292 THE CAMEL 



may not be considered quite so generally useful, is 

 sufficiently so, apart from numbers, to make him 

 indispensable on service ; and who, I maintain, if pro- 

 perly treated and managed, would prove, even for 

 military purposes, a more economical and useful 

 animal than the former. 



The mule, on account of his hardiness and quick- 

 ness of pace, is generally considered preferable to a 

 baggage camel on a long and rapid march, such, for 

 instance, as General (now Lord) Eoberts's march from 

 Cabul to Candahar, a distance of 350 miles, over a 

 road, well watered, and through a large tract of culti- 

 vated country. His fighting force was 10,000 strong, 

 and owing to the precarious condition of affairs at 

 Candahar it was necessary to march as quickly as 

 possible. For this reason, all wheeled carriages and 

 baggage camels were left behind, and mules chiefly, 

 also ponies and donkeys, were substituted. As regi- 

 mental transport officer I remember handing over to 

 the 2nd 60th Eifles 319 mules, all fit and in splendid 

 fettle, in exchange for camels. Had General Eoberts 

 marched with picked baggage camels instead, I think 

 he would have reached his destination as soon as he 

 did, for his march occupied nineteen marching days, or 

 only a daily average of 14f miles; but had it been 

 possible for him to mount his force on riding camels 

 marching very light with perhaps a very small per- 

 centage of baggagers, he would have got there in 

 about half the time that he did. 



Against this achievement I will quote Sir Herbert 

 Stewart's first forced march from Korti to Gakdool (96 to 

 100 miles on the road to Metammeh), where there was 



