202 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



miles south of Cairo. There, to my great delight, I 

 found temporarily encamped the Camel Remount 

 Depot, commanded by a brother officer, a discovery 

 which promised a cheery Christmas evening. But my 

 camels, men, and baggage had first to be got over to 

 the other side, for which purpose two country boats, 

 composed of palm planks lashed together, were placed 

 at my disposal. The shipment of the camels proved 

 no easy matter ; gentle persuasion with endearing 

 epithets failing to touch their heart, the Aden boys 

 had to drag and push them down the bank by main 

 force and then into the boats, which were just large 

 enough to take three at a time. Once in the boat, the 

 animals were made to lie down at right angles to the 

 keel, two facing one way, the head of the third in 

 line with the tails of the others. The work was attended 

 by a good deal of swearing, spitting, biting, and groan- 

 ing on the part of the camels, and by thoroughly forcible 

 language on that of the men, but the boats, however 

 frail they no doubt were, did their duty well, and before 

 the sun was set in its desert glory the detachment 

 was across without mishap. 



Beyond the fringte of palms the depot camels, several 

 hundred in number, were picketed in long lines a very 

 interesting spectacle now, when they were sleek and 

 well fed and well tended. All their hard work was to 

 come ; excessive hardships, added to severe privations 

 during the desert marches, caused the -death of almost 

 all of them. 



Full arrangements for the Christmas dinner had 

 already been made, and when at last the supreme 

 moment came six hungry people sat down at a table 

 improvised of various boxes and of anything upon which 



