The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-08-21
African Camels and Capetown Horses.

The milk of the camel is highly es-
teemed by the Arabs as an article of
diet, and IS prescribed as a specific in
many cases of disease. Lady Duff
Gordon, who resided several years in
| Egypt n the vain hope Of recovering
from consumption in that mild climate,
drank camels milk every morning, and
| derived good deal of temporary bene-
fit from it. In her spicy letters home
she thus wrote of the novel beverage ::
| " 1t has the merit of being quite deli
| clous. wish L could send you a Jug
| OF 1t every morning, such as / drink it
is better than any other milk, with
thick froth like whipped cream. The
pie; and man called Sheriff brings
his camel here every morning and milks
her for me. Her baby camel is so
funny he looks all legs and big, black
eyes, with soft, fluffy, buff-colored hair,
and so very little body to such tall legs.
[ wish, too, you could see the camels
have there dinner they are the only
people who use a table-cloth. The
camel drlver spreads q cloth on the
ground, and Pours a heap of maize
(dourra) upon it, and old MIR. and Mrs.
Camel sit down at the top and bottom
very gravely, aud the others all take
their places in proper order, and eat
quite politely, bowling their long necks
up and down only one was sulky, and
went and had his dinner by himself,
man said, he would not eat at ALL"
When in Capetown, Africa, in one of |
her long journeys after the health that |
she had rever found, Lady Duff Cor
don frequently mentioned the wonderful |
strength and endurance of the native
breed of horses. The animals are very
scantily fed, and, as no grass grows in |
the region, their fodder is restricted to
oats, which they consume, straw and all.
Often after hours of travel the only
refreshment offered the beasts is a roll
in the dust; but this really seems to
strengthen and nourish the tough,
hardy little quardrupeds, which are
thus described by the lady from whom
we have already quoted
81 could write volume on Cape
horses. Such valiant little beasts and
so composed in temper I never saw.
They are nearly all bays-a few yery
dark gray. I have seen no black, and
only one dark chestnut. They are not
cobs and look very little of them,' and
have no beauty but one of these little
brutes, ungroomed, half-fed, seldom
stabbed, will carry six and half foot
Dutchman sixty miles a day, day after
day, at shutting, easy canter, six
miles an hour. You 'off saddle every
three hours and let him roll you also
let him drink all the water he can get
his coat shines and his eye is bright,
and unsoundness is very rare They
are never properly broke, and the soft
colts are sometimes made
vicious by the cruel bits and heavy
hands, but by nature their temper is
perfect.
Every morning all the horses in the
village are turned loose, and a general '
yaliop takes place to The water-tank.
where they drink and lounge a little !;
md the young ones are fetched home
oy the drivers, while the old stagers {
Know they will be wanted, and saunter
IF by themselves. To see a s
armer outspan and turn the team of
lctive little beasts loose on the bound
ess weld to amuse themselves for an {
hour or two, sure that they will be {
here, would astonish you little; and
hen to offer horse nothing but a roll c
n the dust to refresh himself withal.
marvel to me. The whole weld Common S
which extends all over the country Just c
'lothed with few square miles of corn '
lere and there) is covered with low, /
hin scrub about eighteen inches high, c
allied rheiaostes bosch - looking like r
neager arborvit@ or pale juniper. The e
attic and sheep will not touch this v
uicy Hottentot fig; but under each v
title bush, I fancy, they crop few a
'lades of grass, and on this they keep u
q very good condition. 8
"The noble oxen, with their huge b
orns (nine or ten feet from tip to tip, g
re never fed, though they work hard, n
or are the sheep. r,
The horses get little forage Goats, e
traw and alD. I should like you to G
ee eight or ten of these swift, wiry u
tile horses harnessed to wagon-a y
here fiat platform on wheels. In front N
lands a Withholding Hoitentot, all J
atches and feathers, and drives them
est pace all sin hand, using a whip !.
Ike fishing-rod, with which he a
,nches them, not savagely, but with "
Kill which would make an old stage n
burst with envy to behold g