C A M E L. 



led Itilalflijce : one, called sebaycc, whose qualities are 

 greater, can perform a join IK) of seven days in the 

 same space of time, and this is the general character- 

 istic. But there is still a third endowed with such 

 fleet ness, a to be capable of accomplishing nine days 

 journey in one-, which is denominated tasayee. This 

 animal is so rare, that 200 common camels are given 

 in exchange as it value. Provided with a goat- skin 

 of water, a few dates, and some ground barley, 

 the hardy Arab, having his loins, breast, and ears 

 bound round to resist the percussion of the air, ven 

 lures on the swiftest excursions through the deserts, 

 while the herie is allowed water only once in seven 

 days. Sonnini relates an extraordinary journey by a 

 Bedouin Arab, who travelled from Cairo to Mecca 

 in five days, which commonly requires thirty : Mr 

 Jackson affirms that a sebayee once came from Fort 

 St Joseph, on the river Senegal, to Mogador, which 

 can be scarce less than 900 miles in seven days. An 

 Arab also assured him, that he knew a youth of Mo- 

 gador passionately enamoured of a beautiful young 

 woman, whom nothing would satisfy but oranges from 

 Morocco. Mounting his heirie at dawn, he departed 

 and returned with the object of his mistresses desire 

 to Mogador the same night, though the distance be- 

 tween the two cities is an hundred miles. Probably 

 this is the species of camel spoken of by Chardin 

 so fleet that a horse only at full gallop can keep 

 up with it. M. d'Obsonville observes, that he saw 

 a stud of 200 in possession of an eastern prince 

 which could travel thirty leagues a-day, each carry- 

 ing two or three soldiers, with their warlike accou- 

 trements : and he was told, that, on an emergency, 

 they could double that distance without great incon- 

 venience. These animals, however, were supported 

 on choice and substantial food, though, in common 

 with their kind, they were capable of enduring hun 

 ger. Thus it is satisfactorily established, that there 

 is a particular breed or variety of the Arabian camel, 

 of smaller size and greater speed than the common 

 species. 



Though the camel produces but one at a time, or 

 rarely two, the care which is observed in their multi- 

 plication renders them numerous. A caravan wilt 

 exhibit a thousand, nay, four or five thousand, col- 

 lected together ; and a single individual will be mas- 

 ter of four or five hundred. 



It is not in journies only that the camel is of such 

 remarkable utility to its owner : it alike constitutes 

 the sustenance, convenience, and riches of the barba- 

 rous nomadic tribes ; and it is indispensible to the 

 luxuries of the more civilized nations. Its flesh is 

 agreeable food ; the milk is salutary and restorative ; 

 and from its hair are manufactured valuable articles 

 of clothing. 



The camel annually casts its hair in spring ; and in 

 the space of three days is as bare as a sucking pig. 

 During that interval, the keeper is careful to tar it 

 over, in order to preserve it against the annoyance of the 

 flies. But the colour and abundance of hair depend 

 entirely on the particular species of camel, and the 

 climate which it inhabits : that of the Arabian camel 

 is thin and whitish ; that of the Bactrian camel thick- 

 er and darker coloured. From the hair a coarse kind 



of clothing, almost impermeable by water, u made for 

 camel- dri verb and shepherds; and the same commo- 

 dity, for an analogous purpose, U used as wrapper* 

 of merchandize long exposed to wet in heavy rain*. 

 But in Persia and the Crimea more valuable manu- 

 factures are produced in narrow cloths of different 

 colours, and fine stockings, of which white are the 

 highest priced. It is wrought into shawls, carpets, 

 and coverings for the tents of the Arabs. Accord- 

 ing to Pallas, the Tartar women of the plains manu- 

 facture a kind of warm, i>oft, and li^ht narrow cloth 

 from the hair of the Bactrian or Tauridan camel, pre- 

 serving the natural colour. The hair of different co- 

 lours is an article of expert from Asia and Africa : 

 its value is proportioned to the fineness and colour, 

 that which is black being the dearest. 



Besides being employed in carrying burdens and 

 for the saddle, camels are trained for draught. The 

 opulent Tartars of the Crimea convey their families 

 from place to place in large four-wheeled waggons 

 drawn by camels ; and in some countries still farther 

 east, they are used in dragging heavy clumsy carts. 



The camel lives between forty and fifty years, but 

 it is not unlikely that the duration of its life is de- 

 pendent on the treatment which it receives. Sanguine 

 hopes of its naturalization in the warmer European 

 climates have hitherto been disappointed; yet if the 

 change could be gradually accomplished in only a 

 few degrees of latitude to each succeeding genera- 

 tion, there would probably be a less effectual check 

 to its propagation. 



As Mahomet the prophet himself rode a camel, it 

 is considered a sacred animal in the East, nor will his 

 votaries at all times admit of its being devoted to the 

 service of Christians. They seldom eat its flesh them- 

 selves, not so much from entertaining any scruples 

 on the lawfulness of doing so, as from reluctance to 

 sacrifice an animal so valuable to them ; but where 

 fanaticism prevails, selling it to Christians would be 

 deemed profanation. After the annual pilgrimage 

 to Mecca, the camel which carries the standard of 

 Mahomet is ever afterwards exempt from labour, and 

 the Mahometans even believe that it will participate 

 in the pleasures of a future life. 



Perhaps there is no animal of the same use to so 

 large a portion of mankind as the camel; its suste- 

 nance i--. scarcely perceptible, its laboursare unequalled, 

 and it is besides an ample source, both of food and 

 clothing. Sf*e BufFon Hisloire Naturelle, torn. xi. j 

 Russel's History of Alrppo t vol. ii.; Jackson's Ac- 

 count of Morocco ; D'Obsonville siir Ics Mantrs des 

 Animaux ; Palis, Travels, torn. ii. ; Philosophical 

 Transactions , 1?91> IBOri; Ta vernier, P^age*, torn, 

 i. p. 1'29; Denon, Voyages Hans I' Egypt e. (c) 



CAMEL, in mechanics, the name of a machine 

 which has been chiefly used by the Dutch, for raising 

 or lifting ships by the buoyant power of water. 



In the Zuyder Sea, opposite to the mouth of the 

 river Y, there are two ?and banks, between which is 

 a passage called the Pampus, that permitted only 

 small vessels to pass through : Vessels of a larger size 

 took in the greater part of their cargo after tney 

 had passed this strait ; but the sand accumulated to 

 such a degree, that it became necessary to employ 



Camel. 



