278 NEPAL Himalayan heights, where they feed upon the herbage of those extensive tracts which lie in the neighbourhood of perpetual snow. The sheep in these altitudes are of considerable size, and have fine wool. In the great forests which are frequent on or near the southern frontier of Nepál, throughout its whole extent from the Sarda to the Tístá (Teesta), wild animals abound. Elephants are still found in considerable numbers on the lower and central hills, and their capture is the great sport of Nepal. The rhinoceros, tiger, and leopard abound in the tarải, and there are species of the two latter peculiar to the hills. Deer are common throughout the country. The animal known in Bengal by the nane of the Nepál dog is brought from Upper and Lower Tibet, of which it is a native. Several handsome birds are found in the mountainous regions, particularly pheasants (mandl, Argus Damphyra) of golden and spotted plumage (Lophophorus Impeyanus, Ceriornis Satyra, Melegris Satyra). The chikor, a species of partridge, is well known to Europeans in India. Minerals.--The stones and ores, that have been collected, indicate the existence of a variety of minerals in the mountains of Nepál. Copper is found quite near the surface of the earth, the ore being dug from open trenches, so that the work is entirely stopped by the rainy season. These orcs are found in several varieties, and are said to be unusually rich in metal. Iron-ore is also found near the surface, and is not surpassed in purity by that of any other country. Sulphur is likewise abundant, and procured in great quantities. Stone is found in great variety, particularly jasper and inarble; but the houses are universally built of brick, because the use of stone is impracticable in a country where the roads do not admit of wheel-carriage, and where there is no navigation. A considerable mass of rock-crystal is said to exist near Gúrkha, and limestone as well as slate abounds everywhere; yet limekilns are scarce, mud being the cement preferred, because, as the natives assert, it answers better in their humid climate than mortar. Population. -- The numerous valleys interspersed throughout the mountains of Nepal are inhabited by a variety of races. The aboriginal inhabitants appear, from their physiognomy, to be of Tartar or Chinese origin, bearing no resemblance to the Hindus either in features, religion or manners. The period when the mountainous regions were first invaded by the Hindus is uncertain; but, according to the most authentic traditions, the date is supposed to have been about the 14th century. In the castern part of the country, aboriginal tribes still remain ; and until the predominance of the Gúrkhas, they enjoyed unmolested their customs and religion. In Kumáun, which lies to the west of the Káli or Sarda river, and which passed from Nepalese to British sovereignty in the early part of this century, the case is different,
