106 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF 



wilderness, which not even the danger of a fall enables the inexpe- 

 rienced traveller always to resist. 



In mud the footing of the camel is insecure. The hind legs are little 

 separated down to the gambrei joint, but from this point the}'' diverge 

 at a considerable angle, so that the ancient poem I have before quoted 

 compares the hinder i'eet to two water buckets borne upon a yoke, and 

 the increased breadth of base thus acquired contributes much to the 

 sure-footedness of the camel on dry ground. 



Upon a wet and slippery soil, on the contrary, the liability of the foot 

 to slide is increased by this arrangement ; and in case of such an acci- 

 dent, as the foot usually slides laterally, the hip joint is often dislocated 

 or so badly wrenched that the animal is unable to rise with his burden 

 and proceed upon his journey.* It is commonly said that the camel 

 never rises after falling under his load, and that he immediately per- 

 ishes under such circumstances. I have myself witnessed instances to 

 the contrary, although I have no doubt that where the fall is from ex- 

 haustion the death of the animal is nearly certain. Where the mud is 

 merely a thin layer of wet earth over a rocky or other very hard sur- 

 face, the camel passes over it without much risk; and I have repeatedly 

 seen caravans travel at their ordinary pace and with entire confidence 

 and security over pavements covered with several inches of snow and 

 soft mud. 



The camel readily fords rivers with gravelly or pebbly bottoms, and 

 I hav'c seen them wade around headlaftds in the Red sea, in water 

 three or tour leet deep ; but the passage of streams with soft bottoms, 

 or with deep water, by camels is always a matter of great difficulty. It 

 is almost impossible to train them to enter a ferr}^ boat, or to lie quietly 

 in crossing rivers by this mode of conveyance; and though they float 

 readily, yet they are bad swimmers, the roundness of the barrel and 

 the height of the head and hump above the line of flotation exposing 

 them constantly to the danger of losing their balance and rolling over 

 upon the side, in which case they are sure to be lost. For this reason 

 it is common to lash the head to the gunwale of a boat, or to support 

 it by some other contrivance in crossing deep waters.t 



But the most interesting and important anatomical peculiarity of the 

 camel is that curious structure by which he is enabled to take in at 

 once and retain, by a special arrangement, a sufficient quantity of water 

 to supply the wants of the animal economy for several days. It was 

 conjectured by Cuvier, and it is believed by some more recent natural- 

 ists, that the stomach of the camel is not only able to retain for many 

 days water swallowed by the animal, but that it possesses the further 

 power of secreting a special fluid for moistening the fauces and viscera, 

 and mingling with the food in rumination, in some such way as some 

 fish are able to keep the skin moist for some time after they are taken 

 from the water, by the exudation of a fluid secreted for that purpose. 

 It is even said that the fluid found in the water-sack, after the death of 

 the camel, possesses chemical properties which prove it to be an 



♦According to General Harlan, (Patent Office Report, 1853,) the hind legs are sometimes 

 hobbled above the gambrei joint to prevent their spreading. 



fDenham and Clapperton, II, pp.80, 212. Father Hue, I, chap. 6. Lyon's Travels, 

 p. 124. 



