202 THE CAMEL 



point of view as from that of a transport officer. You 

 do not as a rule place too heavy a weight on a horse ; 

 why, then, should you overweight a camel ? There are 

 occasions of emergency and necessity, precipitated, no 

 doubt, from want of ordinary preparations and precau- 

 tions, when a British general cannot help himself the 

 march across the Bayuda desert in January 1885 for 

 Gordon Pasha's relief being an instance. Then the 

 poor animals were starved for want of food and water, 

 and overweighted for want of spare animals. ' Needs 

 must when the devil drives,' but on ordinary occasions 

 this state of things need not exist. These same wise- 

 acres that we have been speaking about overpace their 

 already overladen animals ; as frequently as not 

 breaking down, and in the end reaching their destina- 

 tion not nearly so quickly as they would have done had 

 they gone the right way to work. Naturally not. 

 Overweighting and overpacing are errors opposed to 

 common sense, and in connection with transport little 

 judgment is required to tell you that they are the most 

 glaring you could commit. Overdone meat anything 

 overdone, in fact is spoilt. Overdone camels are 

 broken down and rendered useless, or are killed in the 

 attempt. 



Mistaken The fact is, the idea seems to be inherent amongst 

 withre- us, but I am glad to say fast exploding, that the camel 

 camels ' ls > a cast-iron animal, capable of any weight, able to 

 stand any hardships and fatigue, and that without food 

 and water, on air alone in fact. There was a time 

 when he was shrouded in mystery, and as a con- 

 sequence was a much exaggerated, overrated animal, 

 but that time is passed. He is no longer a mystery, or 



