DANKALLI CAMEL SADDLE. 295 



eighteen inches ; the staves of either side are con- 

 nected together by ropes carried over the pads. 



A quantity of palm-leaf mats, six feet long, and 

 three feet broad, are first placed upon the back of the 

 camel, and across these is thrown the saddle. The 

 two conjoined ends on either side are now fastened 

 underneath the belly, by a rope passing directly 

 from the one to the other, in a straight line. No 

 girding, similar to the manner in which we saddle 

 horses is resorted to. The saddle being thus fixed, 

 from the projecting extremities of the staves, on 

 one side is suspended the burden that hangs 

 upon the other, and thus, when properly adjusted, 

 the weight of the two burdens tends to tighten the 

 rope beneath the belly of the animal, and prevents 

 the whole from shifting during the journey. Another 

 advantage derived from this kind of saddle is, that 

 when the camel lies down, the whole weight of the 

 burden is lifted up from the back, for the lower ex- 

 tremities of the staves come upon the ground before 

 the belly of the animal, and thus support the loads, 

 whilst it remains in that position. If proper atten- 

 tion be paid to the equal distribution of weight on 

 each side, when first loaded, the camel marches the 

 whole day without any danger of casting its burden, 

 unless the rope should happen to break, which con- 

 nects the lower ends of the staves of either side. 

 Too frequently, the slaves of the owner neglect this 

 important duty, and I have observed with what 

 difficulty, the narrow body of the camel has been 



