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THE STORY OF THE YAK. 
of the head and neck in very old individuals. Around the muzzle there is a 
little white. We frequently find the yak represented as a brown and white, 
or even a pure white animal, but all such specimens are domesticated, and 
mostly hybrid individuals. 
When I visited a Thibetan monastery I was struck with the number of 
yak-tails suspended as streamers from tall poles fixed in the ground before 
the entrance. The more general use of these appendages throughout the 
East is, however, in the form of fly-whisks. For this purpose pure white 
tails are preferred; and they are frequently mounted with the twisted horn 
of a black-buck as a handle. In China yak-tails dyed red are affixed to the 
roofs of the residences as pendants. 
Although the yak is timid and runs away at the approach of the hunter, 
I had a different experience with an old blackish bull yak that I wounded 
without killing. He charged at me with his head down, and was so close 
that I had little chance to run. I was in an open space, and there was not 
a tree in sight. Fortunately there was a large rock near by, and I ran 
behind it. The maddened yak dashed against the rock with such violence 
that its skull was fractured and it fell dead from the terrific shock. 
There are many domesticated yaks in Central Asia. In some sections they 
are used at the plow, and can also be broken to ride, but they are usually vicious. 
Those used for riding are guided by the nose. In the summer the wild yaks 
shrink from the heat and make their homes on the loftiest plateaus of the 
mountains. 
