XXVII 
CONCLUSION 
365 
have been known in the deserts of Central Asia, 
but were these originally wild ? or were they simply 
animals that had strayed and become lost during 
tribal raids, or in the Mongolian migrations of the 
early ages ? 
Lieut. Younghusband, in his splendid journey 
from Peking to Rawul Pindi, saw camels in the 
distance upon the steppes, which were reported by 
his people to be wild. He described them as 
smaller than the ordinary domestic camels. There 
could not be a more trustworthy authority as a 
traveller; but considerable experience of a locality 
and an actual examination of the animal are necessary 
before it is possible to determine whether it is 
aboriginal, or whether it may not be the descendant 
of some lost or strayed ancestors. 
There are two distinct species of camels—the 
Bactrian, with two humps, and the Arabian, or 
ordinary camel, with only one. The camels in 
the deserts north of the Himalayahs, which are 
reported as wild, have only one hump ; this does 
not favour the assumption of their origin. Where 
are the progenitors of the two-humped species? 
These should be derived from Northern Asia, as 
no such animals are to be found either in Africa or 
Arabia. There is a peculiar mystery attached to 
the origin of a camel which is difficult to fathom, 
as it is one of the oldest historical animals, and has 
been connected with man, as the recognised beast 
of burden, from the most ancient period. The 
llama of South America is accepted as the repre- 
