Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-01-23
SHIPS OF THE DESERT.
Camel Riding as = Fine Art-How To steel
and Manage the Most stupid Bs~.t Ia
the World.


aud Manage the Most stupid Bs~.t In
the World.
Camel steering requires no 'appren-
trr>hip. Anybody can do it AT the
iIr>t trial and lifetime Of practice will
II" make any appreciable improve
mcnt in hi, form. Ii docilc means
stupid the camel i, docilc. Othcrw sr
ne /, by no means docilc much
the contrary. lie takes no heed nf his
ri"rr, pays no attention whether he b-
on hi, back or not, walks straight on
when once set going, merely because
he Is too stupid 10 turn aside. and if
anything tempt, him out Of the path
he continues 10 walk on in the new III
rcclion, simply because he j. too dull
TO turn back into the right road.
Neither attachment nor even habit im-
proves him. In Il word. he i ser, icu-
able by stupidity alone. This ma,
seem harsh description. but. dcplnra-
bic to say, the criticism is well within
the facts, for the animal appear, To be-
so completely unintrlligcnt. and wthal
so Prrvrr"r in lis dullnr>S, that in ia.
East the word ''camrli>hnrss" il n
synonym for thick-hcadrd oh>tinacv
To contend successfully against
TINS pr"iITlou>. persistent and
invariablr stupidity constitutes.
therefore, the whole art oi
camel riding. The trained riding
camel. a> distinguished from the
baggage beasts, has only one pace. a
trot. and the rider has merely 10 hold
tnp s'rnIns that =. l.
are fastened To the end of a wooden
skrwer which pirrccs the cam.ls nos
trilS at a uniform tension. II the
cords are Slackrncd the animal stops.
and the tighter they are pulled the
faster it goes. But camel must not
be forced beyond its pace. A good
one will go seven miles an hour But
five Is fair average. and if they are
pushed they break down die " a
broken heart Il the natives say.
Moreover, a camel forced beyond the
speed to which it has been trained.
breaks into cantrr. and the result
generally is Il speedy fall. To say moth
ing of the fact that the motion of can
tering camel is amazingly di>conc"rt-
ing. If ii were possible TO imagine n
''.'' iii ~ p'id tlp~~ ~fd nuthlHH Win
its crew. it would he possible to
imagine the sensation Of riding run
away camel. Yet if the rider holds N.
cords Just 80 "a To "frrl the animals
nose. or. if he chooses. faStcn- il at
that tension to the pommrl Of the sad.
die. all will go we'll The camel will
swing along over the sand without a
stumble. maintaining hour after hour.
exactly the speed nj which il has been
taught to go. The Arabs reckon that
the dromedary for camel and dromc-
Diary nrc both names of the same one
bumped species should have five hours
sleep, five for eating. five for "chcwing
the cud." and that il this allowance
is not stintrd the beast will go it, best
pace for rine hours out of the twenty
four all the Year round. The motion
which has been 80 often described in
terms of exaggerated discomfort. j.. ~
fact. far from di>agrcrahle indeed.
if the saddle he only Softl " padded the
motion becomes pleasant even to lux
urlou ness. not to say ehrminacv.
There is IA gentle and regular swa,ing
to which the rider. sitting loose in hi
saddle and balancing himself b, the
stirrupS. a,lapt> himself almost mcchan-
icaly. and thereafter proceeds on his
way with complete ease.
To stop the camel the rcins are slack
encd till they touch In. animals neck
Its pace rapidly declines. anu after
dozen strides or 81 it stands still. The
word of command. spoken in the
camefs language. be il Arabic. EgyJ>
tian or Hindustani, soon gets the ami
NAL, grumbling prodigiously all the
time. down on to its knees. and the
rider scrambeS as best he can out of
the saddle. Remounting has. with
many camels. to be rs 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 sur
prisng IuickneSs it is neccssar, To he
prepared and nimblc. The camel rises.
rs il We're. in two motions the first a
sudden and prodigiouS lurch backward.
and the next an equally sudden and
prodigiou> lurch forward. as each pair
of legs in turn is Strengthened. and
unless the rider grabs hold of the pom
mel of his saddle he is as likcl, aS not
to find the camel up on his legs and
himself left behind on the grouLd
London Telegraph.