WOOL- AND FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 249 



the Moorish kingdoms, the bringing of Moorish art and Moorish 

 science to Western Europe, would never have taken place, or at all 

 events would have been greatly delayed, were it not for the Camel.' 

 But here one is naturally inclined to ask, who first tamed the 

 Camel ? Curiously enough, no one knows. Although it has been 

 the subject of much research there is no satisfactory evidence of the 

 existence of the Camel in an original wild state at any period what- 

 ever. True, some little time ago naturalists declared that they had 

 found the true Wild Camel on the dry, wind-swept plain of Tsaidam, 

 in Central Asia. The Camel there is certainly a healthy, hard-living 

 beast and able to endure much that would kill his tame relatives in 

 the sunnier lands of the south. But it is the opinion of Major 

 Cumberland, an admitted authority on Camels, that these Wild 

 Camels of Central Asia are the descendants of herds whose masters 

 perished in a great sandstorm which swept over the district some 

 two centuries ago." 



There are two kinds of Camels, the Bactrian, or Two-Humped 

 Camel, shown in Fig. 197 with a young one, and the Arabian, or 

 One-Humped Camel. People generally appear to regard the 

 Camel as an animal inhabiting warm sandy deserts, and this is 

 doubtless due to the animal's long association with Eastern 

 countries ; but the Bactrian Camel is an inhabitant of the desert 

 regions of Central Asia, and the fine shaggy coat of the creature at 

 once shows how well calculated it is to withstand the cold climate of 

 such a country as Siberia. 



The Bactrian is readily distinguished by its two humps; it is 

 a heavier-looking beast than the Arabian, and has shorter legs but 

 longer hair. It is interesting to compare the legs of these two species 

 of Camels, for whereas those of the Bactrian are short and admirably 

 adapted for traversing rocky districts, those possessed by the better 

 known Arabian, or One-Humped Camel, are longer and well suited 

 to carry the beast and its burden across vast wastes of desert. 



In both disposition and habits the Bactrian resembles its relative, 

 and in the countries it inhabits it is equally useful. It is, as in the 

 days of old, still of service in war, or in preparations for war, for 

 we learn that "the Persians use it for their celebrated Camel artillery, 

 a light swivel-gun being mounted on the saddle and worked by 

 the rider." 



Leaving the Bactrian Camel, we may now consider in greater 

 detail the Arabian species, stating straight away that the Dromedary 



