Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1883-11-24
A CAMEL RIDE IN THE DESERT.

A CAMEL klDE In The DESEkI.
One of the attractions of our picture
books is ''the ship of the DESERT" as
the camel is POLITICALLY called. The
name has been applied very justly, as
the animal in question is admirably
fitted by nature for service in the desert
regions. He is awkward in movement,
ungainly in figure, and anything but
handsome in appearance; he has hump
on his back, his feet are ill-shaped, his
Joints are covered with callosities re-
sembling the scars of terrible sores, his
upper lip hangs down, and his nostrils
look as though he must breathe with
great difficulty. But when we see him
at home we find that the awkward,
swinging movement is the proper one
for the level desert, the fairness of his
feet prevents their sinking in the sand.
the hanging lip enables him to grasp the
thin heritage that forms his food, the
narrow nostrils can be closed at will to
exclude sand when the wind blows il
about the hump on his back is a mass
of fat that enables him to 90 for some
time with little or nothing to eat, and
the callosit;es on his joints are a pro-
lection from injury when he kncels to
receive his load. Then. too, the stom-
ach of the camel is so constructed that
provision of water may be taken in
for whole week, and the an
imal can drink water which is
altogether too brackish or bitter for the
use of man. The camel can live and
carry heavy burdens where any other
animal would perish, and the deserts
of Asia and Africa could not be
traversed without him. How many
readers have ever had ride on the
back of this famous beastP Most of you
will be compelled to answer no; but
YOU have not missed much in the way
of comfort, for it is very disagree
able experience for anybody who isn't
used to that kind of locomotion.
To begin with, the driver orders the
camel to kneel, as his back is so high
when standing that you could not get
into the saddle without a ladder. When
the animal is on the ground, the driver
stands by his head to keep him quiet,
and then you get into the saddle. 1t is
not like the saddle of horse, but sort
of dish in which you sit with your; feet
hanging over the side or crossed around
. high pommel. There are no stirrups
for the feet to rest in, but travellers
sometimes tie them on in order to feel
more secure, and obtain change of po-
sition. Sometimes on a long journey, a
couple of boxes or large bags are slung
over the camel by means of ropes, and
then With mattresses and bedding YOU
may make a sort of lounge to sit or re-
cline on in variety of positions. But
for a short. ride nobody thinks of any,
thing more than the saddle. When you
are well placed and prepared to hang on
with all your might, the driver tells the
beast to get up. There are three motions
before he is on his feet; first, back
ward plunge, then a forward one, and
then another one backward. Ifyou.look
at camel when he is getting up, you
will find that he rises on half his fore
legs, then on all his hind legs, and lastly,
on all his fore legs. When he is up and
starts off, you begin to realize that rid
ing camel is not the best fun in the
world. The motion throws the rider
backward and forward at every step,
and in little while the beginner will
think he is being shaken to pieces. In
getting uOWH db tHc Gnu vi rue Oh ~
couple of hours You feel stiff in every
joint, and after resting a few minutes it
is no easy work to get into motion
again. The second day of travelling
you feel rs though you had backbone
of glass, and will not get entirely over
this belief for the rest of the week.
Even the Arabs, after long periods of
resting are subject to the same trouble.
and find the movement of the camel
very fatiguing. But by the end of
fortnight one thinks no more of mount
ing camel than of getting on the back
of horse.
Suppose we are mounted and off on a
ride in the desert. If we have driver,
he walks ahead leading the animal by
a rope; but If we manage our steed alone
we have the rope in on, own hands.
The camel isusually obedient, but some.
times he becomes vicious and may run
away, in spite of all efforts to restrain
him. When he trots or runs the motion
= far worse than at walking pace;