The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-20
TREASURE Of THE DESERT.
In the Ss5iasra Al! Property Is Ex-
pressed by CameIs.

pressed by CamctS.
Primitive peoples who have no mon
ey measlIra.all values by that posses
easily transferred. Thus among most
of the inhabitants of the Sahara the
camel is the measure of all values.
Property. riches and carnels are Sy-
nonymous terms among most Of ~"
dwclIcrS in the Sahara. pr GOl1Stcin
Of Germany wrote awhile ago that ii
Il Tuarcg were set down iii thc streets
of Berlin the business blocks and Fcsi~
dcnccs would convey to him no idea Of
property, He would simply ask The
greatest real estate landlord i'll tn"
city how many camclS he owned
When Richardson met the Tuarc@s
and was entertained by one of their
chiefs the Traveller was told hy his
host that he wished to make Queen
Victoria tho finest present that any
one could give her. and SO he asked
his guest to take back to her mchari.
which is n camel trained to fectncss
aud the most costly of the Saharan
camels
While Barth was sojournin@ in Tim
buktu there was danger for few
days that the street mob would attack
his house One of the women SerT-
ants advised him TO remove his hal
van to place of safety. This word
means live stock. such as cattle or
camels. and Barth told the woman that
he had only his horse with him. 1t
was some time before he learned that
the servant did not mean to refer par
ticuarly to his horse. but to all his
possessions.
When the t'"t. Imam Iourst sue
ceeded in ~. jlG the Niger from
its mouth 10 4I...luktu some years
ago a desert dweler. desiring to learn
if he came of n family Of substance,
asked him how many camcS his IA
Their owned. and when Foureau crossed
the desert with the largest exploring
party that ever entered the Sahara lie
received from Il wealthy native of AS
ger present OF white camel aul
was told that it was the most cNpen-
sive present that the residents; of that
region could give to any one.
AS a rule however. the number o.
camels in the possession of one indi-
vidual is not large The average man
considers himself we'll TO do if he owns
~
chief is really wealthy if he possesses
a herd of fifty OF sixty. and the richest
chief whom Nachtigal met in his sey-
en- years' wandcrings was said To own
about 100 camelS. No ore viii part
with his camcls excepting ut an cNor-
bitant price. Fourcau found it impos;-
sible to buy them in the heart of the
desert for less than about go francs.
which WAS double their value in NJ
geria
The grazing grounds are common to
all. and there is no property i'll IaGd.
The richest man lives in Il tent ana
why should he sell camcls to acquire
the means to build more commoliouS
and substantial dwelling when he cX-
poets to move to some other place in q
few weeks or months: He simply ac
quires all the camels he can get for
the mere fun of having them.
To be sure. he buys wives with his
camels. just as the negro does with his
cattle. and wives come very high in
the Sahara. the daughter of the ordi-
nary man being worth as much as
four camels. y llile the price of a chiefs
daughter ran he commanded only by
the wealth. Some explorers believe
that very 'at young women are most
popular III IT, desert simply because
camefs uiik Is fattening and if a girl
is feshy it shows that her father has
given her all the camel's milk she can
drink. Such a father must have Il
number of camels. is therefore
wealthy man. and it will be a good
thing to marry into his family. = Wash
ington Post.