448 WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



humped species ? These should be derived from Northern Asia, 

 as no such animals are to be found either in Africa or Arabia. 

 There is a peculiar mystery attached to the origin of a camel which 

 is difficult to fathom, as it is one of the oldest historical animals, 

 and has been connected with man, as the recognised beast of 

 burden, from the most ancient period. The llama of South 

 America is accepted as the representative of the camel in that 

 country, but it is like the alpaca, a small animal without any 

 hump, and in noways resembling the camel in its habits. 



There is no domestic animal that would so easily accommodate 

 itself to the change to a wild state as the camel, should it be lost 

 through straying in search of food, or through the destruction of 

 its owner. 



It will eat almost anything in the shape of grass or bush. 

 Nothing is too coarse or prickly for its impenetrable mouth and 

 tongue. 



A couple of years ago a travelling menagerie camped near my 

 home in South Devon, and the camels were turned out to graze in 

 a meadow hired for the occasion. Like most Devonian fields, the 

 grass was full of vigorous thistles. I knew what the camels would 

 do ; I therefore watched them. They cleared the field of thistles 

 in preference to the herbage. 



A camel that has been lost would discover food of some kind 

 upon the barren surface of most deserts ; and should it be within 

 reach of water, it would resign itself immediately to its new 

 conditions. 



If the camel is not required to labour, it will exist upon very 

 little, but that " little " must be provided. 



It appears to be a generally accepted belief that the camel, 

 because it has been poetically termed the "ship of the desert," 

 requires neither sleep, nor food, nor water ; that it will carry any 

 weight ; and that, when loaded, a couple of soldiers may mount 

 upon its back without increasing the burden. It does not matter 

 in the least whether the saddle fits, or whether it is properly 

 stuffed, or whether the hungry animal has eaten the stuffing from 

 its own saddle when unloaded for the night. In this manner the 

 camels are generally neglected in our military expeditions. 



When it is considered that the success or failure of every 

 expedition must depend upon the transport, it is astonishing that 

 the organisation of the camel corps should be so lamentably 

 neglected. 



In the last Afghan campaign 61,000 camels actually died from 

 starvation and over-work. The country has not yet recovered 



