HERE AND THERE IN NORTHERN AFRICA 



79 



The nostrils of the mehari are as sensi- 

 tive as those of a bull and the least pres- 

 sure of the rein insures obedience. 



The wives of the rich caids and sheiks 

 travel on mehara and are hidden from 

 the gaze of mankind by the curtains of 

 ornate palanquins. 



The mehara are used entirely by the 

 Arabs when on the war-path, or razzia. 

 Arab friends have told me how caravans 

 in the Sahara have gone many days' 

 journey to reach a certain oasis, to find, 

 on arriving, that the water had all been 

 used by previous caravans and the springs 

 dry. 



To run short of water half way across 

 the Sahara is a very serious proposition, 

 which the natives overcome by killing a 

 djemel, or ordinary camel, and drinking 

 its blood, after it has cooled and the 

 froth at the top, which the Arabs claim 

 is very poisonous, is skimmed off. The 

 water found in the camel's stomach is 

 also drunk, and, thanks to the blood and 

 the water, the caravan can continue to an 

 oasis further on, where springs of water 

 are found. 



A TERRIBLE CUSTOM 



A terrible custom used to prevail 

 among certain tribes of the Sahara. Be- 

 fore starting on a razzia, or war-path, old 

 camels of not much value were kept from 

 drinking as long as possible, and just be- 

 fore starting out were allowed to drink 

 their fill ; then, according to the Arabs, 

 their tongues were cut or torn out. I 

 think I misunderstood their words. They 

 may have meant that certain nerves or 

 tendons were cut. Without the use of 

 these tendons of the tongue it was im- 

 possible for the camels to use the water 

 in their stomachs, but they could live for 

 a long time. When drink and meat were 

 needed, one or two of these camels were 

 slaughtered, the flesh eaten, and the wa- 

 ter and blood drunk. 



When the camels were killed, the 

 horses are said to have pawed the ground 

 in their eagerness to eat some of the 

 fresh meat. I have never witnessed this 

 cruel treatment of the camels, nor the 

 conduct of the horses, however, and can- 

 not vouch for the truthfulness of these 



statements, but some French generals of 

 my acquaintance have confirmed them. 



Living or dead, a camel is wealth to its 

 master. To the Arabs of the Sahara a 

 camel is like a reindeer to the Lap- 

 landers. Living, it carries the tents 

 and provisions. It fears neither hunger, 

 thirst, nor heat; its hair makes their 

 tents (gourbis) and bernouses; the milk 

 of the female nourishes rich and poor, 

 enriches the dates, and fattens the horses. 

 Its skin makes water-bottles (mezad) in 

 which water never becomes cloudy from 

 the action of wind or sun, and shoes and 

 boots with which one can tread without 

 danger on a viper, and protect the feet 

 from the terrible burns made by the 

 sands of the desert when one is bare- 

 footed. 



A mehari on the war-path can save 

 three men. Two ride it and the third 

 takes hold of its tail and is pulled along. 

 The latter changes places with the riders 

 at intervals. When a war-party has lost 

 so many camels that there remains but 

 one camel for every three men, it always 

 retreats. 



Mehara are usually fawn-colored, with 

 soft, intelligent eyes. They have pointed 

 ears like a gazelle's. Their chests are 

 very well developed, and they have a 

 small girth, almost like that of a grey- 

 hound. Their slender legs bulge with 

 muscles as hard as steel. There is not a 

 pound of superfluous flesh on the entire 

 body. 



When at full speed a mehari has a 

 most remarkable single-foot or pacing 

 step, the motion of which is not at all 

 disagreeable, and it can cover quite easily 

 ioo miles in a day without undue fatigue. 

 The feet of camels and mehara act on 

 the sand like snowshoes on snow. They 

 spread out and prevent the animal from 

 sinking in too deeply. Camels, and me- 

 hara especially, prefer the soft sand to 

 traveling on macadamized roads. 



The camel is the only animal I know 

 of that eats esparto grass as it grows. 

 Horses, mules, and donkeys are very fond 

 of it when it has been made into hay, 

 but they would die of starvation rather 

 than eat it green. Camels also eat the 

 leaves of the prickly pear, thorns and all. 



