THE FIRST RIDE ON A CAMEL

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1968, 18 April 1885, Page 2

THE FIRST RIDE ON A CAMEL

The Daily Telegraph's Dongola correspondent writes:—A few clays ago I had my first ride on a camel, and I thought it would have been my last. It was to go to our camp that I got cross-legged upon an Arab saddle, insecurely fastened by string upon the back of a great, lumbering, humped-backedbrute. Inosoonerattempted to take my place on the saddle fran the camel, whichwas lying prone, into which position h.g hM been forced, began piling like an 014 village pump violently worked. Atthesam,e time he turned. Jia1 prehensile lips aside, grinned like a bulldog, and snowgd a. shining row of teeth, whjcli lie sought to olose upon me. \ gat aboard without aooident, andhadnot to wait for a rise, The first movement, as he lifted his forelegs, nearly sentme over backwards; the next, as he strained his hmd legs, still more nearly tripped mo oyer his head. I had been warned to hold tight, but it was only the clutch of desperation that saved me. After several lunges and plunges, the brute got fairty on his. legs, The reins consisted of a rope round his neck for steering, and a string fastened to a ring in his nostrils to pull up his head and to, s,tp,p him when he is going too fast. My.oamel began to move forward, and thereupon I oscillated and see-sawed as if

seized withseasicknessorcramTttSftestomach. Involuntary as tho movfient was an hour of it would, lam suro, havo made as abject a victim of mo as the worst sufferer on a camel passage; A heartless fnend was m front of me on another camel, which he set trotting, Letantly I became as helpless as -a disregarded the strain on its nostrils and my fervent ejaculations. My profane Arabic vocabulary was too limited to have the slightest.effect.' I swayed to and fro, was ibulnped uf and down, until I was almost jßhaken to pieces. It wouh] have been a positive relief could I have-found myself .attest on the ground, but the motion was So sncessant I had no time to make up my what course to adopt,, It ended as even experiences of the worst kind must do, and I found myself: on the camel's back, .-Not so my humorous friend, who to my great comfort performed a double somersault, and did not succeed in landing quite on his feet. I was told i should become accustomed to camel-riding, and might even get to like it. . But my faith is not great enough for that. Jt