The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-08-10
Loading tho Camel.

LII lnulA, Cue CAMEL IL useU lully ab
much AZ the elephant as beast Of bur-
den. lie Is not so powerful as the ele.
phant, but he can carry an enormous
load on his back. lie does not do 80
willingly, however, and Is by no means
the patient, dooils servant that the ele-
phant soon becomes under proper train
ing. Whom first went to India as q
young man I was connected with a
mercantile firm In the northwest pro.
vinces, and while there l had abundant
opportunity of studying the camel, for
means Of carnage In that part Of the
country in those days was confined to
elephants, camels, bullocks and mon.
Horses were not used as beast of bur-
den. Every day camels and elephants
were driven up to our Office door and
loaded with wine and beer cases for
far away customers. The elephant
would 60 clumsIly down OH his great
knees and allow himself to be loaded
without al Indication Of discomfort. l
have no doubt that he would have per-
mitted himself to be loaded until he
was crushed to the earth beneath the
weight Of his load, had his driver seen
lit TO pile on the boxes. But the
camels receiving their burdens was a
spectacle never to be forgotten. They
never varied in their behavior, and
every one that eyer saw loaded-and
have seen thousands-acted in pre-
ciscly the same manner. The camel,
when loaded, is invariably chewing the
Gud. Ills long, crooked jaw is in per-
pctual motion, ard when he Is told to
lie down to receive his burden he does
so without varying this inc. ssant mas.
ticatory process. lie awkwardly bends
his fore knees, drags his hind legs un-
der him, anil comes to the ground with
curious kind Of flop. All this time
his long, melancholy face shows not
the slightest indication that ho knows
what he is lying down for; and this
nnmistakablc hypocrisy, think stamps
the camel as an animal Of very high
order Of intellect. But in q few seconds
the expression Oil the camcl's face I'M
dergoes a striking alteration. AS he
sees the driver approaching him with
box on his shoulder he seems at last
understands the indignity and torture
To which he is about to be subinitted,
and the astonishmcnt, virtu0us indig-
nation, and dismay on the ill-used
animals countenance ought ccrtaingly
to make some impression Oh the stony
heart Of the dl ivcr. They never have
the slightest effect. The man binds the
first box on tie wretched animals back,
and goes away to get another. Then
the camel, wisely abandoning his efforts
to move man to compassion, points his
hairy nose upward, and h0wls his
wrongs to the skies. "Never in circus,
pantomime or show have | seen any
thing half so ludicrous rs the camcl's
appearance at that moment. Ills upper
lip Is curlcd back from the teeth, his
under lip doubles up and drops down
rs though lie had no further use for it,
his great mouth opens so wide that one
can see about half yard down his throat,
and out of the cavern thus revealed
came Il series Of the most astonishing
howls that ever startled the air-howls
Of such subject misery that it is diff.
cult to avoid the conclusion that the
camcPs heart is breaking, and this I'M
preston is strengthened by the tears
that flow copiously down the wailing
animePs elongated cheeks and drip
from the end Of his nose. In the utter
ancc Of each note of woe the camel
seems to be eXerting the utmost power
Of his lungs, but he is all the time hold
ing large force III reserve, and, as the
driver adds box after box to the pile on
his back, howl more resonant and
heart-rending than the last testiiies to
each addition to the creatures misery,
and never, except when he is absolute
~ engaged In trumpctlng his agonies
into space, arc the great watery eyes
of the camel removed from the person
of his persocutor; they follow him
wherever he goes, and express throu sh
their tears contempt, indignations, as
tonishment and dismay. think it
must have been this extraordinary
habit on the part Of the ship of the
desert that gave rise to the wcll-kno Yn
expression: 'It's the last that straw
Dreaksthe camcl's back. But the Eastern
driver has no fear Of any such catas-
trophe, and piles up the load until it
reaches almost tho proportions Of All
elephants burden. Then the cases
being bound fast with ropes, the camel
Is told to rise, and the animel, feeling
that he has conscientiously done his
whole duty by cnteriag his protest at
every stage OF the work, contcntedly
accepts tho unavoidable results, stops,
his tears, suppresscs his cries, gets up
on his feet and resUming his occupa-
ton of chewing the cud, is ready for
the weeks march that usually lies be-
fore him."