Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-03-28
The Mysteries of Animals.
BIZ PROFESSOR RUDOLPH.

There are thousands of objects
around us which, at first view, we are
apt to think are unworthy of any special
notice, but, on closer examination, we
find them of the most important char
acter, and they then awaken in us o
mingled feeling of wonder and awe.
Among these, few are more interest
ing than the camel.
Although the animal has been seen
seen by most of us, few are acquainted
with many of his very peculiar features
of character. His appearance, though
striking, yet, it must be confessed, is
not particularly prepossessing. He
seems like great, awkward beast, with
his ungainly. and to us seemingly USE
less humps, his long legs lifting him
80 high in the air that it is inconvenient
to reach him for the purpose of loading
or riding, while his peculiar stumbling
motion when he travels always excites
our mirth as he moves along more
swiftly than we at first supposed pos
sible.
Yet this same unsightly beast is q
combination OF many surprising and
most excellent qualities. Let us begin
| with his feet.
We find these unlike those of any
other other animal, evidently made for
some special purpose, and for a state
of things not existing in this country.
For instance, they are of great size
and spread out over very large sur
face, while at their soles they have very
broad, soft pads, or cushions.
Now, what is the object Of all this?
The camel was designed originally
for life in the desert, where the soil is
mostly of loose sand and of considera-
BILE depth, making it very difficult for q
horse or any small footed animal to
travel without 8 reat fatigue; hence the
all-wise Creator gave to this animal this
| peculiar form of feet to enable it to
travel swiftly over the arid wastes of
the vast desert.
From this he is very appropriately
called the ship of the desert, as he con-
veys over it large caravans richly laden
with the costly products of the East.
But for this simple but wise provision
of large feet, these immense desert
tracts would be utterly impossible by
man, as the horse in many parts Of
them. cannot long travel with sufficient
speed.
But there is another and even more
remarkable feature of the camel de-
serving special notice, and that is his
stomach.
Now in most animals the stomach is
O single pouch or vessel which contains
all the food, both solid and liquid, that
is taken by the animal but in the
camel, besides the one large vessel of
the stomach into which both fluids and
solids enter, there are all around this
large vessel numerous smaller ones
somewhat like little barrels with mouths
at their ends, which open into the prin-
cipal, stomach, and these little mouths
have the power to open and close at
will, and empty their contents into the
larger vessel. And here we come to q
great marvel.
These little barrels are designed to
hold ,cater, and nothing else. Now,
spring, he not only drinks all he wants
to quench his present thirst, but fills
also every one 1t these little barrels,
ranged around his stomach, as full as
they can hold, and then closes every lit
tie barrel mouth 80 that not drop of
water can escape from one OF them.
And there the water remains until he
becomes thirsty again, and then he
opens one and another of these little
store-houses within him, until his thirst
is quenched and SO in this way he can
travel swiftly several days over the hot,
dry, sandy desert without single drop
Of fresh water passing his lips, but de-
pending wholly on the supply within
him.
Now here we see the marks of design
most strikingly evident. Here is O
country of great extent, having deep,
shifting sand spread over almost its en-
tire surface. In this territory there are
so very few springs that they are often
separated by many days iourneyings,
so that all other animals must perish
before they are reached. But this re-
markable animal, with its wonderful
internal water-works, travels on for sew
eral days through the intense heat, and
over the hot sands, apparently without
inconvenience, until a new supply Of
water is obtained, and then renews its
march to have another, and perhaps
severe trial of its power of endurance.
But this brings us to another wonder.
We have spoken of the absence of
water over long tracts of the desert /;
but there is almost the same restitution
of solid food. Save few coarse shrubs,
on which the camel may perhaps browse
occasionally at night, there is nothing
often for him to eat. And here we
come to another remarkable provision
of the Creator to meet the wants of His
creatures in every emergency. We re-
ferred to the seemingly useless
humps" projecting in such ungainly
prominence on the camel's back, but
now we shall see the Importance of
these. The protuberances are composed
almost entirely of fat, and are formed
when the animal is well fed. At such
times they suffer no dimunition, but
when a scarcity of food occurs, then
they grow less and less, because the
fatty matter is drawn from them to
nourish other parts of the body, Just
as the water was drawn from the little
barrels ranged around the interior OF
the stomach, when the other supply