296 



ASIA. 



besides its deserts, only rivers and lakes; as the 

 Caspian, the lakes Aral and Baikal, and several 

 situated among the mountains. From tlie northern 

 uid southern declivities of this region, the fii-st lulu s 

 of men set out in all directions, following tin- course 

 of the rivers in four chief lines of descent, north, 

 cut, south, and west. At least, the radical words in 

 the Indian. Median, Persian, Slavonian, (ireek, and 

 Teutonic original languages, between which there 

 are striking affinities, all point to the west of I 'ppcr 

 Asia or Iran. Those heights in the Himalaya cliain 

 (q. v.), under the 3oth degree of N. Int., which are 

 said to attain an elevation of s>7,<>7? English feet, 

 could not be readied by the currents, which, coming 

 from the south, where they were broken by cape 

 Comorin and cape Romania, flowed round the Chi- 

 nese sea to the north, where the East cape on the 

 east, Tchukotskoi-Noss on the north-east, and the 

 Icy cape in the Arctic ocean, became the extreme 

 points of the continent. The islands in the east 

 (Japan, the Kurile, and Aleutian isles, those of For- 

 mosa, Hainan, and Leeoo-Keeoo) and in the south- 

 west (Socotra, Ormus, &c.), in particular the groups 

 of Mauds on both sides of the equator (see Indies, 

 East), and the peninsulas Kamschatka and Corea, 

 India on this side and beyond the Ganges, and Ara- 

 bia, bear visible marks of the destruction of the pri- 

 mitive continent by fire and water ; hence the 

 numerous extinguished or still active volcanoes, in 

 the interior, on the coasts, and particularly on the 

 islands. The interior opens an immense field of 

 scientific research for a traveller like Humboldt. The 

 sources of all the large rivers of Asia, which must be 

 sought for in the mountains of Upper Asia, have not 

 been accurately examined since the time of Marco 

 Polo. As little known are the southern declivities 

 of the Mussart, Mustag (or Imatts), and of the Indian 

 Alps, which extend over 630,000 square miles, and 

 contain the kingdoms of Thibet, Bootan, Nepaul, 

 Assam, &c., with the snowy summits of the Hindoo 

 Koosh (Paropautisus), Belurtag, Kentaisse, and the 

 Himalaya. It is the same with the northern eleva- 

 tion of the Altai, which, in the north-east, joins the 

 mountains Changai (the holy land of Genghis Khan 

 and of the Mantchoo tribes, extending to Corea and 

 Japan). From the southern Alpine girdle descend 

 the holy rivers of the Hindoos the Bramapootra, 

 the Ganges, and Indus ; in the east, the less known 

 rivers of Irawaddy, Meinam, Lukian, and Mecon (or 

 Cambodia), and, in the west, the Euphrates and the 

 Tigris (q. v.), which all t&ke their course towards the 

 south, and run into the great gulfs of the Indian 

 ocean. From the northern ridge, the Oby, Yenisey, 

 Lena, and many others flow into the Arctic ocean ; 

