THE ZooLoGIst—SEPTEMBER, 1875. 4621 
with life; indeed those most familiar with them say that in an open 
plain escape from an infuriated camel is impossible. 
One great inconvenience in using camels in Australia is to be 
found in the difficulty of familiarising horses and bullocks to their 
presence or neighbourhood, and in the terror with which they 
always inspire these animals at first sight. The colonial horses can 
hardly be called timid, yet it is stated that, however long a time 
one of them may have worked or fed beside camels, he is certain to 
make a bolt if one of the latter fairly faces him, and will often do 
so if only looked at unexpectedly. This, however, must not be 
regarded as insurmountable, for in India and Africa they un- 
doubtedly work in company. 
Regarding the capability of Mr. Elder’s camels for burden, on 
one occasion a string of more than sixty travelled with an average 
load of six hundred pounds of wool each, making from seventeen 
to eighteen miles per diem, and enduring four or five days’ thirst 
easily. A heavy camel carried an Afghan with the mail three 
hundred and fifty miles in a week; and Mr. Stuckey rode from 
Puttapa to Umberatana, a distance of eighty miles, in one day, and 
thinks that four hundred miles might easily be accomplished in 
five days on a riding camel. The latter travel at from seven to ten 
miles an hour for many hours together, but during hot weather they 
do not travel so well in the heat of the day as at night. At Port 
Augusta, on one occasion, and in consequence of a bet between 
the men as to what one of the camels—a large one, seven years 
old—could do, ten bags of flour, or 2000 ibs., were placed upon 
its back when kneeling, and it rose and carried this without 
difficulty round the camp. The same animal drew six dead camels 
nearly a mile over sand, one at at a time, with only a rope round 
its neck, and it has frequently drawn a sixty-gallon bucket from a 
whip-well. These instances will give some idea of the power of 
the camel both for burden and draught. The following extract 
from ‘ McKinlay’s Tracks’ will show the reader the opinion formed 
of the camel on that expedition :—“ McKinlay took four camels, in 
company of a goodly quadrupedal assemblage, consisting besides 
of twenty-four horses, twelve bullocks, and a hundred sheep. The 
camel disputes with the horse the palm of usefulness in the Austra- 
lian expeditions. In powers of endurance the camel seemed quite 
the equal of his rival, but he was more unruly and troublesome, 
and very uncompanionable with the other animals, his fellow- 
SECOND SERIES—VOL. X. 22 
