THE SHIP OF THE DESERT. 



215 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



THE SHIP OF THE DESERT. 



1. THE camel is a four-footed, ruminating animal so 

 peculiarly adapted to traverse great seas of sand that it is 

 called in the figurative language of Eastern nations the 

 "ship of the desert." It is found in Asia and Africa, 

 where it is used for transportation over the broad and bar- 

 ren plains destitute of both food and water. There are 



The Arabian Camel. 



two species, the Bactrian camel of Asia, which has two 

 humps on its back, and the Arabian camel, which has but 

 one hump. The two-humped animal walks with more 

 ease over moist ground, and is larger and stronger than 

 the other. The Arabian camel is sober and possessed of 



