8 



THE USES OF THE CAMEL, 



conference by a warning note, that as they, the belligerents, 

 treat the terms proposed, so shall they and their camels be dealt 

 with. Tlie author of " An Excursion in Asia Minor" says : 

 " The care of the camels seems to be very much left to the 

 children. 1 have just watched a string stopping on an open 

 plain. A child twitched the cord suspended from the head of 

 the first — a loud gurgling growl indicated the pleasure of the 

 camel as it awkwardly knelt down, and the child, who could 

 just reach its back, unlinked the hooks which suspended from 

 either side the bales of cotton ; another child came with a bowl 

 of water and a sponge, and was welcomed with a louder roar of 

 pleasure as it washed the mouth and nostrils of the animal; 

 this grateful ofiice ended, the liberated camel wandered off to 

 the thicket to browse during the day — and this was done to each 

 of the forty-five, which, all unbidden, had knelt down precisely 

 as the one I have described, forming a circle, which continued 

 marked during the day by the bales of goods lying at regular 

 distances. On a given signal in the afternoon, at about three 

 O'clock, every camel resumed its own place and knelt down be- 

 tween its bales, which were again attached, and the caravan 

 proceeded on its tardy course. 



I am not surprised at finding the strong attachment of these 

 animals to the children, for I have often seen three or four of 

 them, when young, lying with their heads inside a tent, in the 

 midst of the sleeping children, while their long bodies remained 

 outside." 



" Oh, tribes of Sahara," says an Arab song, " you boast of 

 your camels, but know you, that they who would possess camels, 

 must know how to defend them." 



The peculiar gentleness, the docility of the camel ; his plain- 

 tive voice ; his coaxing looks and gestures ; his " soft, woman- 

 ish ways," as Kinglake styles them ; the fidelit}' with which he 

 clings to man, and the need which he seems to feel of his pro- 

 tection, excite those sentiments of pity which are akin to love, 

 even as his sturdier and more heroic characteristics challenge 

 our admiration. 



The general kindness with which camels are treated in the 

 East, is of course not without many lamentable exceptions. 

 Woe to the unfortunate camel who falls sick on the road. The 

 hot iron or some fiery internal application is freely and merci- 



