400 THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



green islands of tlie desert ; here, sand billows — there, water 

 waves, separating widely different worlds of plants and animals ; 

 liere, the ship, the camel of the ocean — there, the dromedary, 

 the ship of tlie desert ! 



But for this invaluable animal, the desert itself would ever 

 have remained impassable and unknown to man. On it alone 

 depends the existence of the nomadic tribes of the Orient, 

 the whole commercial intercourse of North Africa and South- 

 west Asia ; and no wonder that the Bedouin prizes it, along 

 with the fruit-teeming date-palm, as the most precious gift of 

 Allah. Other animals have been formed for the forest, the 

 water, the savannah ; to be the guide, the carrier, the com- 

 panion, the purveyor of all man's wants in the desert, is the 

 camel's destiny. 



Wonderfully has he been shaped for this peculiar life, formed 

 to endure privations and fatigues under which all but he would 

 sink. On examining the camel's foot, it will at once be seen 

 liow" well it is adapted for walking on a loose soil, as the full 

 length of its two toes is provided with a broad, expanded, and 

 elastic sole. Thus the camel treads securely and lightly over 

 the unstable sands, while he would either slip or sink on a 

 muddy ground. He can support hunger longer than any other 

 mammiferous animal, and is satisfied with the meanest food. 

 Frugal, like his lord the wiry Bedouin, the grinding power of 

 his teeth and his cartilaginous palate enable him to derive 

 nutriment from the coarsest shrubs, from thorny mimosas and 

 acacias, or even from the stony date-kernels, which his master 

 throws to him after having eaten the sweet flesh in which they 

 are imbedded. 



For many days he can subsist without drinking, as the pouch- 

 like cavities of his stomach — a peculiarity which distinguishes 

 him from all other quadrupeds, perhaps, with the sole exception 

 of the elephant — form a natural cistern or reservoir, whose con- 

 tents can be forced upwards by muscular contraction, to meet 

 the exigencies of the journey. It is frequently believed that 

 this liquid remains constantly limpid and palatable, and that 

 in cases of extreme necessity camels are slaughtered to preserve 

 the lives of the thirsty caravan ; but Burckhardt never heard 

 of the Arabs resorting to this expedient, nor did he think it 

 likely they would do so, as their own destruction must be in- 



