6 HOItN EXPEDITION — NAKHATIVE. 



fre(]ucnt]y expressiiii; its disgust and annoyance at tlic proct'ss l)y growling and 

 gnashing its tucth. Unless securely fastened on, the slow but steady churning 

 movement, which is much like a combined pitching and tossing and rolling, will 

 soon |)ut tiie packages out of place. 



For the iirst day or two, until the weights are faiily adjusted, the loads are 

 continually shifting and stoppages are frequent. Each camel has a hole bored 

 through one side of its nose, anil into this a wooden peg is ti.xed, shapixl something 

 like a little dund)-bel] ; to this a sti'ing is tied, and so in ;i baggage train a string 

 ])asses from the nose of one animal to the tail of the one ne.xt in front, for of 

 coui'se they walk in single tile. 



So long as tli(! travelling is easy this is right enough, but in dillicult country, 

 as when, for example, a ci-eek with steep sides h.is to be crossed, it is not easy to 

 avoid a break-away. The front one of the camels coming Iirst to a steep descent 

 and carrying a heavy load is very apt to go down with a sutlden run, which 

 probably means that the hinder mie stands still and tlu^ nose-string is Ijrokcn. 

 The nose-peg itself is not infi'eiiuently j>ulled out and has to be replaced, o\; if the 

 string by good fortune simply comes untied (the knot is always a loose one) from 

 the tail of the front animal, the hinder ones will stand still, sniHing the air in a 

 stupid, idiotic kind of way, until they are led up to tlit; front one and the damage 

 repaired. In ditllcult countiy this often takes place, and so travelling is slow 

 work, and the distance traver.sed may not average more than two or, at most, 

 three miles an hour during the day. 



(ioing down a steep bank a camel will often sli}) down on its haunches, and 

 going up one will clindj on its knees. Often ther'e is serious dilliculty in getting 

 tlnnn to cross a creek holding water. Mr. A. W. llowitt told me of an ingenious 

 plan adopted by himself when he was out in charge of one of the parties 

 despatched to search for the remnant of the ill-fated Burke and Wills E.xpedition. 

 He had come to a creek full of watei', and the camels steadily refused to go into 

 it. At last a happy idea struck him ; he had one of the beasts brouglit up ami 

 made to sit down broadside on to the creek. He and his men ranged themselves 

 on the land side of the animal, which was then made to get up, but whilst in the 

 act, and at a given signal when the beast was oti' its balance, a united push sent it 

 .sprawling into the water, across which it then made its way. 



Whilst on the march our daily programme was much the same. Usually just 

 before sunrise we were up and dressed. Very shortly after sunrise we had 

 breakfast. Our camp cook, Laycock, was an old hand at the work, his experience 



