xxvii CONCLUSION 453 



The camel is certainly the most useful beast in Africa, as 

 without its aid the deserts woiild be absolutely impassable ; but 

 although indispensable to man, it is a stupid beast, that exhibits 

 no affection whatever towards its master, and never shows the 

 slightest sign of intelligence under any circumstances. The only 

 time that it appears contented is when the Arab arranges a pile of 

 dhurra, carefully measured in double handfuls according to the 

 number of his beasts ; this is placed in the centre of a mat, upon 

 which the Arab sits, while perhaps eight camels kneel upon the 

 ground with their heads converging in a centre, all intent upon the 

 heap of corn, each endeavouring to swallow more than its due 

 proportion. The Arab continues to rearrange the heap while it is 

 growing less, occasionally pushing an extra mouthful towards a 

 weaker animal that is bullied by a greedy neighbour. 



I never lose my interest in camels, as they have carried me 

 faithfully during many years over some thousands of miles ; but 

 the time will arrive when light narrow-gauge railways across the 

 deserts will relegate this animal to a different duty, in conducting 

 the traffic for short distances to stations upon the main line, instead 

 of being, as at present, the tedious and only means of conducting 

 the commerce of an enormous area. 



I conclude my reminiscences of wild beasts and their ways with 

 the hope that the pleasure the study of natural history has afforded 

 me through life will be enjoyed by others whose tastes are similar, 

 and who may accompany my own experiences as I have narrated 

 them. Although an ardent admirer of nature and her mysterious 

 laws, I am not one of those who regard them as perfection : it is 

 an irresistible law of force, by which the strong predominate, and 

 the weak must suffer. In every direction we see a struggle for 

 existence ; the empty stomach must be filled, therefore one species 

 devours the other. It is a system of terrorism from the beginning 

 to the end. The fowl destroys the worm, the hawk destroys the 

 fowl, the cat destroys the hawk, the dog kills the cat, the leopard 

 kills the dog, the lion kills the leopard, and the lion is slain by 

 man. Man appears upon the scene of general destruction as the 

 greatest of all destroyers, as he alone in creation wars against his 

 own species. We hear of love, and pity, and Christian charity ; 

 we see torpedoes and hellish inventions of incredible power to 

 destroy our fellow-creatures. The inventors of these horrible 

 engines of destruction receive titles and the highest honours, while 

 those who have worked in progressive science for the welfare of 

 mankind are forgotten in the obscure laboratory, although the 



