TRAVELLING IN THE WILDS
After seeing the strange conveyances and modes of travel in Europe
and in the civilised countries of Asia, it will be interesting
to leave the beaten tracks behind us altogether for a time. We
will go beyond the high roads and the railways, and find out how
people make journeys in the great wildernesses of the world, where
travellers must be prepared to undergo discomforts and hardships,
to meet with dangers, and, very often, to carry their lives in
their hands.
If we open our atlases and turn to the maps of Africa, America,
Asia, and Australia, we shall find that in each continent there are
blank spaces. Sometimes these are called deserts or forests, but
often we can only guess at the character of the country from the
fact of there being no rivers marked and very few names of towns
and cities.
The most famous of all deserts is the Great Sahara, which extends
for thousands of miles across the north of Africa. Most people
picture it as a huge sandy plain, where there is no water and
no sign of life or vegetation; but, in reality, although there
are districts where the shifting sandhills stretch away as far as
the eye can see, a vast part of the Sahara consists of a stony
tableland covered with a scanty growth of low, thorny bushes.
In the deserts there are, moreover, many fertile spots looking
like exquisite little green islands set in the midst of a glowing,
yellow sea. They are called oases, and are found where there are
wells or pools of water. Arabs live in these places, cultivating
the land and building mud-houses, while other tribes spend their
time in wandering about the desert, seeking food for their animals
and trading in the scattered towns and villages. These wanderers,
or nomads, with their camels, horses, and herds of sheep and goats,
may be seen slowly moving across the great sunburnt plain and
pitching their brown tents at night among the sand-dunes.
[Illustration: MIXED TRANSPORT IN NIGERIA.]
The nomadic Arabs travel in large parties called caravans, for
there are brigands in the Sahara who would rob and murder lonely
wayfarers. The men in the caravan often ride, and their horses
are considered the finest in the whole world. The Arabs prize
these horses highly and treat them well, never allowing them to be
teased by the children, and, at the end of a long day's journey,
giving them their meal of milk and dates before they eat anything
themselves.
Horses, however, are only used for riding, and all the hard work is
done by the camels, "the ships of the desert," as they are called.
It is a strange sight to see a great caravan crossing the desert,
sometimes as many as a thousand camels marching along in single
file, each with a heavy load on his back.
Camels are strange animals, for although they are strong and have
wonderful powers of endurance, they are surly, intractable, and
even more obstinate than mules. Occasionally a camel will consider
that he is overloaded, and lying down will snarl at his driver and
refuse to move. Blows and commands are useless in such a case,
but if the driver pretends to remove something from the burden
the animal is often completely deceived, and thinking that he has
outwitted his master and gained a victory, will rise to his feet
and start off contentedly on the journey.
One of the greatest dangers of desert travel is lack of water, for
wells are very few and far apart. Camels are particularly suited
to these conditions, as they can live for several days without
drinking, and when no water is forthcoming, will plod patiently
on and on, until their strength is exhausted and they fall down
beneath their heavy loads.
[Illustration: CAMEL WITH BRIDAL BOWER.]
It will be noticed in a caravan that some of the camels carry
extraordinary fan-shaped palanquins on their backs. These contain
the Arab ladies, whose religion obliges them to be veiled, and who
can thus travel securely screened from sight. In the deserts of
Asia the women ride in a much more airy and comfortable fashion,
being provided with cushioned panniers slung on either side of the
camel's back and sheltered by a light awning. On the occasion of a
wedding in the Nile Delta district, the bride is carried on a camel
in a curious erection shaped like a Red Indian wigwam and decorated
with a large tuft of palm-leaves.
From the deserts we go to the great tropical forests, and there,
although there is plenty of water and shelter from the fierce rays
of the sun, travellers have to encounter new difficulties, new
hardships, and new dangers.
[Illustration: CARRIERS IN THE FOREST.]
Those of us who have seen only woods in our own islands can hardly
imagine what one of the great forests of Central Africa, America,
or Asia is like, with its huge trees, strange plants, and hot,
steamy atmosphere, dank with the smell of rotting vegetation and
stagnant water, or heavy with the overpowering fragrance of some
tropical blossom. It is almost dark, for the foliage is dense, and
the trees are, moreover, hung with matted curtains of creepers,
while below is a tangled undergrowth, so tall and thick that
pathways have to be cut through it inch by inch.
[Illustration: PALANQUIN FOR ARAB WOMEN.]
The travellers must needs walk single file through these narrow
tracks, and they must be always armed and on their guard against
the dangerous wild animals that live in those weird, gloomy
jungles. Leopards, fierce gorillas, and rhinoceros, all have their
homes in those dark thickets, and there are besides great herds
of elephants that if alarmed will charge through the forest and
trample the intruders underfoot.
In addition to these perils the natives are often unfriendly, and
there have been many instances of cruelty and murder.
In these districts it is, of course, impossible to use wagons or
any large vehicles, and the climate is unhealthy for horses and
cattle. Negroes, therefore, act as carriers and march along the
narrow paths with heavy loads on their heads. These natives are
very strong, and may be seen carrying large bales, boxes, and even
bicycles through the jungle.
The Europeans of the party either walk too, or are carried in
hammocks slung on poles. An awning is fixed over the hammock, and
the occupant can lie down comfortably while he is borne along by
two or more negro porters. Wounded men or those ill with fever are
often taken for many miles in this fashion, and in Nigeria special
hospital hammocks are provided for this purpose on which the
familiar red cross may be seen.
[Illustration: MONO-RAIL WORKED BY NATIVES.]
The natives of these tropical forests either carry their
merchandise and other burdens themselves, or have light
conveyances suited to the narrow tracks that are the only roads of
the country. The Sobo negroes of West Africa have a very ingenious
arrangement, and often three or four of them may be seen walking in
single file and carrying a long pole on their shoulders. From this
pole are hung jars, bundles, and baskets of fruit and vegetables.
In another district a still more curious device is used. This is
a single railway line running between two towns, on which light
trucks can travel. These trucks have two wheels each, one behind
the other, and to each truck is fastened a pole which projects on
the left-hand side. Negroes walk beside the line, holding the poles
and thus driving the cars along.
In regions where the forest is less dense and the climate more
dry and healthy, animals can be used, and sometimes strange teams
are seen--camels, donkeys, and oxen being all pressed into the
transport service.