Skip to main content

The Unicorn of Thibet

In honor of the upcoming National Unicorn Day on April 9, I present to you a tale of the mythical beast, as related in the Alexandria Gazette & Daily Advertiser, March 19, 1821:

A King Pursued by a Unicorn, detail

 THE UNICORN.

In the forty-seventh number of that invaluable work, the Quarterly Review, received from our correspondent at London, we find another amusing and interesting article in relation to the Snowy Range of the Hymalaya mountains, forming that stupendous buttress which supports on the south the celebrated Table Land of Central Asia.— The article of which we speak, is a review of a tour through a part of these mountains, to the sources of the river Jumna and Ganges. In the course of the review, the writer introduces a letter from a British officer commanding in the hilly country east of Nepaul, to the marquis of Hastings, stating that the Unicorn, so long considered as a fabulous animal, actually exists at this moment in the interior of Thibet, where it is well known to the inhabitants. The description of the animal corresponds exactly with the Unicorn of the ancients. The hoofs are divided, and the size that of a horse from twelve to thirteen hands high: fierce and extremely wild; seldom if ever caught alive; but frequently shot; and that the flesh is used for food. The person who gave the information to the author of the letter, (Major Latter) has repeatedly seen these animals, and eaten the flesh of them. They go together in herds like wild buffaloes. The drawing accompanying the letter shows some resemblance to a horse, but has cloven hoofs, a long curved horn, growing out of the forehead, and a boar-shaped tail. From its herding together, observes the reviewer, as the Unicorn in scriptures is said to do, as well as from the rest of the description, it is evident that it cannot be the rhinoceros, which is a solitary animal. - [Com. Adv.

The area being described as the range for this unicorn appears to be the Tibetan Plateau. The animal? Probably the chiru, or Tibetan antelope, which is relatively close to the description given in Major Latter's account. It is possible this account predates the official description of the animal by western explorers, which happened some five years later. Other accounts from the area mention the unicorns have black horns about two feet in length, like the chiru. 

The pelts never seem to have been provided for these Western explorers in these early accounts. The reason is not likely to be a nefarious scheme of obscuring the unicorn from outsiders - the pelts are very valuable. The chiru have an exceedingly fine undercoat to protect them from their harsh environment, called shatoosh. The fur is used to make luxury shawls, and it takes three to five animals to produce one shawl. Thankfully, protections put in place in the late 1970s and 1980s to protect the animals from poaching may be working - recent studies indicate their numbers may be increasing.You can learn a bit more about the ongoing conservation effort of the underappreciated chiru at WCS China.

Enjoy these posts? Support me on Ko-fi.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lord Londonderry and the Radiant Boy

The Alexandria Herald of January 29, 1823 , reprints a ghostly encounter in England between Lord Londonderry and a boy over twenty years earlier. The unnamed mansion of this event is located in the north of Ireland, and the writer claimed everything from the setting to the architecture and furnishings would predispose anyone to start seeing ghosts and other wild apparitions. Here is a condensed version of the story with select quotes from the original article: After acquainting himself with the room he had been assigned, settling into bed, and turning out the lights, Lord Londonderry perceived a light gleaming on the draperies of the lofty canopy over his head. Conscious that there was no fire in the grate—that the curtains were closed—that the chamber had been in perfect darkness but a few moments before, he supposed that some intruder must have accidentally entered his apartment; and, turning hastily round to the side from which the light proceeded— saw—to his infinite astonishment—n...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dog-Eating Monsters from the Great Dismal Swamp

In the early 1900s, reports of animals - primarily dogs - being killed by an unknown creature around Suffolk and Norfolk were attributed to a nebulous Great Dismal Swamp Monster. The first wave took place in 1902, with stories originating in Suffolk. The Times printed a story that ran one day earlier in the local paper of a strange creature that has been attacking people and dogs around Nansemond in February of 1902: The Strange Monster That Eats Dogs in Nansemond. (Special Dispatch to The Times.) The strange Dismal Swamp monster, which one day this week killed seven of Ed. Smith's dogs, ate two of them, and later attacked Mr. Smith, himself, has been seen again. Mr. Smith lives about twelve miles from Suffolk. Last night L. Frank Ames, a merchant, who lives near Bennett's Creek, saw the same thing and suffered from its ravages. Hearing a strange noise, Mr. Ames went out with a pistol. He thought at first it was a strange dog. When he learned it was the much-sought monster Mr....
Post a Comment
Read more

The Cloaked Creature of Mexico, Missouri

The Wheeling Register seems to be an unending font of strange tales suitable for Halloween. In the December 14, 1883 edition was a reprint of a story that ran one day earlier in Mexico, Mo., about a strange creature roaming the area around Hopewell Church. Exactly what the creature was seemed to be up for debate. At least some people thought it was a ghost, but most of the reports call it a "lean monster man, between eight and ten feet in height, wearing a long cloak, and going about with his head bowed in an abstracted way, but occasionally glaring at those it meets with small, glittering eyes said to resemble those of a cat or some wild beast." A number of sightings happened in the fall of 1883, to the point that farmers were going armed and the school was nearly abandoned in fear. Two separate accounts of seeing the creature were related in the paper, which we will reprint here: John Creary, a well-known old resident, declares that yesterday afternoon [Dec. 12] as he was ...
Post a Comment
Read more