Abstract
Recent near-IR observations of Herbig-Haro (HH) jets and molecular outflows from very young, deeply embedded protostars are discussed. Proper motion measurements, and both low- and high-resolution spectroscopic studies reveal the excitation and kinematics of individual objects, which may be interpreted in terms of high-velocity bow shocks which sweep up and entrain ambient material to form molecular ``CO'' outflows. The observed properties of many objects can be explained reasonably well with magnetized bow C-shock models, although J-type shocks cannot be ruled out. We also discuss new echelle observations of the outflow sources themselves. These H[2] data reveal intermediate and high-velocity line emission from the base of the outflow (from within a few hundred AU of the driving source) in most of the flows observed. The properties of these ``Molecular Hydrogen Emission Line''--or MHEL--regions, are similar to those of Forbidden Emission Line (FEL) regions towards T Tauri stars.