Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/100

* CAMEL. 78 CAMEL. rioi" wool, are dcsuenJaiits of the few which .sur- vived the vast suml-storms which, about 1700, overwhelmed the villages ou the Gobi plateau and killed all the people. The two species of camel are the true or Arabian eamel (Vamelus dr(j)iicd(triu.'i), liaving one hump, and the Bac- trian camel ((.'amelus Bactrianus) , with two humps. These humps are stores of llesh and fat, reabsorbed in sujiport of the animal when over- taken by famine, as is so likely to hajjpen. The former is the common and w idespread spe- cies, found from northwestern India and the low- lands of Afghanistan down to the extremity of Arabia east of the lied Sea and iSomaliland to the south, and westward as far as the African deserts extend. They have also been introduced into .ustralia, Spain, Zanzibar, and the south- western United States, but without permanent economic success. The United States Govera- ment spent much money and pains to acclimatize them as an army transport service in the dry southwestern regions, about 1857 ; the Civil 'ar interrupted the arrangements, but the at- temjits made by private hands to utilize the ani- mals were not protiUible. Many were turned loose and remained wild along the Mexican bor- der, but multiplied very little, and they are now supposed to be e.xtinct. The British Government has made extensive use of them in its military operations in India and Upper Egypt, both as baggage animals, and in hauling artillery, and as mounts for a division of "cavalry' known as the 'camel corps.' Consult Gleichen, With the Camel Corps Vp the Nile, London, 1888, w'herein many interesting facts as to the habits and qualifica- tions of the animal are given. What country was the original home of this species is uncertain; it seems more thoroughly adapted to a sandy region than the Bactrian, and is i)rcsumed to have had a more southerly habitat tlian the latter, probably inhabiting Arabia and perhaps the Sahara when first enslaved by primi- tive men. It is singularly adajited to subsist- ence in the desert by the structural qualities else- where mentioned (see C.iiELin.E) . and by its ability to bite olT and consume the tough shrub- bery and even thorny plants which alone grow- there, and to endure the burning heat and flying sand. To this end it has acquired nvt only the thick and broad sole-pads, but the thick callosi- ties on the joints of the legs and on the chest ui)on which it rests (in a kneeling posture) when it lies down; moreover, the nostrils may be closed against the Hying dust, and the eyes are shaded and shielded by very long eyelashes. Its e.xtrcmel}' acute sense of smell, especially for water, is another life-saving provision. All these qualities have combined to render it so highly serviceable to man in the great wastes that sepa- rate the habitable regions south and east of the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian seas, that it is safe to say these could never have been colo- nized and have been the scenes of the momentous incidents and impulses they have conlrilmted to civilization had it not been for (he assistance of this ungainly and unlovely creature. "I can speak from experience," remarks Captain 'ellby {'Ticixl Sirdar and Meiielik, New York, 1901), '"of this marvelous endurance of camels, for on a previous trip in Somaliland I once marched with a string of camels for eleven days, during ■which time none of them had a drop [of water]." The Bactrian camel is better adapted, by its smaller size and heavier build, harder and more cloven feet, longer and finer wool, and other qual- ities, to a rocky and cooler region, and its home is central Asia, from northern Turkestan to Mon- golia. Its endurance is equally remarkable, under different circiuustances, with that of its southern congener, for it withst;inds the awful climate of the Tibetan ]dateau, where the tem- perature rises to 140° I*', in summer and sinks to Arctic cold in winter; it tramps with burdens of tea or hauling wagons or sledges over the plains, and often through wintry snows, from Peking to Lake Baikal, and carries heavy loads over the lofty passes of the Hindu Kush, and across the llinty [ilains of Afghanistan, and thence to Per- sia. It is this ability to endure climatic ex- tremes, variety of fare, and famine, which has perpetuated the camel through a longer generic history than that of almost any other animal, and has made it of so much service to mankind in regions unendurable by most cattle or horses. The Arabian camel carries twice the load of a nude. The Bactrian camel is sometimes loaded with 1000 or even loOO pounds weight, although not generally with so much. A caravan some- times contains 1000, .sometimes even 4000 or 5000 camels. The supply of food carried with the caravan for the use of the camels is very scanty; a few beans, dates, carob-pods. or the like, are all that they receive after a long day's march, when there is no herbage on which they may browse. The pace of the loaded camel is steady and uniform, but slow — about 2^-2 miles per hour. Some of the slight dromedaries, however, can carry a rider more than 100 miles in a day. The motion of the camel is peculiar, jolting the rider in a manner extremely disagreeable to tho.se who are unaccustomed to it ; both the feet on the same side l)eing successively raised, so that one side is thrown forward, and then the other. The patience of the camel has been celebrated by some authors. l)ut this is mainly indifference and stupidity. It submits because it knows no better, cares nothing for its master, is influenced to a very slight degree by either kindness or harshness, is unhajiiiy when alone, and always untrustworthy: is cowardly, and. at the rutting .season, is subject to sudden and violent fits of rage, when it uses its teeth with terrible efl'ect. The camel produces only one young one at a time, or rarely two. It lives thirty or forty years. During the long ages it has been subject- eil (the word 'domesticated' hardly applies) to man. almost as many breeds have been created as in the case of the rose, and there is a vast differ- ence between those bred as baggage animals and those reared for the saddle; the latter, light and swift, often capable of traversing 100 miles of desert a day, are 'dromedaries,' whether one- humped or two-hnmped. The great value of the camel to the desert peo- ple is due to its manifold usefulness, for besides its utility as a carrier of both man and his bur- den, and as a means of trade, its flesh is good food, and the milk is excellent; from the hair, cloth, ropes, etc., are made: the hide is service- able; the bones (in eastern Asia) serve as ivory; and the dung is in some regions almost the sole dependence of the nomads for fuel. The animal is nevertheless steadilv deireasiii" in im-