SPECIES AND BREEDS 101 



the other a beast of burden or draught. Of course 

 there are and have been exceptional cases when the 

 riding camel has had to carry loads ; for example, 

 Napoleon in Egypt, and Sir Charles Napier in Sind, so 

 employed them, but only on emergencies. So also can 

 a baggager be ridden, answering the purpose much as 

 a cart-horse would ; but, given your choice, you would 

 naturally select a ' Sawari.' Bear in mind too that, as 

 with the horse you have hacks, hunters, and racers, so 

 amongst riding camels you have degrees of compa- 

 rison in and between breeds of good, better, and best. 



I will now proceed to describe in as few words as Breeds 

 possible some of the distinctive features and charac- 

 teristics of many of the various breeds, but more espe- 

 cially those with which I have been in contact. I have 

 also described some of the brands which are in common 

 use in the desert on both banks of the Nile ; and where, 

 as in the case of the c Bisharin,' more than one brand 

 is given, each represents (' El Beit,') the house or family 

 to which the camel belongs. 



In Arabia itself there are several breeds of baggage Arabian 

 animals, and one or two of the ' Hageen.' The former 

 are thick built, heavy footed, and slow paced ; the latter 

 well bred, with slight sinewy frames, the hair being- 

 much shorter and finer, the prevailing colour light grey. 

 Sir Samuel Baker speaks of a breed belonging to a tribe 

 of Arabs who live on the western shores of the Eed 

 Sea which are especially adapted for carrying loads 

 over mountainous districts, and he says that when lie 

 used them they accomplished feats in mountain climbing 

 which would have been impossible to any other domestic 

 animal so loaded. I do not for a moment doubt that 



