Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1883-11-24

at a gallop over a corduroy road
or cobble-stone pavement, in
wagon without springs, you can have an
idea of the motion of a camel at full
speed, and it is pretty certain you will
never want to repeat the experiment.
Sometimes he will twist his long neck
around, like snake, and try to bite his
rider, and if he gets good hold it is a
serious matter. Usually, however, he is
obedient and patient, but it takes long
time to get on really friendly terms with
him. If the desert is sandy, we soon
perceive the admirable adaptation of
the camel's foot to the soil, as il spreads
out broad and fiat like the foot of duck
or goose. Where the ground is hard
and rocky, the tough skin is a protection
from injury; he can 60 up and down
hills without difficulty, though he is most
at home on a level surface. If he is full
grown he can carry six or eight hundred
pounds with ease, though he will groan
when the least load is put upon his back
as though he was about to be crushed.
The glare of the sun on the sand is
painful to our eyes, and we will pro-
tect them with green wells, or. better
still, with spectacles or goggles To
keep the burning rays from our heads
we spread our umbrellas, and thus
equipped get along very well. There
is not a blade of grass to be seen on the
ground around us, and as we look away
to the mountains or hills that form the
horizon, we find that they are destitute
of trees or other green things. Every
thing is barren; the ground beneath us
is yellow with sand, the level space
farther away is of deeper yellow, and
the hills and mountains are of the same
color, perhaps with tinge of red. All
the blue goes out of the sky in
the middle of the day; there is not a
cloud to be seen, or even the suggestion
of one, and the traveller very soon longs
to return to the region of green fields,
and leave the desolation behind him.
We are told that we must travel four or
when we find it there will be only
few pools or springs barely fit for
drinking. As we settle down to the
dreary reality, we look ahead and per
ceive a beautiful lake! There are its
waters spread out before us, its banks
are lined with trees, and on its farther
shore is seen village, or, perhaps, a
castle, which will afford us shelter and
rest.
We point to the lake, and our driver
smiles. He has seen the same thing be-
fore, and knows what it is. 1t is not
lake at all, but mirage. As we APP
preach it the waters disappear the trees
melt away, the castle vanishes, and in
little while we are walking over the spo,
where the pretended lake made its APP.
pearance. Many traveller has been
deceived by the mirage, not only in
Africa but on the plains between the
Missouri River and the Rocky Noun.
tains. A few years ago, when a regi.
ment was crossing desert in the upper
part Of Egypt, the men were suffering
greatly from thirst; mirage appeared
on the horizon, and the deception was so
great that the soldiers believed that they
were actually in sight of lake. Mad
dened by thirst, they broke from the
raks, the officers lost all control of
them, and one and all ran in search of
the precious water. In little while the
lake disappeared, and when the soldiers
realized how they had been deceived,
many of them fell to the ground and
were too weak to rise and Join their COM
rades. If you want to know how to dis
tinguish a mirage. please remember that
it is always exactly the color of the sky
above it, while real lake or river is
pretty certain to be of different hue.
And if you are riding a camel you will
find that he will never be deceived; he
will scent water long distance and go
straight toward it, but will never pay the
least attention to mirage. - COngreqa-
tiomdlist.