168 
TIBETIAN MUSK. 
dom of Tibet. It lives retired among the highest 
and. rudest mountains. Except in autumn it is a 
solitary animal ; but at this season large flocks 
collect in order to change their place., being driven 
southward by the approaching cold. During 
this migration the peasants lie in wait for them* 
and cither take them in snares, or kill them with 
arrows and bludgeons. At these times they are 
often so meagre and languid from hunger and fa- 
tigue as to be taken without much difficulty. 
They are gentle and timid, having no weapons 
of defence except their tusks. Their activity is 
very great, and they are able to take astonishing 
leaps over the tremendous chasms of the rocks. 
They tread so lightly on the snow, as scarcely to 
leave a mark, while the dogs that are used in pur- 
suing them, sink in, and are frequently obliged to 
desist from the chace In a state of captivity they 
live but a very short time. They feed on various 
vegetables of the mountains. They are usually 
taken in snares, or shot by cross-bows placed in 
their tracks, with a string from the trigger for 
them to tread on and discharge the bow. Some- 
times they are shot with bows and arrows. Their 
chase is exceedingly laborious. 
In an oval receptacle about the size of a small 
egg, is contained the well known drug called 
musk. This hangs from the middle of the abdo- 
men, and is peculiar to the male animal. A full 
grown male will yield a drachm and a half, and 
an old one two drachms. The bag is furnished 
with two small orifices, the one naked and the 
other covered with oblong hairs. Gmclin tells 
us, that on squeezing this bag, he forced the musk 
through the apertures, in the form of a brown 
fatty matter. The hunters cut off the bag and 
tie it up for sale, but often adulterate the contents 
by mixing them with other matter to increase their 