 on the eastern coast, the great rivers Amour, Hoang- 

 ho, and Yang-tse-Kiang descend into the bays of the 

 Pacific ocean ; farther west, the Gihon, or Amu (the 

 ancient Ojcut), and the Sir-Daria, or Jihon (Jaxartes 

 of the ancients), flow into lake Aral. Almost as lit- 

 tle known are the western ranges of mountains, the 

 Taurus in Natolia, and in Armenia the Ararat, near 

 which the Euphrates and Tigris become much in- 

 creased, and where, in ancient times, the Roman 

 victories found a limit. We have lately become 

 better acquainted with the mountain passes, through 

 which the first inhabitants of Europe may have wan- 

 dered from Asia, the valleys of the Caucasus, from 

 the bosom of which the Cuban flows into the Black 

 sea, and the Aras (Arcuces), with the Kur, into the 

 Caspian. Nature has spread over As'j all the trea- 

 sures of the earth, most abundantly In India ; her 

 bounties are distributed, by imperceptible gradations, 

 through all its three zones. In the torrid zone, 

 whose genial warmth converts the juices of plants to 

 spices, balsam, sugar, and coffee, with which Asia 



has enriched the \\ t si Indies, the palms (sago, cocoa, 

 date, and iinilin lla-piilms j reach a height of 200 It < I, 

 and the white elcnhanl attains a size surpassing that 

 of all other quadrupeds. From hence the silk-worm 

 \\as brought to Europe. This region conceals in its 

 bosom the most beautiful diamonds, the finest gold, 

 the best tin, &c., whilst the waves flow over the 

 purest prarls and corals. The temperate zone haa 

 given to Europe the melon, the vine, the orange, 

 and many of its most agreeable garden-fruits, as well 

 as the most productive farinaceous "rasse.s and the 

 most charming flowers ; and unites, in its productions, 

 symmetry with richness, particularly in the western 

 regions. Here the oldest traditions place Paradise ; 

 here lie the enchanting Cashmere and the Garden of 

 Damascus ; here blossoms the rose of Jericho (mm- 

 itatica), near the cedars of Lebanon. The eastern 

 countries, in the same latitude, possess the tea-shruli 

 and the genuine rhubarb. The camel, the Angora 

 goat, the Thibetan sheep, the pheasant, and the 

 horse are natives of this zone. In the north blossoms 

 the Alpine flora of Dauria, and from the icy soil 

 grows the dwarf-like Siberian cedar, till, at 70, 

 vegetation mostly ceases. Here lives the smallest of 

 quadrupeds the shrew-mouse of the Yenisey. Sa- 

 bles, ermines, foxes, otters, &c. afford the finest fur. 

 The mineral kingdom furnishes rich ores, rare \ re- 

 cious stones, and remarkable fossil remains, e. g. 

 those of the mammoth, in high northern latitiult s. 

 (See Organic Remains.) The inhabitants, amounting 

 to 300,000,000, according to some, to 580,000,000, 

 are divided into three great branches : The Tartar- 

 Caucasian, in Western Asia, exhibits the finest fea- 

 tures of our race in the Circassian form : the Mon- 

 golian race is spread through Eastern Asia ; the 

 Malay in Southern Asia and the islands. The north 

 is inhabited by the Samoiedes, Tchooktches, and 

 others. Twenty-four tribes, of different language 

 and origin, may be distinguished, some of which are 

 the relics of scattered tribes of Nomades : Kamtscha- 

 dales, Ostiacs, Samoiedes, Koriacks, Kurilians, Aleu- 

 tians, Coreans, Mongols, and Kalmucks, Mantchoos 

 (Tungoos, Daurians, and Mantchoos Proper), Finns, 

 Circassians, Georgians, Greeks, Syrians, and Arme- 

 nians, Tartars and Turks, Persians and Afghans, 

 Thibetans, Hindoos, Siamese, Malays, Annamites (in 

 Cochin China and Tonquin), Birmese, Chinese, and 

 Japanese, besides- the indigenous inhabitants of the 

 East India islands, Jews, and Europeans. The prin- 

 cipal languages are the Arabian, Persian, Armenian, 

 Turkish. Tartar, Hindoo, Malayan, Mongol, Mant- 

 choo, and Chinese. Of the extinct civilized nation 

 of the Igoors (Oigoor.^) in Upper Asia, the written 

 characters have been preserved in Thibet. The 

 Sanscrit of the Bramins is yet spoken in the higher 

 mountains of India, and the ancient Pehlevi in 

 the mountains of the Persian borders. The still 

 more ancient Zend is entirely extinct ; and the civi- 

 lization of the old Iberians and Colchians, on the 

 Kur and Phasis (Georgia and Imireta), has left 

 no vestiges. All the forms of society are displayed 

 in the existing Asiatic nations, from the savage 

 state of the wandering hordes to the most effeminate 

 luxury ; but liberty, founded on law and the moral 

 and intellectual education of man, is wanting. Priests 

 and conquerors have long decided the political cha- 

 racter of the East, amidst frequent revolutions and 

 changes of dynasties, ever maintaining the principles 

 of blind obedience. Asia has been subject, at differ- 

 ent times, to the Assyrians, Medes, Chaldean*, Per- 

 sians, Greeks, Syrians, Parthians, Arabians, Mongols, 

 Tartars, Seljooks, Turks, Afghans, &c. Ancient 

 forms are preserved most rigidly, and the intellect 

 is least progressive in China and Japan. Shivery still 

 prevails in this continent. Woman yet remains de- 



