SCENES IN INDIA. 
32 
dwell, as it is very strong and sure-footed. It scarcely 
ever falls, and when this does happen on steep decli- 
vities where it is so generally employed, the accident 
is almost invariably fatal. Instances of such casualties, 
however, are rare. 
The herdsmen commonly convert the hides into a 
loose outer garment that covers the whole of their 
bodies, hanging down to the knees, and it proves a 
sufficient protection against the lowest temperature of 
the cold and desolate region which they inhabit. It 
furnishes at once a cloak by day and a bed by night. 
The long hair, when carefully taken from the skin, is 
skilfully manufactured into a sort of tent cloth which 
is remarkably strong and quite impervious to the wet. 
They convert the same material into ropes, which 
are much stronger than those composed of hemp 
and resist more successfully the influence of climate 
and of friction. The yak’s tail is an indispensable 
appendage to the costume of an Eastern court ; it is 
used throughout India, and when not to be obtained 
in sufficient quantities to answer the demand, is very 
successfully imitated by those cunning artificers, who 
are equalled only by the Chinese in these and similar 
deceptions. The tails are converted into chowries, 
a sort of whisk employed to keep off the flies and 
musquitoes from the heads of those who can afford 
such a luxury. The dhe, or cow of the yak, yields 
a large quantity of milk, and this is so rich as to 
produce better butter than that of any other of the 
bovine species in Asia. 
We were much gratified at having the opportunity 
