418 THE CAMEL 



waves, separating widely different worlds of plants and animals ; 

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

 the ship of the 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 companion, 

 the purvej/or 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 how 

 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 un- 

 stable sands, while he would either slip or sink on a muddy 

 ground. He can support hunger longer than any other mam- 

 miferous 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 thii'sty caravan, but according to Eussegger 

 (Travels in Nubia) these accounts are fabulous, as, particularly 

 after a long abstinence from drinking, the dromedary's supply 

 is nothing but a most nauseous mixture of putrid water and 



