Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-11-07
A GREAT CANE COUNTRY.
Thibet VIII Prove a Treasure to the
Darina Hunter.

i''SCt WIN FEONS q -
Daring Hunter.
When British troops have opened the
mysterious land of Thibet to civiliZa
ton travellers will be able to see at
close quarters many animals rare and
curious. If Thihet offers no attrac-
tions to the Tourist who requires luXur-
iouS travelling. to the sportsman and
the naturalist it is veritable paradise,
though far from Edenic in some
respects. With a surprisingly rich
fauna space can be found here for only
a brief survey of some OF the more re-
markahle animals of this strange land,
and these are all of exceptional inter-
est. One of the largest of the mann
MALTA is the yak. or gruntlng OK.
Standing between five and SIX feet
high at the shoulders. the bulk of this
strange-looking creature is not little
exaggerated by the enormous growth
of hair upon the lower part of the body
and tail. Beneath the outer coat,
moreover, there is Il layer of fine wool,
known as 'pushir.' which is highly
priced for the making of cloth. The
extraordinary tail is one of the most
conspicuous features of Thibetan
monasteries or Iamaseries, being sus-
pended on poles or streamers.
, Throughout the east these tails are
used as fly whisks, and i'll China they
are dyed red and fixed to the roofs of
summer residences as pendants. LlV-
ing near the region Of perpetual snow,
and of fierce disposition, the hunting OF
the yak is not to be lightly undertaken
In spite of temper. however, it is easily
domesticated, and forms an invaluable
beast of burden, being wonderfully
sure-footed and capable of carrying
great weights. 1t is. however, unable
, to eat corn, ana forced marches, eX-
hauSting alike to man and beast, are
( often on this account necessary.
Barren and inhospita BILE, the high
tablelands of Thibet harbors yet anoth-
er hoofed animal as remarkable as the
yak-the chiru antelope, for example,
which, like the strange saga, has de-
, VCloped an enormous swollen nose. 1t
is supposed that this enlarged nasal
chamber is directly due to the need of
some special adaptation for brea thing
the highly rarilied air Of these regions.
The little goat, or Thhetan gazelle,
and magnificent wild sheep, the ar
gall. 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 ThiDctan game, the argali
still further alures the sportsman by
the fact that it 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 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
, us big as the great Wapiti, has very sell
dom fallen to the gun of the European.
M compicte Specimen has yet been
sent 10 Europe In this country it is
I represented only by five skulls and
horns in the British Museum and as
many more in different private collcc-
lions. The horns are of great size;
the record in the number Of points
thirtccn-iS in the British Museum.
III" spread between the tips of the
hprus is over three feet and the width
between 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 Thbet
is the great panda, a bear-like crea-
ture, whose exact affinities yet puzzle
the expert. In coloration it is re-
markable, patches of jet black being
set in strong contrast by a cream-col-
ored ground. Little is known about
the creature, hut it is conjcctured that
this coloration is protective, harmon
ling with the patches of snow and
black rocks among which it lives. One
Of the most brilliantly colored of all
monkeys occurs in Thibet, known as
the orange snub-nose monkey. 1t lives
in troops amid the taller trees. After
the color the next conspicuous feature
about this animal is its tip tilted
\ nose.-London Mail.