INTRODUCTION OF CAMELS. 583 
this too with a rider estimated to weigh one hundred and 
seventy-five pounds and one hundred pounds weight of saddle, 
baggage, etc. His average gait is five miles an hour, at which 
he will continue for weeks. On an emergency he may be 
pushed, with this same weight, double the distance ; but then 
the jolting is increased with the speed of the animal, and 
could only be borne by experienced riders.” Colonel Shiel, an 
experienced British officer, long versed in military service in 
Hindostan, says, the dromedary ‘‘is able to travel in all situa- 
tions: mountains and plains, blazing sun, frost and snow, 
seem alike to him.” 
It is proper to state that in hoé countries the camel’s hair 
is clipped close, while in the cold it is permitted to grow, 
according to the temperature he is exposed to, when it attains 
a length of six inches. Hence he can live in the region of the 
reindeer as well as in that of the lion. 
This animal is therefore used exclusively, from the Nile to 
the Ganges, for the purpose of war and expresses, or duties 
requiring expedition ; and instances are on record where war 
parties of Bedouin Arabs, lightly equipped, with a small supply 
of provisions, have been known to traverse a space of three 
hundred miles in four days.+ 
I have devoted more space to this subject than I intended ; 
* Journey through Kurdistan.—Jour. Royal Geog. Soc., vol. viii. p. 97. 
+ “The female camel yields an abundance of excellent milk, which, mixed 
with meal, is the standard dish of Bedouin economy; when acidulated, it con- 
stitutes the favorite dish of the Turkoman; when fermented, an intoxicating 
drink called ‘kermis’ by the Tartars. 
“The hair is a well known article of commerce, out of which nomadie tribes 
manufacture clothing and tents, as well as all the halters, cords, saddle-bags, 
and ornamental trappings for the camel himself. The flesh of a young camel 
is esteemed a luxury, and at every age a wholesome diet. It is cut into strips 
and dried in the same manner as beef is preserved in Mexico. The dung is used 
for fuel, in the same manner as the buffalo dung by our prairie travellers. The 
entrails and minor sinews are adapted to thongs, bow-strings, fastenings, ete., 
while the hide is sold for the same purpose as we use the hide of beef-cattle and 
buffaloes, such as shoes, sandals, belts, harness, saddles, etc.” —Gliddon’s Mem. MS. 
