374 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
and the British soldier, the wind may be tempered 
to the shorn lamb, but nobody will take care of the 
camel’s back. 
Camels differ in size as much as horses. I 
measured a riding dromedary (hygeen) that belonged 
to Sheik Achmet Abou Sinn, of the Shookerieah 
tribe ; this fine animal was 7 feet 2 inches perpen¬ 
dicular height from the hump to the ground. As a 
general rule, the hygeens are not so powerfully pro¬ 
portioned as those which carry baggage, and the 
Arabs are very particular in refusing to place a 
heavy weight upon a choice animal, as they declare, 
with good reason, that it would spoil the elasticity of 
its pace. 
A good hygeen is worth from 80 to 100 dollars 
in the Soudan, while a powerful baggage camel can 
be purchased for 12 or 14. 
The female produces only one at a birth, but the 
calf is not permitted to monopolise the mother’s 
milk; she is kept for the daily supply of the 
proprietor, as our cows in Europe are managed for 
the dairy. Camel’s milk is richer and more nourish¬ 
ing than that of any other animal, in the estimation 
of the Arabs. Barren females are frequently killed 
for their flesh ; this is far superior to any ordinary 
beef from the oxen of the Soudan. 
The camel is certainly the most useful beast in 
Africa, as without its aid the deserts would be 
absolutely impassable ; but although indispensable 
to man, it is a stupid beast, that exhibits no affection 
whatever towards its master, and never shows the 
