146 THE CAMEL. 



dromedary, and see that your saddle and ap- 

 purtenances are arranged to your liking ; and here 

 let me caution you to be sure that every con- 

 venience you can need in the course of the day's 

 journey is hung to your saddle-pegs or stored 

 in the ample travelling-bags beneath you. Of 

 these conveniences, one of the most indispens- 

 able is the zemzemeeh, or leather water-bottle. 

 This is a neatly made water-vessel, usually of 

 Russia leather, holding a couple of quarts, with 

 a large neck and a wooden stopper. It is very 

 important, that both this and the water casks 

 and water skins, should have been soaked for 

 several days, and often filled and emptied, both 

 to make them tight and to take out a little of the 

 raw taste of the wood and leather. The zemze- 

 meeh is hung by a strap and hook to the saddle- 

 peg, and as some of the water escapes by ex- 

 udation through the pores of the leather, the 

 evaporation cools the contents, upon the same 

 principle as in the porous earthen jars, so ex- 

 tensively used in Egypt and other hot countries. 

 The zemzemeeh should always be hung on the 

 shady side of the camel, and well sheltered by 

 the carpets or other coverings of your saddle, 

 and with these precautions, the water will be 

 cool enough in the hottest weather, though it 

 must be confessed, that it will always taste of the 

 leather, at least as strongly as Sancho Panza's 



