OF KAMAOK I53 



plains, but of smaller size : horses and asses must, however, be excepted, for 

 of the former there are only a few ponies, which are imported from Tartary, 

 and of the latter there are none. The hill sheep have invariably short tails 

 like deer. Further notice will be taken of the cattle, when on the subject 

 of agriculture. The wild animals are tigers, by whom great numbers of 

 people are annually destroyed, leopards, bears, jackals, wild cats, weasels, 

 flying squirrels, moles, porcupines, rats, and mice, monkeys, two varieties, 

 the hender and langur. The beasts of chase are wild boars, and five species 

 of deer, two, the jarao and sarao, large, and three, the thar or chamois, the 

 ghurer and the hJialicr, small 5 also hares. The animals peculiar to the Hima- 

 laya will, hereafter, be noticed in a separate article. Among the birds are, 

 one eagle, vultures, kites, hawks, ravens, crows, daws, jays, wood-peckers 

 and an endless variety of small birds. The game birds are pheasants, five 

 varieties, all differing from the Europe, jungle fowl, partridges, three sorts, 

 quails, woodcocks, peacocks, snipes, and wild fowl. The latter, as well as 

 other aquatic birds, are very rare, owing, in all probability, to the rapidity of 

 all the mountain rivers. The common barn door fowl is bred by the inha- 

 bitants of low caste. 



Reptiles are by no means numerous. The snakes are of three or four 

 kinds, but all harmless excepting the Cohra capella : this last is, however, only 

 to be met- with in low hot situations, such as Srmagar, where fatal accidents 

 occasionally occur from its bite. This remark applies also to scorpions, those 

 on the tops of the mountains being very small, with little or no venom. The 

 remaining reptiles are gosamps^ armadillos, lizards, asps, frogs, toads, &c. 



The rivers and lakes, in these hills, offer very few varieties of fish, not 

 probably exceeding seven or eight, among which are the trout and eel : 

 alligators and turtles are not found higher than the Tarai. Land crabs 

 are common. The rivers, for some distance from the Himalaya, are entirely 



