ADEN 



road paced haughty camels hitched to diminutive 

 carts. On contracted round bluffs toward the sea 

 were various low bungalow buildings which, we were 

 informed, comprised the military and civil officers' 

 quarters. The real Aden has been built inland a 

 short distance at the bottom of a cup in the moun- 

 tains. Elaborate stone reservoirs have been con- 

 structed to catch rain water, as there is no other 

 natural water supply whatever. The only difficulty 

 is that it practically never rains; so the reservoirs 

 stand empty, the water is distilled from the sea, 

 and the haughty camels and the little carts do the 

 distributing. 



The lava mountains occupy one side of the 

 spacious bay or gulf. The foot of the bay and the 

 other side are flat, with one or two very distant 

 white villages, and many heaps of glittering salt as 

 big as houses. 



We waited patiently at the rail for an hour more 

 to see the camels slung aboard by the crane. It was 

 worth the wait. They lost their impassive and 

 immemorial dignity completely, sprawling, groaning, 

 positively shrieking in dismay. When the solid 

 deck rose to them, and the sling had been loosened, 

 however, they regained their poise instantaneously. 

 Their noses went up in the air, and they looked 

 about them with a challenging, unsmiling superiority, 



47 



