1546 THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE 



falo, and yak) are reared by the Tartar nations who 

 inhabit the upland plains of the interior. The ante- 

 lope and deer tribe, of which there are a vast number 

 of species, belong to the western and southwestern 

 regions of the continent. The plains of Turkestan, to 

 the eastward of the Caspian, are perhaps the original 

 country of the horse. The wild ass is indigenous to 

 Western Asia. The elephant is not found to the west 

 of India, nor to the north of the Himalaya Moun- 

 tains; it belongs only to the two Indian peninsulas, 

 with Ceylon, and some of the smaller islands of the 

 Malay archipelago. 



Among Asiatic carnivora are the lion, tiger, leop- 

 ard, panther, and ounce, of the cat genus: the wolf, 

 hyena, and jackal, of the dog tribe. Two species of 

 bear are native to the Himalaya region (the snow- 

 bear, and the black-bear) and the polar bear belongs 

 to the Arctic coasts of the continent. The lion of 

 Asia is now restricted to the region which extends 

 from the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris to the 

 western coasts of the Indian peninsula, including the 

 deserts of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Hindostan. The 

 tiger has a more extensive range, and inhabits all the 

 middle and southeastern divisions of the continent. 

 The hyena, and also the jackal, belong to the western 

 half of Southern Asia; the wolf frequents the north- 

 ern and western plains, and is found in a range of 

 country extending from Siberia, through Turkestan, 

 to the shores of the Mediterranean. The dog and 

 the fox are common all over the continent, and pre- 

 sent numerous varieties; in Kamtchatka and some 

 parts of Siberia, the former animal is used as a beast 



