The National tribune., 1884-11-13
SHIPS OF THE DESERT.
Camel Riding a. . Fine Art-How to Steer and
Manage the Most Stupid Beast In the World.
rn,,hl

Camel Riding a Q Fine Art-HOw to Steer and
Manage the Most Stupid Beast in the World.
London Telcgraphl
Camel steering requires no apprenticeship.
Anybody can do it at the first trial. and Q life
time of practice will not make any appreciable
improvement in, his form. If docle means
stupid, the camel il d0cile. Otherwise he il by
no means docile-very much to the contrary.
He takes no heed of his rider. pays no atten-
fion whether he be on his back or not, walks
straight on when once set going. merely be-
cause he is too stupid to turn aside, and if any
thing tempts him out Of the path he continues
to walk on in the new direction, simply be-
cause he is too dull to turn back into the right
road. Neither attachment nor even habit
improves him. In word, he is serviceable
by stupidity alone. This may seem harsh
description, but, deplorable to say, the criticism
is we'll within the facts, for the animal appears
to be so completely unintelligent, and withal
SO perverse in its dullness. that in the East tho
word camelishness" is synonym for thick
headed obstinacy To contend successfully
against this prOdigious. persistent and invari-
able stupidity constitutes, therefore, the whole
art of camel riding The trained riding
camel" as distinguished from the baggage
beasts, has only one pace. trot, and the rider
has merely to hold the reins that is, the
cords which are fastened to the ends of
wooden skewer which pierces the camels nos
trils-at uniform tension. If the cords are
slackened the animal stops, and the tighter
they are pulled the faster il goes But camel
must not be forced beyond its pace. good
one will go seven miles an hour But FIVE is
fair average, and if they are pushed they break
down" die of broken heart" as the natives
say. Moreover. camel forced beyond the
speed to which it has been trained breaks into
q canter and the result generally is speedy
fall, to say nothing of the fact that the motion
of a cantering camel is amazingly discOncerting
If it were possible to imagine boat in bad
cross sea "bncking" with its crew, it would
be possible to imagine the sensation of riding a
runaway camel. Yet, if the rider holds the
cords just s. -as to fee" the animals nose,
or, if he chooses, fastens it at that tension
to the ponlmel of the saddle, all will go well.
The camel will swing along over the sand with
out a stumble, maintaining, hour after hour,
exactly the speed at which it has been taught
to go. The Arabs reckon that the dromedary-a
for camel and dromedary are both names of the
same one-humped species-should have five
hours for eating. five for chewing the cud,"
and that if this allowance is not stinted the
beast will go its best pace for nine hours out of
the "a all the year round. The motion which
has been SO often described in terms of exag-
gerated discomfort is, as fact, far from dis
agreeable. Indeed, if the saddle be only softly
padded, the motion becomes pleasant even to
iuxuriousness not to say eieminacy. There
is gentle and regular swaying to which the
Tluer, Sltblng loose III MS Sauuie ana balancing
himself by the stirrups a3apts himself almost
mechanically, and thereafter proceeds on his
way with complete ease.
To stop the animal the reins are slackened
till they touch the animals neck. Its pace
rapidly declines, and after a dozen strides or
SO it stands still. The word of command,
spoken in the camei's language, be it Arabic,
Egyptian or. Hindustani, soon gets the animal,
grumbling prodigiOusly all the time, down on
to its knees, and the rider scrambes as best he
can out Of the saddle. Remountng has, with
many camels. to be as rapid as possible, as they
are trained to get up the moment they feel the
rider, and since the lanky beast often gets on
its legs with surprising quickness, it is neees-
sary to be prepared and nmble The camel
rises, as it were, in two motions-the first a
sudden and prodigious lurch backward, and
the next an equally sudden and prodigious
lureh forward, as each pair Of legs in turn is
Strengthened, and unless the rider grabs hold
of the pommel of his saddle he is as likely
as not to find the camel up on his legs and
himself left behind on the ground.