62 WASTAGE OF ANIMALS IN WAR. 



Of all the sad pages in the history of camels employed by our 

 Armies, nothing can sm'pass that of the Desert Column in the 

 Nile Expedition of 1884-85. Between the 30th December 1884 

 and 25th March 1885^ i.e., in barely three months, this column 

 lost 1850 in the Bayuda Desert and 448 at Korti out of a total 

 of 4050 camels, or 56-7 per cent. Though some were killed in 

 action, the chief cause of mortality was forced and long- 

 continued marching with insufficiency of food and water. The 

 first column averaged 30 miles per day, the second column 25 

 miles per day. Between Gakdal and Gubat, a journey of six 

 days, the allowance of grain amounted to under two pounds per 

 camel daily, and no water could be given during that period. 

 Grazing was not possible. On the return journey the animals 

 had to subsist on only a few loads of green dhourra stalks and 

 what grass could be collected. A good many of the camels were 

 only four years old, and a curious statement of the covering 

 report of the Principal Veterinary Officer to the Forces, War 

 Office, is to the effect that purchasing officers (Egyptians) knew 

 so little of this class of animal that some of them were not able 

 to distinguish the sex, to say nothing] of their age, or to judge 

 fitness for the work required. A Brigade Order was published 

 previous to the march that camels should only be watered every 

 third day, to accustom them to the privations of the march, and 

 that they should have their fill before starting. This was not 

 judicious treatment, especially when it was known that the 

 animals would have little else than dry food for the journey. 

 Camels are not salamanders, and they require as much water 

 as any other ruminant to maintain health and strength. The 

 Veterinary Officer accompanying the column describes one 

 instance of camels being 40 hours under load; one company 

 had one man to every six or seven camels and these were 

 Egyptian soldiers taken out of boats which had just come up 

 the river. Truly a most lamentable state of bad organisation 

 and arrangement, such as it is hoped will never see the light 

 of day again. 



On the other hand, and at the same time, was the most 

 wonderful performance of the 19th Hussars (155 strong) 

 mounted on Syrian ponies ; an example of the most efficient 

 care of animals almost on record. With an average daily 



