Home Life in All Lands—Book III—Animal Friends and Helpers

by Charles Morris

THE SHIP OF THE DESERT

Far away from where we live, in what may be called the world of the East, there are mighty deserts, almost oceans of sand. These are oceans without water, vast tracts of land in which no blade of grass can grow, except where a green oasis rises like an island in their midst. Such a desert covers nearly the whole of Arabia and other wide regions in Asia. On the map of Africa may be seen a still greater one, that which bears the name of the Sahara.

In these deserts no rain falls to water the thirsty soil, springs are few and far apart, and those who travel through them must carry food and water on their journeys. These great sand oceans have their native animal, the humped and long-necked Camel, the "ship of the desert," as it is fitly called, since it carries freight and passengers over the sand-strewn lands as ships do over the wide seas.

An ugly brute is the camel, with its humped back, its long neck, short legs, and bunches of shaggy hair. But ugly as it is the Arab finds something in it to praise, and could not well live in the desert without it. Arabia and the other deserts of Asia are the camel's native soil, and nature has fitted it well for its home in the sands. It does not belong to the Sahara, but was taken there by the Arabs. But it finds itself much at home on that world of sand. It is not well suited for fertile countries, though it is used in India and China to carry loads for their people.

The camel is a two-toed animal but is like the horse in having only one hoof. This is a broad pad or cushion which takes in both its toes and fits it to travel over the soft sand. It is not hard, like the horse's hoof, but elastic so as to yield at every step.

A Sahara Desert Scene. The Mohammedan driver hobbles the animal's foot while at prayer

It is not only by its foot that the camel is fitted to dwell in the realms of sand, for it seems made for the desert in every part of its body. There are two kinds of camels, the Arabian, with one hump, and the Bactrian, of the northern deserts, with two humps, and it is these which give it so ugly a shape.

Are these humps a kind of saddle made for man's use, you ask? Not at all, for the camel had them before there were any men to ride him. They are really food supplies, masses of fat which help to keep the animals alive on long journeys. No wise Arab will set out to cross the desert without feeding his camel until its hump is full and plump, for in this the animal carries its own food. It dines and sups on its hump when there is nothing else to eat, so that the hump shrinks and grows smaller.

But how does the camel find water to drink in the dry desert? Has it a water supply as well as a food supply? We should not think this possible, yet it has. In long journeys it needs water as well as food and inside it is a well-filled water vessel. There are "water-cells" in its stomach, in which about a gallon and a half of water can be stored away, enough to last for three days if no water is found. At times, when the rider is in great need of water, he will kill his camel so as to get this store from its stomach.

There are still other ways in which the camel is fitted for a desert life. Thus it has fine powers of sight and smell. It can smell water when it is more than a mile away and if tethered will break its halter and run in a straight line for the well or spring. Its nostrils are mere slits, which it can close when the wind fills the air with sand. At times a burning wind called the simoon blows fiercely across the desert. Then the camel falls on its knees, stretches its long neck like a snake along the sand, and closes its nostrils to keep out the sand carried by the wind. Thus it stays till the storm is past. At the same time the driver wraps his face in his mantle and hides himself behind his beast.

There is one other thing to say. The camel likes good food when it is to be had, but it can live on any kind of plants. It will eat anything in the way of leaves, shrubs, dry sticks, or vegetable matter of any sort, and can live on food on which many animals would starve. You may see from all this how wonderfully it is fitted for a desert life.

Are we not right in saying that without the camel the Arab would find it hard to live in the desert? For ages past long caravans of camels have been crossing the sea of sand from the fertile lands of the nearby countries to the oases where the settled Arabs dwell. Not until the camel is four years old does its training as a carrier of loads begin. Then it is taught to kneel down and to rise at a given signal, light weights being at first put on it and heavier ones afterwards.

It can carry heavy weights, its loads ranging from 500 to 1000 pounds, some breeds of camels being much stronger than others. In desert journeys it is expected to carry this load twenty-five miles a day for three days without drink. The swift animals used for riding will carry their rider with his food and water fifty miles a day for five days without drinking. A camel lives from forty to fifty years, so you may see that it is of great value to its master.

A Rug Laden Caravan

If too heavy a load is put on its back the camel will not rise from its knees; but when once on foot it is very patient and will plod on under its heavy load until it is ready to die. When its load is taken off it does not seek the shade, like other animals, but kneels down in the full glare of the sun, as if it loved the burning sand.