254 THE CAMEL 



fatigue parties, as they performed these duties for 

 themselves. One driver was appointed to each camel, 

 drilled, armed, and trained as a soldier ; but of course 

 they belonged to fighting tribes, such as the Beloochis, 

 Pathans, &c. These or the Panjabis, Hadendowas, and 

 Somalis would all do well in this respect, and they are 

 excellent camel men as well. 



Military There can scarcely be any doubt, I should say, both 



tSn th? from a transport and military point of view, as to the 

 transport question of a military organisation being the best for 

 any transport. At the same time, in the education of all 

 ranks, the ruling and vital principle of the system must 

 be transport first, military training second merely a 

 supplementary and secondary adjunct, which secures 

 independence from military escorts and guards, adds to 

 its own strength in case of attack, as also to that of the 

 fighting force, which can thus be kept intact, and which 

 it would otherwise sap and weaken. The fact that it is 

 essentially a working (and not a fighting) corps cannot 

 be too strongly impressed on all ranks. For ' aping ' is 

 not only a sign of the times, but has become a perfect 

 craze, which has grown contagious, and which has 

 caught on in many of the departments in our army. 

 Owners as As a general rule, camel breeders and owners will 

 not act as drivers. This applies equally to mules and 

 other animals; so that when we require a large number 

 of drivers we are perforce having none of our own 

 obliged to hire anybody we can get hold of, and pay 

 him highly into the bargain. This in itself ought to 

 be a sufficient motive for a sweeping reform in the 

 transport system ; for it stands to reason that with 

 hired drivers a transport cannot maintain efficiency, it 



