round. When the animal
is killed, this tail is often mounted in an ivory or metal handle, and
used by Indian princes as a fly-whisk. The yak's colour is usually black
or a very dark brown, but sometimes it is white, and the hair on its
shoulders hangs thick and long, like the mane of a lion.

In Thibet the yak is, perhaps, the most useful animal to be found in the
country. It is hardy and strong, and thrives upon the short grass
growing in the sheltered valleys of the lofty Himalaya and Kuen Luen
mountains, at a height where the air is too cold and the ground too
rugged and bare for most animals, especially domesticated ones. Though
horses and sheep are domesticated by the Thibetans, the yak in many
respects replaces them both, besides serving the uses of oxen or cows in
other places. Large herds of yaks are driven from place to place by the
wandering Thibetans, who pitch their black tents where there is
pasturage for their flocks. These people live very largely upon the milk
of their yaks, and upon the butter which they make from it. They have a
great liking for tea, which comes from China in the form of blocks or
bricks, which they break up as they require them. When the tea is
boiling in the kettle, they put in large quantities of milk and butter,
and even salt, and though the mixture is one which would be very
disagreeable to a European, it is enjoyed by the Thibetans, and is no
doubt made much more nourishing by the addition of the nutritious milk
and butter. The flesh of the yak is considered to be excellent food, and
is eaten by those Thibetans who can afford to do so. But a small
wandering tribe cannot often kill a yak or a sheep for food, because
they cannot eat the whole of the flesh while it is fresh, and thus a
portion is wasted.

The long hair of the yak, like the wool of goats and sheep, is suitable
for spinning into thread and weaving into cloth. The Thibetans spin
large quantities of yak's wool, and some of it they weave, but much of
the weaving is done by the Chinese, who sell the cloth back to the
Thibetans. Of this cloth the Thibetans make not only their clothes, but
also the large tents under which so many of them live. As the wool is
not washed, bleached, or prepared in any way before it is spun and
woven, the cloth retains the natural greasiness of the wool, which
renders it quite water-proof, and thus makes it an excellent material
for tents. Even the ropes which sustain the tents are made of yak