Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-11
A GREAT GAME COUNTRY.
Thibet Will Prove Treasure to the
Daring Hunter
From the London Mail.

FROM the London Mall.
When British troops have opened the
mysterious land of Thibet to civilization
travellers will be able to see at close quar-
tiers many animals raret and curious If
Thibet offers no attractions to the tourist
who requires luxurious travelling, to the
sportsman and the naturalist It is a veri-
table paradise though far from Edenic in
some respects. With a surprisingly rich
fauna space can beofound here for only a
brief survey of some of the more remark
able animals of this strange land, and these
| are all of exceptional interest One of the
largest Of the mammalia is the yak, or
grunting OK. Standing between five and
six feet high at the shoulders, the bulk Of
this strengthening creature is not a little
eXs ggerated by the enormous growth Of
hair upon the lower part of the body and
tail. Beneath the outer coat, moreover
there is layer of fine wool, known as
'"pushim," which is highly priced for the
making of cloth. The extraordinary tail Is
one of the most conspicuous features of
| Thibetan monasteries or lamaseries being
suspended on poles Streamers. Through
out the east these tails are used as ny
whsks, and in China they are dyed red
and fixed to the roofs of summer residences
as pendants. Living near the region of per-
petual snow, and of fierce disposition, the
hunting of the yak is not to be lightly I'M
dertaken. In spite of temper, however it
is easily domesticated, and forms an inval-
liable beast of burden, being wonderfully
sure-footed and capable of carrying great
weights. 1t is. however. unable to eat corn
and forced marches, exhausting alike to
man and beast, are often on this account
necessary.
Barren and inhospitable the high table,
lands of Thibet harbors yet another hoofed
animal as remarkable as the yak-the chiru
antelope, for example, which like the
swollen nose. 1t is supposed that this en-
larged nasal chamber is directly due to
the need of some special adaptation for
breathing the highly rarified air of these
regions. The little goat or Thibetan gazelle
and a magnificent wild sheep, the argan
manage, like the chiru, to thrive where in
summer the sun scorches by day and icy
blasts prevail at night and herds of wild
dogs are ever on the prowl. More difficult
to stalk than any other Thibetan game the
argali still further allures the sportsman
by the fact that 1T carries superb horns
which may attain length of forty-eight
inches, and a girth of twenty inches at the
base. Old rams will leap from a height Of
thirty feet with confidence.
The ibex and a remarkable animal known
as the bharal or blue sheep of Thibet but
which appears to be more goat than sheep
also deserves mention here. The show deer,
a beast nearly as big as the great wapiti
has very seldom fallen to the gun of the
European. No complete specimen has yet
been sent to Europe. In this country 1t is
represented only by five skulls and horns
in the British Museum and as many more
| in different private collections The horns
are of great size; the record in the number
of ponts-thrteen--is in the British Mu-
scum. The spread between the tips of the
horns is over three feet and the width be-
tween arched stems may be as much as
three feet nine and three -quarters inches
OF the three species Of wild ass which
occur in Asia, one the kiang, Is peculiar
to Thibet Perhaps the most curious of the
large animals of Thibet Is the great banda
bear-like creature. whose exact aff1nities
yet puzzle the expert In coloration it is
remarkable, patches of Jet black being set
in strong contrast by "a cream-colored
ground Little is known about the crea-
ture, but it is conjectured that this colora-
ton is protective, iharmonIzing with the
patches of snow and black rocks among
which it lives. onesof the most brilliantly
colored of all monkeys occurs in Thibet,
known as the orange snub-nosed monkey
1t lives in troops amid the taller trees
After the color thee conspicuous fea-
ture about this animal is its tip tilted
nose. ~ -s