THE SOLDIER'S CAMEL 
305 
Afghanistan, South Africa, India, and the Soudan. 
That is in itself a credential for his book ; for no one 
not possessed of an equable and reflective temper could 
have gone through his experiences and yet be enthu- 
siastic over his branch of the profession, and, above 
all, over what he justly calls that “ little-known and 
strangely unsympathetic animal,” the camel. Yet 
Major Leonard’s practical experience leads him to 
the conclusion that, of all transport animals, it is the 
best for military use in the East. Incidentally, he 
gives us an historical note on Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s 
immortal ballad on the Commissariat Camel — 
“ The driver question in Afghanistan was enough to 
appal the heart of the stoutest transport officer. They 
deserted, and soldiers had to be told off to act as 
drivers. On December 20, 1878, I had to leave 16 1 
bags of Commissariat stores on the ground, many of 
the drivers having deserted, and taken their camels with 
them. This is a common trick of the Sind drivers. 
They go back by a circuitous route, and in many cases 
— it is said — are re-engaged by the Commissariat.” 
The place assigned to the camel in this estimate need 
not raise any bright ideal of the creature as a travelling 
companion. Mr. L. Kipling’s remark, that you might 
as well lavish your affections on a luggage-van as on 
a camel, still holds good. But there is a balance in 
favour of the camel when compared with other Oriental 
beasts of burden. The experiences of a single march, 
noted by Major Leonard, gives a glimpse of the com- 
parative “ cussedness ” of different transport animals, 
