196 



THE GIRAFFE— CAMEL—BUIFALO 



and so we have direcl proof that they are really a natural gift, provided 

 in order that the animal may be suited to the work which it has to 

 perform. 



Unless the camel could kneel on these pads, it would be useless 

 to man, for it is so tall that it could neither be mounted nor loaded 

 when standing- upright, and so would not be of service either for 

 riding or for carrying. As it is, however, it is an animal whose value 

 can scarcely be held too highly, and well deserves the poetical name 

 which the Arabs have given to it, the "Ship of the Desert." 



CALLTXC; THE CAMELS 



The laborious and abstemious camel, like the palm, is all-essen- 

 tial to the desert, as the desert is all-essential to it. Without its 

 invaluable aid, the wastes of the Sahara, or of Libya and Nubia, 

 would be impassable. It is properly styled the "treasure of the East;" 

 and to the wandering tribes it is, in truth, their wealth, their life, their 

 all. It supplies them with every article of primary necessity — with 

 food, clothing, habitation, fuel, and the means of transport. The flesh 



