YAK. 



413 



ness. These cattle are pastured in the coldest 

 parts of Tibet, upon the short herbage peculiar 

 to the tops of mountains and bleak plains. The 

 chain of mountains, situated between the latitudes 

 27 and 28, which divides Tibet from Bootan, and 

 whose summits are most commonly clothed with 

 snow, is their favourite haunt. In this vicinity 

 the southern glens aiford them food and shelter 

 during the severity of winter ; in milder seasons, 

 the northern aspect is more congenial to their 

 nature, and admits a wider range. They are a 

 very valuable property to the tribes of itinerant 

 Tartars, called Duckba, who live in tents and 

 tend them from place to place : they at the same 

 time afford their herdsmen an easy mode of con- 

 veyance, a good covering, and Avholesome sub- 

 sistence. They are never employed in agricul- 

 ture, but are extremely useful as beasts of bur- 

 den ; for they are strong, sure-footed, and carry a 

 great weight. Tents and ropes are manufactured 

 of their hair, and, amongst the humbler ranks of 

 herdsmen, I have seen caps and jackets made of 

 their skins. Their tails are esteemed throughout 

 the East, as far as luxury and parade have any 

 influence on the manners of the people ; and on 

 the continent of India they are found under the 

 denomination of Choivrks, in the hands of the 

 meanest grooms, as well as occasionally in those 

 of the first minister of state. They are in univer- 

 sal use for driving away winged insects, flies, and 

 musquitoes, and are employed, as ornamental 



