30 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
is short hut arched ; and, as in the Brahminee hull, 
peculiar to Hindostan, there is a high hump between 
the shoulders : this is coated with a profusion of short 
curly hair, extremely soft and of a texture very dif- 
ferent from that which covers the other parts of the 
body. This soft fur, for such it really is, overspreads 
the shoulders, and continues, though in less profusion, 
along the back, extending to the root of the tail, which 
is composed of an immense tuft of long bright hair 
that almost sweeps the ground, and adds greatly to 
the elegance of this singularly beautiful animal. It 
is far more copious than the tail of the largest Eng- 
lish cart-horse ; not so long, indeed, but much thicker, 
while the hair is finer and more glossy, entirely en- 
veloping the tail, and is as great an ornament to this 
fine creature as a luxuriant head of hair to a hand- 
some woman. In some of these bulls it is perfectly 
white, every other part of the animal being quite 
black, except the soft fur which covers the shoulders, 
hump, and spine. This order is frequently reversed, 
though occasionally the colours vary considerably ; 
but black with white, as seen in the accompanying 
engraving, is the most prevailing order, and I think the 
most striking. 
The legs of the yak are very short, while the 
body appears disproportionably large from the profu- 
sion of hair with which it is overspread. On some 
of these animals this is so long as to trail upon the 
ground, which gives an ungainly appearance to the 
creature’s movements, as, when walking slowly, it 
exhibits the creeping motion of a large reptile. The 
