Lord of a Thensan Camels.

Hokitika Guardian, 1 September 1921, Page 3

Lord of a Thensan Camels.

j AFGHANISTAN, i All acute tibscrver of the camel nm-e ( said that llrongli liunianity might- know | !!!! seerwl>* of lie* world, the eamcl’s taee { showed that la- alone possessed tho lit.n- ---| dredtli and was fully aware of his stij periority. I Imagine, then, my feelings when i some months ago T took over eomimind ! „|- thousand of these sarcastic looking I animal*. i There they were sitting in rows of 50. with tlu-ir legs folded under them and I quin- oblivions of my presence. I Now and then a camel would blow I ,eit its palate membrane (these are hollow and call he tilled with air), wit It a bubbly noise like wider going out of a sink pipe. After leaving the tongue hanging out of its mouth nnd covered in froth it~ would turn slowly round at us, who were watching, as if to say: “What- the deuce has my tongue got to 'do with you?" and then quietly go on with its evening meal. ; We have had many marches together i and T have got to know my anii ~,.,1 hotter and to respect, his powers, j ,| t jn (o lie feared, however, that ho j mill retains his contempt Tor me and 1 all mankind). ! My first mistake was to imagine that j Die ship of the desert would t’onrish

| Win*! PYi'V IIHT!' "il> _ | ; R„ t The camel from the hill ; j cuntvv has a. hard foot, which, though ' I impervious to pebbles, gets cracked ami i sore on moist, soft- sand. . ! Even more thoroughly dot's the cannl I from the deserts “crock up” when made ( to cross (lints and stones. In the foot I all the toes lie in elastic pad. which fiat- [ l tens out, and gives a sure foothold. But j ; betide VOII if the ground he slip- I : perv or muddy, all your charges will , , slither this way and that, and seve.re i sprains will be tfie result. ! The “0011 < the eamel’s name j throughout the East! is either a. fool or j a hero, whichever way you look at it. | 11,, tbe most inlet Hnfilatiiing animal ! alive, bill this is not the advantage it i may seem. Over and over again the i first sign that anything was amiss was j : that Die poor brute laid down and died. , 1 This was not only the hiss of a val- | pable animal, but also a loss ol earrv- ' ; ip.,.power. His load, the takes t cwt. j . i about 20 miles a day with easel had to 1 . ! be put. on other hacks, and it is tiiere- ■ | fore necessary to watch all one’s ‘ cir- ' i cos” very carefully. ' The child’s rule that a good eamel j has a big hump is true of all except de- . sert-hred camels', which have very small ■ humps, rt can therefore hardly be call--1 ed a spare larder, bill it is n. mark of j ! breed and locality. I ■ Another popular theory that 's all ■ wrong is that camels thrive on a weekly ' drink" They don’t. Even the nnl_ 1 thirsty Somali camel needs water every c fourth day. whereas his brother of „ Egyfit irs in distress unless lie w watered e daily. v That, is really peettliar fl.ltout. the " camel is his month nnd lips. The mouth is proof against even Hie needle points of thorns. The upper lip is split, in two, and enables him to grasp the twigs of thorny bushes, such Es abound in the desert . These plants are corn off and eaten. fin next time you go to the “7oo” look at the lips, but from n safe distance. Eor though Hie canto! bites hut ,V seldom, "’hen he does it ?s both nasty ” and poisonous, y <5 M i ‘ ’^ T ’ n-, •’»•■■*!* fro’ii worms