The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-04-12

such was the atmosphere, II was like
that trembling, heated air over the
stove, only II was trembling over the
fiat, heated desert sand. OF 10 the left
as we started. from the point where
We piled out OF the two launches ana
Clambered aboard the camels and don
Keys, you could see blue water with
reflected trees and cool shrubbery--
only there was no water Ii was q
mirage.
The atmosphere was a hundred ana
tomething-and there was no shade.
Into that atmosphere We plunged.
I'VE" were Col. Roosevelt. Mrs. Rooee-
Welt, Kermit Roosevelt, Miss Roose-
yelt, young Prince Auersperg. OF Aus
tria attentive TO Miss Roosevelt, our
hostess Mrs. Aster wife of Acting
Gov Gen. Aster). Slatin Pashaw, lot
Of British army officers in khaki, a lot
picturesque Bedouins OF the desert,
some camels, some horses. some dor
keys, some donkey boys, some news-
Taper correspondents and some popu-
lation.
The kitchen stove atmosphere was
room converted into a brownish cofcr
10y the dost OF the advancing caravan.
Thet wind whirled Il aloft, and 1t was
Lreathed into the lungs and settled In
the eyes What was left fioated away
and presumably settled again in some
other quarter OF the earth
What was IL all about? oh, yes;
Col. Roosevelt was being shown the
site OF the battle of Omdurman. or
course everybody knows that this was
fought about 1898, and that II was the
termination OF the kahlifa's power and
the beginning OF British rule in the
Sudan. And OF course everybody
knows that Omdurman is really the
native canital OF Africa. and that Khar-
tum is Just across the river. Per
Laps everybody knows that Omdur-
man contains 60,000>native population,
and that the battlefield Is a few Hiles
up the river.
So that is settled We can now turn
to Col. Roosevelt and the camel. or
course the colonel rode camel. CT
was his frst) So did Mrs. and Miss
end Kermit Roosevelt ride camels.
Did you ever see an ex-president
mount a camel? Oh, for the moving
LECTURE apparatus and some uninvent-
&c photograph that would produce the
sounds
When a camel is asked to get down
10 its knees, or TO get up from its
knees, the way 1t carries on would
laise up a Society for the Prevention
q Cruelty to Animals in Siberian
exile station. And Roosevelt's camel
made carrying-on a specially. The
unlovely beast twisted round its long,
ungainly neck, opened out It's floppy
rrowl, Bray while. sputter! Groan
grunt, snort ana gnash Its teeth
ground aud crunched. There was no
form of phonetic hldeousness that the
animal did not emit. From its lips
came pink bubbles. It's eyes rolled,
end to the casual and uninitiated on
locker it seemed TO give every eyi-
aence OF violent insanity.
Whats the matter, old boy?' In.
uuired the ex-president. Never heard
sounds like thar. not even In East
Africa"
THE horrid beast" said Mrs. Roose
yelt. whose camel was doing likewise.
y really think perhaps I'd better have
4 donkey"
But they didn't.
And the Joke OF IL all was that these
camels were really wonderfully well
behaved II is simply that camels do
that. II they didn't. they wouldn't be
camels. You see, have been out here
a long time 90 days., and have
learned about camels.
So then the creature unhinged him
self. The Arab said, "Hoosh!" tan
Arab says that when 1t is get down,
get up" or stop and our distin-
guished ex-president lurched forward.
For a moment II looked as II the
mighty hunter had escaped the charg-
ing rhino and the angry elephant, only
10 break his neck over the front end
Of a foolish camel. But he gripped
the pummel and chung for dear life.
Then the forelegs were numbered,
and the rider was catapulated In the
opposite direction. Again II seemed
as II Scylla had been evaded only 10
be wrecked over the Charybdis Of the
caIhels tail "Whoosh," roared the
Afab. "Xyz," swore the dromedary.
Then. hippity.hop. a whirl. and lurch.
and the world got fat again, and an
expert faunal naturalist smiled into
the cameras and said. Delightful
II is violating no confidence 10 say
that Mrs. Roosevelt does not like