198 THE CAMEL. 



unable to work ; an inconvenience which is partially ex- 

 perienced in central and northern Asia. But then, as a 

 countervailing quality, we may observe that the Bactrian 

 camel, provided by the Creator for his particular locality, 

 has soles of greater hardness than the Arabian, and that, 

 in those countries, the melting of the snow is extremely 

 rapid. 



According to M. Desmoulins, the camel existed in a wild 

 state in Arabia during the age of Adrian. At the present 

 day we can only regard them in a domestic character, and 

 the conquest over them as such must be considered one of 

 the most important ever achieved on the brute creation ; 

 nor ought this to be attributed to force alone. When the 

 colossal stature and great strength of this noble creature are 

 taken into the account, as well as the obstinacy and fierce- 

 ness with which he resists aggression, his confiding nature 

 and the persevering gentleness of man are to be looked 

 upon as the principal causes of the victory. 



The historians of Greece and Rome rarely notice the 

 services of the camel in north-western Africa and Egypt. 

 They speak repeatedly of him in Arabia, Syria, and the 

 rest of western Asia, and hence we may conclude that the 

 destined locality of this valuable animal was in the sandy 

 deserts of the Sahara, on the arid plains of Arabia, Per- 

 sia, India and southern Tartary. But the silence of pro- 

 fane writers is compensated by the testimony of Scripture. 

 We read that Pharaoh, King of Egypt, bestowed camels 

 upon Abraham ; consequently their existence in the valley 

 of the Nile is established before the era of the earliest 

 Greek or Roman writers. Frequent mention is made of 

 them, in the history of the patriarchs. Jacob had much 

 cattle, seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, 

 with horses and men. The surrounding nations had also 

 abundance of flocks and herds. In after times the Midian- 

 ites encamped against Israel with their cattle and tents 

 like grasshoppers for multitude, and both they, and their 





