The Wells of Tabankhor
The difficulty of discerning a well in the Sahara, until one is actually within a few paces of it, is here clearly indicated. The well is rarely marked by any distinctive features, such as trees, vegetation, or any particular accident in the ground. It is merely a hole excavated in the sand, which can only too easily be missed by the traveller, possibly with serious consequences should he be short of water. The donkeys and bullock in the illustration belonged to Kountah Arabs in the Southern Sahara, and on the right are seen water-skins just filled from the well ready to be laden on the beasts for transport to the Arab encampment in the desert hard by.
A Snapshot of the “King of Beasts” amid his Natural Surroundings
This was a lucky snapshot of a lion going to drink, on a branch of the Middle Niger. Having news of a “kill,” I managed during the day to get into a concealed position near his lair. Fortune favoured me when the lion emerged from his resting-place, passing within a few paces of me on his way to the water.
Having successfully accomplished all these manœuvres, you should rapidly throw the right leg over the saddle, lifting the left foot from the rein and placing it on] his neck. The camel will then generally—but not always— rise with a most disconcerting jerk, growling loudly all the while. This is perhaps the most awkward, and even dangerous, moment for the unwary novice. On rising the camel first throws his head and body forward and then backward with lightning-like rapidity, when the rider must conform by equally rapidly jerking his own body in the inverse directions, otherwise he will inevitably lose his balance and be hurled on the ground. The Saharan camel is not a well-trained animal, so it behoves one to be careful when first attempting to mount an unknown beast.
After having mounted the rider will not persuade him to cease his angry grumbles for some little time. If he refuses to rise, as he sometimes does, the only plan is to tap more or less violently with the feet on his neck; but in every case the golden rule is to have patience, for of all the brutes in creation which have been tamed to do man’s will, the camel is surely the most trying. I have sometimes spent ten minutes in endeavouring to make a camel rise, when I was in a particular hurry to be off. Beating is quite ineffectual, and only serves to humble one’s pride. A camel’s hide is pretty tough, and he cares little for the blow from a thick stick or whip.
The camel never seems really happy unless he is absolutely left to himself. Far away from mankind, and unobserved, he eats and eats till he is gorged, and then lies down to sleep. If man is at hand he will never eat as well as when by himself; the presence of a human being seems to have a strange effect on him. This has been often proved by noticing the difference between camels left at their pasturage in perfect liberty and those which are guarded by men while feeding. The former regain condition comparatively quickly, while the latter, besides taking longer, will probably never return to such good form as their more fortunately placed brothers who are grazing quite at liberty. When near a man he constantly seems to sulk and not to make the best of himself. I have known camels in the Sahara, who had not had anything to eat for several days, refuse their food after being ill-treated, seemingly preferring to die than to accept any favour from the person who has beaten them.
Although camels can go several days without water, yet, when they do drink, they are gluttons for it. They drink an abnormally large quantity at a time, and will return to drink two or three times in the day until satisfied. Camels suffer a good deal from indigestion, and this is probably due to the huge quantities of food and water they consume.
It was the custom to hobble our animals at night, and I recollect how on one occasion on this march to Kidal, my plans for the next day’s journey were upset by a freak on their part. We halted one night, rather tired after a long march, about eleven o’clock. The road was rough, as we had entered into a mountainous, rocky country, and it was impossible to move any further until the sun rose, the moon having just set. It so happened that there was an excellent pasturage in an “oued” close by, and into this the camels were turned after being hobbled for the night.