and continued 

 so as long as I knew it. Two of my Lepchas gave chase 

 to these animals, and fired many arrows in vain after them: 

 these people are fond of carrying a bow, but are very 

 poor shots. 



We descended 3000 feet to the deep valley of the 

 alloong river which runs west-by-south to the Tambur, 

 from between Junnoo and Kubra : the path was very bad, 

 over quartz, granite, and gneiss, which cut the shoes and 

 feet severely. The bottom of the valley, which is elevated 

 10,450 feet, was filled with an immense accumulation of 



* Tli eve are two species of musk-deer in the Himalaya, besides the Tibctim 

 kind, which appears identical with the Siberian animal originally described by 

 Pallas. 



