The Opelousas courier., 1903-07-04
vAGARlgs OF THE YAK.
He has a Habit of Going Just Where
La AMan$e ~

TIC IDS q btdSis ~S
He Wants to.
"The yak goes much his own way,
no matter how strongly his rider may
twitch the cord drawn through the
cartilage of his nose. 1t is his wont
to march doggedly on with his muzzle
close to the GROUND, breathing SO nara
that you can almost imagine your
ears are buzzing with the sharp drone
of a steam saw some distance away
tearing its way through timber"
30 writes the great Swedish explor.
or. DR.. Sven Hedin, who has Travelled
over a great part Of the Aslatlc con-
tinent en- yak-back and there1ofe
knows whereof he speaks.
The yak is a heavily built animal
OK like in shape and covered with
long black and white hair. 1t Is a
native Of the almost unknown land OF
Thibet, ami in its wild state is hunted
for the sake of it's hair, for its skln'
which is made into a leather OF fine
quality, for it's sharply pointed horns,
which are held in high esteem as Or
naments, and for it's somewhat strong
tasting flesh, which is a favorite food
among the Thibetans. The yak IS;
however, much more valuable after 1t
has been domesticated, for the te-
males give a, rich yellow milk, While
the males are superior to horses or
camels fer mountain travel and are
apparently Indifferent to the weight OF
their loads. The secret of the yak's
superiority lies chiefly In his powerful
hoof and in the cas- with which ne
can perform his work when high alti-
tudes have been reached.
One day, while DR.. Hedin was eX-
ploring a glacier, the good and bad
points of his yak. steed were brought
plainly out. The heavy creature
picked his way through the rugged
moraine, avoiding all holes and bal
ancing himself in a marvellous man.
ner ON the sharp edges of rocks. When
a steep slope was to be descended ne
would draw his four feet rigidly I'M
der him and coast to the bottom. He
stopped short when he chose, and
neither blows nor ~coaxing had the
slightest effect, but after a time ne
would grunt cheerfully and proceed
rapidly for the camp as his legs could
on the interrupted journey. A snow
storm overlook the party later in the
day, and, though the explorer feared
that his steed might balk again, ne
showed excellent sense by making as
rapidly for the camp as his legs could
carry him.
HE flung himself down declivities,
dived like an otter through the snow"
says DR.. Hedin, "but, alas, sitting In
the saddle was like riding a high sea
In a rocking, pitching skiff. Often l
was obliged to fling myself backward
till my back touched the back of the
yak, and | had to adjust my balance
to all his unexpected movements"
One day he witnessed an amusing
race between yaks and camels In a
camp at the Pamir mountains. The
~long-haired camels with their rocking
humps burst at once into a wild gal
lop, and deafened the by-standers with
their screams as they dashed along
regardless of the course laid down for
them. The yaks were, as usual, both
self-possessed and obstinate. Two OF
them declined to bulge an inch; an
other walked quite away from the
course; some made an attempt to
move sidewise; while on philosophic
pair slowly and solemnly stalked
around the course and came in as
prize winners.-Our Animal Friends.