1036 
THROUGH ASIA 
than usual ; whilst its long" hair trails on the ground. 
One advantage the yak always has over its pursuers : 
it never gets short of breath. When it perceives that 
danger threatens, it sets oft at a gallop, with its head 
down and its tail in the air. When shot at, it stops ; 
and when wounded, will charge its pursuer. In such 
a case it is prudent to be well on the alert. 
Iskender and the other Taghliks told us, that in 
Cherchen, Charkhlik, and Achan (places at the northern 
foot of the Kwen-lun Mountains) there lived pavans or 
hunters who gained their livelihood almost entirely by 
hunting the yak. Their hunting-grounds are the Arka- 
tagh and Chimen-tagh in Northern Tibet. Each hunter 
takes with him two men, and a donkey to carry home the 
skin. But generally two or more hunters work together, 
so as to support one another if they are attacked by the 
yak. They are said to be such skilful and perfect marks- 
men, that they not seldom bring down their prey at the 
first shot, which must of course be lodged in the heart. 
They do not like to fire at more than sixty paces, and aim 
at a spot behind the shoulder. If the bullet penetrates the 
pelvic region, the animal will not succumb for two or three 
days after. If it strikes any other part, the yak troubles 
himself very little about it. To aim at the head is a mere 
waste of powder, for no bullet will penetrate the massive 
bone of the forehead. If a bullet does happen to strike a 
yak there, he merely shakes his head and grunts. But it is 
a good thing to break one of the legs, for that enables the 
hunter to put in his second bullet at close quarters, as well 
as hampers the animal if he charges. From the story 
of Islam Bai’s many shots at our yak bull, it will be 
evident, that no bullet is really profitably expended unless 
it strikes a vital organ. It was, it will be remembered, 
only at the eleventh .shot, which penetrated in the neigh- 
bourhood of the heart, that the huge monster fell. 
The rifles which the Taghlik hunters use are made in 
the cities of East I urkestan. They are long heavy 
muzzle-loaders, with hint locks, and when fired are rested 
on a fork of antelope’s horn. With his rifle in his hand,. 
