COMPARISON WITH OTHEE ANIMALS 293 



a large storage of water which it was incumbent that 

 we should seize before the enemy, and hold, so as to 

 enable us to dash across the Bayuda desert. With 

 1,000 fighting men on camels, and 580 baggagers laden 

 with stores, we reached Gakdool in 66 hours, marching 

 13 hours daily, halted 30 hours, returning empty in 48 

 hours. In addition to this (13 hours' marching), the 

 camels were kept loaded for some time previous to 

 marching each morning, and some w^ere never un- 

 loaded (for 66 hours) until Gakdool was reached. The 

 effect of this on the baggagers was simply disastrous ; 

 but in addition to this, and previous to the march, 

 they had been worked on the lines of communication, 

 were in a weak condition, and tolerably stale, instead 

 of fresh. The riding camels had also marched a long 

 way (mostly from Assouan), but were in better trim, 

 and consequently did not suffer so badly. Of the 

 baggagers 55 died, 12 were shot, and 43 abandoned, 

 to say nothing of the majority who were suffering from 

 galls and exhaustion, so much so that when Sir 

 Herbert, a few days after, started the second time for 

 Gakdool en route to Metammeh, not one of these camels 

 could go as they were all unfit. I have given these as 

 tolerably fair examples of the two animals ; but I must 

 ask you to make a note of the very important fact 

 that, while in the former case the transport had been 

 resting for a long time and was fresh, in the latter 

 as we have just seen they had already been over- 

 worked, and were as stale as stale could be. As I 

 have already remarked, in our hands the camel never 

 gets a fair chance. Had these camels been quite fit, 

 as they should have been for such a rapid and risky 



