520 UNGULATA. 



tion for his master, but on every opportunity deliberately resists every 

 wish, we may find some excuse for the hard hearts of the Arabian camel- 

 drivers. The cowardice of the Camel is extraordinary. The roar of a 

 lion scatters a caravan, every beast throws off its burden and rushes 

 away. The howl of a hyaena, the sight of a monkey or of a dog terrifies 

 it. It lives with no animal on terms of friendship. The horse cannot 

 endure it, and on its part it seems to regard all animals with the dislike 

 which it displays toward man. Its intelligence is small ; it has only one 

 great talent, namely, that of making a man mad. 



The young Camel, when just born, is a strange-looking creature ; it 

 is covered with long, thick, soft woolly hair, the hump is small, the cal- 

 losities on the joints scarcely visible. As it grows the wool increases in 

 thickness and length, and the creature is strikingly like the South 

 American species. It is weaned at the beginning of the second year, and 

 then its training commences. It is accustomed to do without sleep, and 

 to suffer the extremes of hunger, thirst, and heat. In its third year it is 

 usually set to work, and by the end of the fourth year is considered 

 capable of being employed in lengthened journeys. The camels for 

 riding are trained to pace, not to gallop. The saddle is a dish-like 

 frame perched on the hump, and held by three strong girths. The bridle 

 consists of a leathern thong surrounding the creature's muzzle. No bit 

 is used. Around the saddle hang weapons, holsters, cartridges, and bags 

 of dates and water-skins, and the saddle itself is covered with sheep- 

 skins dyed red or blue. The saddle of the pack-camel is not fastened by 

 girths, but kept in position by the burdens which are skilfully arranged 

 to balance. It is often stated that if a camel has been overloaded, it 

 will, even when the load is removed, refuse to rise ; this is not true. It 

 remains lying when overladen, because it cannot rise, but when the 

 weight is lessened, it gets up at once. 



In desert-journeys the load of a camel is about three hundred and 

 fifty pounds. In Egypt, however, the drivers piled up such loads that 

 the government interfered, and fixed the weight to be placed on the 

 unfortunate animal at five hundred and fifty pounds. One day Latif 

 Pasha was sitting in his courtyard holding judgment in true Oriental 

 fashion. A huge, heavily laden camel stalked in through the open gate- 

 way. " What does the beast want?" cried the Pasha. " See, its load is 

 illegal ! Weigh it." The camel had been carrying one thousand Arab 

 pounds. The driver next appeared, in some astonishment. " Do you not 



