The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-12

peddling in every street corner. They dress according to their caste and re- ligion. The Parsees, who are fire worshippers. wear black preacher-lilke coats and tall hats of the style of an inverted coal scuttle. The Indian Mo- hammedans wear turbans and the Hin doos wrap themselves up in great sheets. of white cotton. In addition there are many Greeks and Italians, and not few Persians The English dress in white and wear Big helmets to keep off the sun.
 camels and Caravans.
 This is the land of the camel. Cara vans are coming in and going out of the city every day. They bring bags of Mocha coffee and gums and take out European goods and sother supplies to the various oases. There is a consid- erable trade with Yemen and also with the tribes of southeastern Arabia. There are always camels lying in the market place, and one sees them blub- bering and crying as they are loaded and unloaded. They are the most dis contented beasts upon earth, and are as mean as they look. One bit at me this afternoon as I passed it, and I am told that they never become recon ciled to their masters. Nevertheless, they are the freight animals of this part of the world, and the desert could not get along without them. They fur nish the greater part of the milk for the various Arab settlements. the peo- pie make their tents of eamels hair. and they are in fact, the cows of the desert They are of many different breeds, and they vary as much in character as horses. There are some breeds that correspond to the perch eron, and the best among them can carry half a ton at a load. There are others fitted only for riding and pas senger travel. The ordinary freight ca mel makes only about three miles an hour, and IS miles Is good days work The best racing camel will travel 20 hours at a stretch, and will cover 100 miles in a day. Seventy-hYe miles in 10 hours is not an uncommon journey for an Arabian racer, and much beeter speed has been made AS to prices, an ordinary freight camel brings about $50, but good riding camel costs $100 and upward.
 How God Made the Camel.
 Have YOU ever heard how the camel was created? Here is it's origin, as told by the Arabs. They say that God first formed the horse by taking up handful of the swift south wind and blowing upon IL. lHe lOiSS, hO"S'ot' was not satisfied with his making. He complained to God that his neck was too short for easy grazing and that It's hoofs were so hard that they sank in the sand. Moreover, he said there was no hump on his back to steady the saddle. Thereupon, to satisfy the horse, God created the camel making him ac- cording< to the equine's suggestlons' And when the horse saw his ideal Ill flesh and blood he was frightened to death at it's ugliness and salloped away Since then there is no horse tbat is not scared when it first sees a camel. TYhis story makes me think of the Arab tradition as to-how God made the water buffalo which. as you know, Is about the ugliest beast that ever wore horhs' hair and skin Gods first creation Was inc beautiful COW. When He had finished if the devil happened that way, and as he saw 1t inc laughed at the job and sneered out that he could make better beas with his eyes shut. Thereupon the Lord gave him some material such as He had put into the COW and told him to 20 to work. The devil wrought all day and all night, and the result was the water buffalo.
 The Arabian Horse.
 I have made inquiries here and else- where as to the Arabian horse. He Is a comparatively scarce animal and he does xxyiId iy,t tba