  We were on the road to Biskra, the “Queen of the Desert.” Sand, sand everywhere, as we looked across the dreary spaces as far as the eye could reach. Frequently the monotony was relieved by the long lines of caravans passing to and fro; they were picturesque and poetical; they moved with stately motion and graceful swing across the background of never-ending and often shifting sand. Had this been our only experience with the Camels which compose the caravans, we would have returned with glowing accounts and waxed eloquent over these beasts of burden. We would have assured our friends of their patience and fortitude and with growing enthusiasm described the showy trappings and effective poses which charmed us on the desert road. But alas! We came to know the Camel well at close range and truly “familiarity breeds contempt.” The Camels about Biskra were the long-legged variety commonly called Dromedaries. They had but one hump and averaged from about six and one-half to seven and one-half feet in height; and from muzzle to tip of tail they measured ten or eleven feet. While the majority were of a light sandy color, it was not impossible to find a white, grey, brown or even black Camel, but a black Camel was held in great contempt by the Arabs. The hair was irregular in length and almost woolly in places. The callouses, large and prominent, were found on the breast and joints of the legs, making cushions for the beast to rest upon when lying down or kneeling. These callous places, scarcely showing at birth, grow with advancing age. It is true that these animals, ungainly and uncouth at near view, are indispensable to the Arab of the desert; but all their generations of domestic life have failed to cultivate in their stupid minds any affection or care for their masters. Their obedience is passive and their apparent patience only stupidity, for they are unamiable, obstinate and disagreeable. The Camel varies nearly as much as do the horses of our own country. There are many grades and degrees from the ordinary baggage Camel to the high-toned thoroughbred which corresponds to our high-class race horse. These racing Camels are long-legged and long-necked, the hump stands upright; is conical in shape and covers about one-fourth of the length of the body; the head is rather short, the eyes large and dull, and the ears very small but mobile. The hair is especially fine and soft. A friend of ours who owned a fine saddle Camel was able to make from eighty to ninety miles a day if his Camel was well fed and watered and was allowed a rest at noon. This pace he was able to continue without injury for three or four consecutive days, and after a well earned rest he could repeat the journey. A baggage Camel, carrying a load of perhaps three hundred pounds, would not make over thirty miles a day, but could often march twelve hours or longer without rest. However, a man of position would never condescend to ride on a baggage Camel. ASIATIC OR BACTRIAN CAMEL. Our friend told us that in buying saddle Camels for our desert ride we would be obliged to pay about sixty-five dollars each, and that we must look for those with soft backs, those which did not require the whip and would not cry when getting up or lying down. But he added that with these excellent traits we must not expect too much, for the best Camel was capable of every fault associated with a vicious disposition. And, indeed, when, some days later, our favorite Camel, when passing an Arab riding a donkey, turned his head suddenly and gave the man’s arm a vicious bite, we were well satisfied that our friend’s estimate of the Camel’s disposition was absolutely correct. The wound inflicted by our animal was very severe, as the bite of a Camel usually is. We sought our friend’s aid in adjusting the matter and he related some of his experiences with this ungrateful animal. At one time he was the owner of a Camel to which he had always been especially kind. He started on a journey across the desert, and after annoying him in every possible way with a continued persistence surprising in so stupid a beast, the Camel, in a fit of rage, broke into a gallop, throwing the gentleman from his saddle to the ground, trampled upon him and then galloped away at its own sweet will. We were also told that when the natives found that their Camels had a grudge against them, they so feared the revengeful beasts that they would place their clothing before the Camel and hide themselves behind bushes. The animal would then expend its rage upon the clothing, trampling and tearing it; the injury, real or imagined, would then be forgotten. As it is about impossible to retain one’s seat on a galloping Camel, they are trained only to trot. “The steady, alternating movement of the legs on the opposite side of the animal stops the sideways jolting motion, and if the rider skillfully lies back in his saddle, he experiences no more inconvenience from the still somewhat violent shaking up than he would if he were on horseback.” After purchasing our Camels, we began to study the habits and needs of our new acquisitions. We found ourselves obliged to provide food of a kind that caused us some surprise. Our Camels were far from fastidious. In fact, the poorer the food, the better it seemed to suit the needs of these peculiar beasts for the dryest of vegetation was acceptable. Shrubs and thorny branches were rapidly disposed of and one wondered that even their callous mouths could take them without injury. They were also fond of small beans, peas and vetches and were not averse to making a juicy meal on cultivated fields. But this indulgence was to be avoided, as it was liable to produce inflammation and death. The idea that Camels when working could go very long periods without food and water, we found to be erroneous. The true ruminant has four stomachs; the Camel has three divisions only. The first two divisions are provided with cells or pouches which can be closed by strong muscles. These contain fluid only and it is on account of this peculiar construction that the animal can go several days without water, but when traveling in the heat of an African desert, at least every four days, the Camel must have water, nourishment and rest. On account of their acute smell, they will detect water at some distance and it is really an interesting sight when thirsty, tired-out Camels draw near to a well or river. They lift their heads high in the air, inhale long breaths with half-closed eyes, lay their ears back and then start to run, so that one has to sit firmly in the saddle if he does not wish to be thrown out. When the beasts finally reach the well they crowd to the water and give themselves up to the enjoyment of drinking. The food supply, which assists the Camel in times of fasting is stored in the hump, which is really one great lump of fat. In times of plenty this is firm and pyramid-like in form, and may weigh as much as thirty pounds, but after prolonged hunger it will nearly disappear; weighing perhaps only four to six pounds. This provision of nature, added to its peculiar stomach, makes the Camel in many respects the most useful of domestic animals. It has been domesticated from very early times. We know that they were owned in great numbers four thousand years ago. Pharaoh gave them as a present to Abraham and the patriarch Job had at one time a herd numbering six thousand. A baby Camel is a misshapen little thing, but like all young animals it is playful and interesting. It is about three The Camel is a true animal of the desert and only thrives in hot, dry localities. It is of little use in a mountainous country, as it is a poor climber and cannot remain in health when fed on luxuriant vegetation. In the water it is of still less use. Perhaps because the desert is its “native heath,” it holds an antipathy for water and either cannot or will not swim, so the crossing of a stream with a caravan becomes a serious undertaking. Sir Samuel Baker recounts his experience in crossing the Atbara river (about three hundred yards wide.) “Water-skins were inflated and passed under the belly of the Camel like a girth. A man sat upon its back while one or two swam by its side as guides. As the current of the river was rapid, the animal was usually half a mile down stream before gaining the opposite bank.” Some time after we became acquainted with the one-humped Camel (the Dromedary) of Africa, our journeyings took us to the regions of Central Asia and there we met for the first time the Bactrian or two-humped Camel. This varies somewhat from the Dromedary as it has a larger body, shorter legs, longer and thicker hair and is able to live in a cooler climate and at a greater elevation. Although stupid in intellect, like the Dromedary, we must give it the credit of having a much better disposition. It is of the greatest use to its owners. Its hair, milk, skin and flesh are all put to use. It is not only used as a pack animal, but is harnessed to carts as well. Put to use when five years old, it will, with good treatment, continue to work until its twenty-fifth year. With its help, its owner is able to climb mountains thirteen thousand feet high, and to cross treeless wildernesses where horses would soon perish. It could not be replaced by any other domestic animal. “The horse is the companion of the inhabitant of the steppes,” but the Bactrian Camel, the “Ship of Asia,” is his faithful servant. John Ainslie. |
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