RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 



Bti 



'I'll" .MM,, l has mi arduous life. Let un follow it for a Dingle 

 day along one of tho caravan routes, and see what it haa to 

 suffer. Amidst the strong language of the driven* and tin- 

 lend protestations of the camels, who do not fail to complain in 

 thi-ir way when too heavy a load in put on them, all is got 

 ready for the start. The desert is entered, and now commence 

 ubles of the caravan party. The heat in literally Htitlm^, 

 drinking up the water in the water-skins, and making them 

 shrink to half tlu-ir size ; making articles of iron too hot to 

 touch, so that gun barrels blister one's hands, and the stirrups 

 blister one's feet. Where flattened zinc barrels are used for 

 carrying the water, as is often the case in military trains, tho 



ditions as no other beaut could, and it seems in every way 

 provided for. The callous skin which coven the bottom of iU 

 feet prevents the inconvenience which would otherwise arum 

 from the burning sand on which it tread* ; the elevation of it- 

 head and the aontenoBS of its sight and smell enable it to dutccrn 

 the green oasis while still afar off, and to scent the refreshing 

 air ; itu overhanging brow and long eyelashes shield it from the 

 intense glare of the sun's light; its slit-like nostrils, which it 

 can open and shut at will, are specially adapted for keeping out 

 the fine sand with which the air is charged ; and itn peculiar 

 stomach with a store of liquid within the cubical cellules of 

 its walls enables it to dispense with a frequent supply of 



TUX BACTRIAN CAMEL. 



water within them literally boils. The skin poels off under the 

 fierce heat of the vertical sun, against which the white helmets 

 and umbrellas of Europeans appear to afford little protection. 

 And what with the overpowering glare reflected from the sand, 

 and the dust with which the air is charged, the traveller is 

 nearly blinded. Besides, the air that blows, having passed over 

 leagues of heated ground, is enough to scorch up everything it 

 blows against. Distant objects appear to tremble and dance 

 in the most curious fashion an idea of which may bo obtained 

 by viewing a distant object through the heated air which 

 ascends from a chimney top. The tantalising effects of mirage 

 are observed : parching for a drink at some cool stream, the 

 traveller sees, apparently not far off, what he supposes to be 

 tall trees on the margin of a refreshing pool. Alas ! it is an 

 illusion created by the distorting power of tho heated air- 

 currents, rising from the earth's surface as from a furnace. 

 Patiently tho camels trudge along, bearing the terrible con- 



water, one of the most precious of articles on these and desert*. 

 The hump on its back is regarded as a natural store of 

 nourishment, and when the animal is insufficiently supplied 

 with food the hump gradually diminishes in size. The fat of 

 which it is composed appears to be consumed in some strange 

 manner, until this reservoir of energy is exhausted. Hence the 

 Arabs look to the state of the hump with considerable solicitude 

 when about to commence a journey, and when it has been 

 much impaired by hardship, three or four months of repose and 

 copious nourishment are required to bring it to its normal 

 state. 



Its natural abstemiousness, further developed by training, is 

 BO great that a camel laden with five hundred pounds' weight, 

 travelling twenty to thirty miles a day nnder a scorching sun, 

 receives no other food than a few handfuls of grain, a limited 

 number of dates, or a small pellet of maize paste. It will often 

 go eight or ten days without drinking. Its natural food 



