CHAPTER XVI. 



GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE OF THE CAMEL. 



The camel, as we have already seen, exists 

 and thrives through a wide range of climates, 

 and under a great variety of conditions. It 

 does not appear that any temperature is too 

 high for the one-humped species. Southern 

 Ai'abia, where he is found in great perfection, is 

 one of the hottest countries on the globe, and 

 the only obstacle to his diffusion through the 

 whole extent of the equatorial regions, is the 

 dampness of many tropical climates. He seems 

 entirely indifferent to the fiercest heats of an 

 African sun. I have often watched his habits 

 in this respect in the desert, and though we 

 sometimes encamped near palms and other 

 trees, or where he could readily have found a 

 shelter in the cool shadow of a rock, I could 

 never discover that, even under the most glar- 

 ing light and scorching heat, he at all preferred 

 the shade to the sun. 



But in these same climates, he is exposed to 

 a very considerable degree of cold. The noc- 



