CAMEL. 7 1 
are destined to cross immense deserts where little 
water is found, and countries not even moistened 
by the dew of heaven, they are endowed with the 
power at one watering-place of laying in a store 
with which they supply themselves for many days 
to come. To contain this enormous quantity of 
fluid, Nature has formed large cisterns within them, 
from which, once filled, they draw at pleasure the 
quantity they want, and pour it into the stomach 
with the same effect as if they immediately drew 
it from a spring. With this they travel patiently 
and vigorously all day long, carrying prodigious 
loads through countries affected with poisonous 
winds, and glowing with parching and never-cooling 
sands. 
The following anecdote from Mr. Bruce’s Travels 
will serve to show the capability of the camel’s 
reservoir to contain large quantities of water: 
“ On the 27th, at half past five in the morning, 
we attempted to raise our camels at Safficha by 
every method that we could devise, but all in vain ; 
only one of them could get upon his legs, and that 
one did not stand two minutes till he kneeled 
down, and could never be raised afterwards. This 
the Arabs all declared to be the effect of cold ; and 
yet Fahrenheit’s thermometer, an hour before day, 
stood at 42°. Every way we turned ourselves death 
now stared us in the face. We had neither time 
nor strength to waste, nor provisions to support us. 
We then took the small skins that had contained 
our water, and filled them as far as we thought a 
