212 THE CAMEL 



CHAPTEE X 



AILMENTS, CAUSES AND REMEDIES 



I DO not for one moment pretend that I am well versed 

 in all or nearly all the ills to which camel-flesh is heir, 

 for the very good reason that I do not know them all ; 

 but I will do my best, and attempt to describe those 

 that are most common, and that have come, or have been 

 brought, under my notice at different times in various ex- 

 peditions that I have been in, under varied climatic and 

 other conditions. It would be perhaps as well to point 

 out, however, that I bring no professional or technical 

 knowledge to bear on the subject. What is written 

 here was picked up chiefly from natives of India and 

 Egypt for I never lost an opportunity of learning all 

 I could from them also from some veterinary surgeons 

 who, like myself, took an interest in and had a fellow- 

 feeling for the poor ill-used camel. Like everything 

 else about a camel, the greatest possible ignorance has 

 prevailed among us regarding the diseases that he 

 suffers from. Eecent years, however in the Afghan 

 campaign notably much information on this point has 

 been brought to light, through the observation of 

 certain veterinary surgeons and transport officers 

 keener than the majority, but principally from native 

 sources. These tribes in India, Afghanistan, Arabia, 

 Egypt, &c., naturally, as I have more than once 



