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.
[Illustration: ASIATIC OR BACTRIAN CAMEL.
(Camelus bactrianus.)]
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 feet high when it enters
the world, but in a week’s time is much larger. It is able to follow its
mother soon after birth. She will defend her own to the extent of her
strength if needful.
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.