An African Shooting Trip 



every few days when possible. The falling 

 off in the animal's general condition, and espe- 

 cially the noticeable decrease in the size of 

 its fatty hump, which should occupy quarter 

 the length of the back, calls attention to the 

 fact that it requires more water. 



Our camels would eat any green bush or 

 tree, but were especially fond of thorn bushes. 

 The fact that the thorns were two or three 

 inches long seemed rather to add to their at- 

 tractiveness. Camels have been given a very 

 bad reputation as regards temper and general 

 disposition, but, so far as our limited experi- 

 ence went, they never really offered to bite, 

 although we constantly walked among them 

 about camp, at night, when they were lying 

 down. The camel mats, put on to protect the 

 animal from his load, and used by the native 

 tribes as coverings for their huts, made good 

 blankets for our men, protecting them from 

 the cold night air of the inland plateau. The 

 camel is invaluable to the natives, and, with 

 their flocks of sheep, constitutes almost their 

 whole wealth. They are not only useful as a 

 transporting machine, but many are raised for 

 their meat, the hump and the marrow bones 

 of the legs being the choice parts. 



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