St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-06-06

fifth stomach, supply of fresh water?
And is it not in this that travellers, when
compelled to kill their dromedaries to
preserve their own lives in the Sahara.
find the pure transparent fluid spoken
of on such occasions?
1t is during a sandstorm, or on the
approach of the simeon, that the camel
displays the most striking proofs of
sagacity. Before the human eye can
detect the swiftly approaching column
of yellow or lurid gas which instantly
strikes dead all creatures that breathe
it. the camel discerns the danger and,
uttering wild roar, turns round and
plunges his nose into the sand. The
traveller also, who springs instantly to
the earth, presses his face against the
face of the desert, tightly closes his
lips and protects his nostrils with both
hands. What signs of suffering or agi-
tation the poor dromedary exhibits, the
traveller is too much terrified to observe,
but he himself experiences throughout
his frame, first aquivering. shooting
pain, then numbness and paralysis of
all the limbs and vital functions, which
prolonged for many seconds would be
death. But the mysterious vapor, which
comes almost like lightning. in the same
manner departs. In many cases the
sudden death of the beast and his
rider reveals the fatal power of the
simeon; but when they escape with
life the process of reviving from the
stroke resembles that experienced by
patients after long illness-languor,
feebleness, prostration of the whole
system. giddiness of the head, dimness
of sight, a partial loss of memory and
a bewildering of ideas. Foreigners flee
to brandy as q remedy, the Arabs to
coffee, while the camel. kneeling as if
under heavy burden, groans, grunts
and looks ruefully about upon the waste.
The amble of the camel-a curious
amalgamation of rolling and pitching
simultaneously executed-woulds scarce
ly be extolled by any one accustomed
to the pleasant canter of a good horse,
but it has its advantages. The rider
may sit sideways, backwards or in the
orthodox fashion, with his feet in or out
of the stirrups, he may let his legs
dangle carelessly or sit cross-legged,
after the manner of Turks and tailors,
without any fear of his seat or
equanimity being disturbed by the sure
footed beast stumbling, kicking, shying
or bolting. A habit rather perplexing
to the inexperienced camel rider is the
animals propensity for snatching at
dwarf acacias and other vegetable deli
cacies as he wanders along. But these
slight drawbacks are fully compensated
by the measured regularity with which
he moves, while the elevation enables
the traveller to see all that is to be seen,
and gives him the benefit of every wei
come breeze that blows. The riding
gear of the dromedary consists of a
large double pad of goats hair cloth,
stuffed with grass or straw. This is
thrown over the back Of the animal. A
wooden frame of flat sticks united into
a pair of conical pommels six or eight
feet high is placed on the pad, into
which it settles itself comfortably, the
hump of the camel forming the center
of the apparatus and keeping every
thing in its proper place. Across this
gigantic saddle the saddle bags are
thrown, and the whole covered with
carpets and cushions, until sort of
pyramid is formed, upon the apex of
which the traveller is perched, his water
bottles, carpet bags and other para
phernalia swinging below. The harness
is completed by halter of goat and
camel hair twisted together passing
around the beasts nose like our COM
mon stable halter.
The average speed of the ordinary
caravan camels. which are seldom less
than ten hours and sometimes twenty
four hours continuously on the march.
is about two miles per hour, but the ma
herrie. or dromedary, can accomplish
much swifter rate of progression, be-
ing able to travel seventy miles a day
for two or three days successfully. La
borde went from Alexandria to Cairo
Zone hundred and fifty miles) in thirty
four hours, and mails have been carried
between Bagdad and Damascus in seven
days, at the rate of sixty-nine miles per
diem. Still greater celerity was at
tanned by Mehemet Ali, when he wished
to communicate from Cairo with Ibra-
him Pasha at Antioch. BY adopting
the system of relays the distance OF
five hundred and sixty miles was trav-
ersed in the short space of five days
and half.
The camel not being himself sociable
is averse to encouraging sociability in
others. 1t is only after much toll and
a vigorous application of the whip that
this stubborn animal can be made to
move in line with individuals of his own
species, though both in India and
Africa the enterprise has been accom-
plished-in the former country by the
creation of camel trains, in the latter
by accustoming the dromedary to mill
tary evolutions, to charge and retreat in
compact bodies, and otherwise to initiate
all the movements of cavalry. But
your trading camel having acquired
different habits far exceeds a mule in
obstinacy when you attempt to break
through them. He will then oppose to
your will a passive resistance utterly
unconquerable; will lie down if he
thinks you have put too much on his
back. and refuse to rise though you
should beat him to death. To show
that this is often mere crotchet, the
Arabs remove two or three small pack
cts from the load, upon which the
animal, no doubt with an inward chuckle
of satisfaction at having gained the vic
tory, gives loud grunt and rises with
out perceiving that during the operation