WOOL- AND FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 251 



fail, not the least of which is the length of time it can go without 

 food, and the remarkable habit it exhibits of scenting water at a 

 distance often saves both the animal and its driver from suffering 

 agony through thirst. The wide expanse of arid desert is its home, 

 and whilst it is a mistake to suppose that the Arabian species cannot 

 traverse rocky ground successfully in the same way as its Bactrian 

 relative, it is a fact that on wet and slippery ground the beast is out 

 of its element and quite unable to secure a foothold. The hind-legs 

 "slide asunder on a treacherous surface, and the animal is unable 

 to bring them back; and the result is that the weight of the body, 

 to say nothing of a burden, forces the bones out of their sockets, and 

 nothing can be done with the unfortunate creature but destroy it." 



Beyond the water pockets already referred to, the Camel is well 

 served by its hump, which is made up of fatty cells, and thus 

 supplies a reserve of food in the same way as the fatty accumulation 

 stored up in the bodies of animals which hibernate for a lengthy 

 period, and to which attention has already been drawn in a previous 

 chapter. When starting on a long journey and the animal has been 

 well supplied with nourishment, the hump is in a fine condition, but 

 should the food supply fail, the reserve of fat stored up in the hump 

 is drawn upon, and as this takes place so surely enough the hump 

 disappears, until at the end of the pilgrimage it is found to have 

 shrunk to almost nothing. 



The Camel is capable of carrying enormous burdens upon its 

 back; its powers of endurance are very remarkable, and although 

 used to some extent for agricultural purposes, it is because of its 

 great service as a beast of burden that it is most highly regarded. 

 To the Arab it is indispensable, for without it the burning tracts of 

 the great Sahara desert could not be penetrated, whilst our know- 

 ledge of these vast regions would be very sparse had it not been 

 for the services rendered to travellers by this wonderful beast. 



And yet, although for so long a period it has been acquainted 

 with mankind, serving him, as we have already seen, in so many 

 directions, it is an unintelligent creature, ill-tempered, and does 

 not, for example, learn to know its owner in the same way as a 

 Horse. It has a great aversion to water — excepting when thirsty — 

 and rather than ford a river will permit its body to become immersed, 

 to roll over and drown. Its movements are directed with great 

 difficulty — if it is possible to direct them at all — for the beast goes 

 just that way which best suits its purpose, and to ride it for the 



