The Louisiana cotton-boll. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883, 1875-08-18
VERMILIONVILLE, ATTAKAPA
African cameIs and Canetown norsss

African Camels and CapetOwn Horses.
The milk Of the camel is highly eg-
teemed by the Arabs as an article of
diet, and iB prescribed az q specific in
many cases of diHeaso! Lady Duff
Gordon, who resided several years in
Egypt ID. the vain hope of recovering
from consumption in that mild climate
drank camel's milk every morning, and
derived a good deal of temporary bene-
fit from it. In her spicy letters home
she thus wrote of the novel beverage :,
9 II has the merit of being quito deli
cl0us. | wish / could send you a Jug
Of it every morning; such as I drink it
is better than any other milk, with
thick froth like whipped cream. The
Arabs think it very good for sick peo-
pie and q 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, dufy, buff -colazed hHir,
ars6l - ~ 3fBEgg lsogfg 30 s1ch iail legs
wish, too, y6u could see the camels
have there dinner they are the only
people who use table-cloth. The
Gamel.driver spreads cloth on the
ground, and pours heap of neize
(dourra) uponitb and old Mr.. and Mrs.
Camel sit down at the top and bottom
very gravoly, and the others all take
their places in proper order, and eat
quite politely, bowing their long necks
up and down; only one was sulky, and
went and had his dinner by himself,
like q naughty boy, and sometimes, The
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
acantily fed, and, as no grass grows in
the region, their fodder jB restricted to
oats, which they consume, straw and all.
Often after hours of travel the only
refreshment offered the beasts is 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
"I could write q volume on Cape
horses. Such valiant little beasts and
SO composed in temper I never saw.
They are nearly all bays-a few very
dark gray. / 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 q shufIljng, easy canter, six
miles IN 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
mouthed 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 o general
gallop takes place to the water-tank,
where they drink and lounge q little ;
and the young ones are fetched home
by the drivers, while the old stagers
know they will be wanted, and saunter
off by themselves. 70 see a
farmer outspan and turn the team OF
active little beasts loose on the bound
less weld to amuse themselves for an
hour or two, sure that they will be
there, would astonish you little; and
then to offer horse nothing but roll
in the dust to refresh himself Withal.
"How the cattle live is standing
marvel to me. The whole veld Common
which extends all over the country Just
clothed with few square miles OF corn
here and there) il covered with a low,
thin aefub about eighteen inches high,
called rlseno8tes bosch - looking like
meager arboryitSe or pale juniper. The
cattle and sheep will not touch this
Juicy Hottentot fig but, under each
little bush, / fancy, they crop q few
blades of grass, and on this they keep
in very good condition.
"The noble oxen, with their huge
horns mine or ten feet from tip to tip,
are never fed, though they work hard,
nor are the sheep
"The horses get little forage (osts,
straw and all). I should like you to
see eight or ten of these swift, wiry
little horses harnessed to Wagon-a
mere fiat platform on wheels. In front
stands @ Unlocking Hotentot, all
patches and feathers, and drives them
best pace all in hand, using q whip
like a fishing rod, with which he
touches them, not savagsly, but with O
skill which w0uld make an old stage.
coachman burst with envy to behold.