PLATE 21
CAMEL-BRANDS SEEN IN AIR.
To a European all camels at first look much the same, but a few weeks’ association with them enables one rapidly to differentiate between the different breeds. They vary as much in build as they do in colour. Camels of almost every African and some Arabian varieties may, sooner or later, be seen in Air, but only two varieties properly belong to the country or to the Tuareg of these parts. The tall, sandy-fawn-coloured Tibesti camel, standing an immense height at the shoulder, is much prized; the Ghati camel, reddish-fawn in colour, is fairly common. The latter is short-legged with heavy stubby bones and big foot-pads; he has a straight back, holds his head low, and is capable of carrying immense loads over sandy country, but at a slower pace than the Tebu animal, which is generally more of the riding build. The western camel of Timbuctoo is represented by an animal with a well-arched back, generally lighter-limbed and more graceful than the Ghati sort. The Ahaggar camel is recognisable by his great height and strength, and above all by his very shaggy coat with a long beard and fluffy shoulders: he is usually dark in colour. The Maghrabi camel also has very hairy shoulders, the colour varying from red-fawn to very dark brown. The two types of camels belonging to the Air Tuareg are both very distinctive. There is a great white camel and a smaller grey or piebald animal. The white camel is said originally to have belonged to the Kel Geres, to have been specially bred and brought by them originally to the Southland. He has long flat withers and a round hump; but either because the Kel Geres in recent years have lived in the Southland, or for some other reason connected with their original habitat, the white camel is a plain land animal and is almost useless on rocky ground. He is consequently not very highly valued in Air.
The true Air camel is very peculiar. The species may be divided into two categories, the grey and the piebald, the latter being perhaps derived from a cross between the former and some other breed. The Air grey is a sturdy and straight-backed animal with sloping quarters and a long neck, which he holds rather low. He can carry a fair load and negotiate any sort of ground. The colour varies from iron-grey to brown-ash and is quite distinctive; the coat is either uniform or speckled. Although the Tuareg say that the original stock is the piebald, the pure-bred animal apparently has a uniform coat. The “type animal” is called the Tegama camel, the iron-grey colour is known as “ifurfurzan.” In the parti-coloured animal the markings take the form of large patches of dark grey and white with sharp edges, as if the skin had been painted, or of small patches giving a dappled appearance, or of a combination of the two, or, more rarely, of undefined patches merging into one another. Inter-breeding has produced the red-fawn and white, and the brown and white animals. Though very sturdy, they are light-boned and small-footed, but their short legs and short sloping withers give them an agility which is quite unbelievable in what the world has always regarded as an ungainly animal. The eyes of these camels are sometimes pale blue and white, a peculiarity which makes them look very strange. The breed is much prized as a curiosity or freak outside Air.
Temajegh, like Arabic, has innumerable names for various types of camels. The most valuable animal is the cow-camel which has calved once; they are not used more than can be helped for long or very strenuous work, because they are, on the whole, not so strong as the males. They are rested as much as possible prior to, and after, calving. If a cow-camel has calved on the road it is common to see the small calf carried on the mother’s back until it is fit to run alongside, which is within two or three days. Stud fees are unknown: attempts are made as far as possible to avoid cross-breeding. A certain Ahmadu of the Kel Tagei is known throughout Air as the possessor of the finest herd of pure Tegama cow-camels in the mountains: they are maintained exclusively for breeding purposes. These are some of the commonest Temajegh names used in Air:
| Temajegh name. | Meaning. |
|---|---|
| [180]Tefurfuz | Grey and white piebald camel. |
| Adignas | White. |
| Aberoq | Dark grey. |
| Kadigi | Thin. |
| Alletat | “White belly.” |
| Banghi | “One eye.” |
| Awina | Blue (or black) and white-eyed camel. |
| Korurimi | “The earless one.” |
| Tabzau | White (but not very white) camel. |
| Tāurak | Fawn. |
| Imusha | White-mouthed. |
| Izarf | Light grey. |
| Buzak | White-footed. |
| Ajmellel | Spotted white. |
| Kelbadu | “Big belly.” |
| Agoiyam | Tebu camel. |
Camels are curiously delicate animals, as anyone who has had anything to do with them will know to his cost. They lose condition very quickly and mysteriously, and do not regain it easily. Camel travelling implies a perpetual fruitless attempt to maintain their condition by seeking to reconcile progress and pasturing. The ideal is to give the beasts at least four hours’ grazing, which must not be at night or in the heat of the day, when the camel is prone to rest in the shade of a tree instead of feeding. At the same time, when it is very hot it is neither good for man nor beast to march; nor should the camel march all night either, when four hours’ rest are very desirable. Lastly, it must be remembered that it is tiring for camels to be on and off loaded more than once a day, since every time they kneel or get up with a heavy burden they are subjected to a considerable strain; it is consequently inadvisable to divide a march into two parts. To reach a satisfactory compromise is difficult. So long as not more than about twenty miles a day are being covered, any system works well enough, but where long marches are necessary there is no really satisfactory solution. The Tuareg himself usually starts late in the morning and marches till dusk, when he off-loads; he then drives his camels to pasture, leaving them out all night; they are slowly collected after dawn, when they have again begun to feed. The disadvantage from the European point of view is that there is always some delay in finding the camels in the morning, as one or two are sure to have strayed, nor is it always safe to leave camels wandering about unguarded at night. The French Camel Corps patrols and other Europeans usually prefer to start in the night and march until high noon or the early afternoon. I have myself tried every course, and with all its disadvantages finally adopted the Tuareg system. To these complications must be added the consideration that if a camel is watered it should be at noon, when the sun is hot, in order to make him drink well. If there is no reason to anticipate long waterless journeys, camels are watered every third day, but if they are required to cross difficult tracts of desert, the intervals must gradually be increased beforehand. Above all, the camel must be made really thirsty prior to his final drink before the longest waterless portion of the journey is attempted. The camel must start almost bursting with the water in his belly.
It is generally more important for a camel not to miss a day’s pasture than a day’s water. When the rains have fallen and green vegetation is abundant, camels need not be watered for long intervals. If they are not being worked they can go for weeks without drinking. Camels will eat anything if put to it, from hard grass with a straw like wire to any kind of tree or shrub; acacia thorns three and four inches long appear to make no difference to his digestion. Pasture is the most important factor on the march, for the animal is really a fastidious feeder and requires plenty of variety.
The woes which afflict the camel are numerous. First and worst are saddle sores, which rapidly become stinking and gangrenous. They develop quickly from a slight rub or gall under the saddle, and often end by infecting the bones of the spine or ribs. They discharge a thick offensive pus either through the sore or under the skin. In treating them the first thing to do is to open the wound and let the pus escape, after which the best cure, I found as others have discovered, is to wash the wound with a strong solution of permanganate of potash. Thereafter an iodoform dressing is almost miraculous in its quick-healing properties, as it keeps away the flies, and consequently obviates maggots and re-infection. The great black crows in Air have an odious habit of sitting on the backs of camels and pecking at these sores. They do terrible damage with their long powerful beaks. The only way to keep them off is to tie a pair of crow’s wings to the hair on the hump of the camel. The remedy is sovereign, as I learnt by experience, but I am at a loss to explain the psychological process governing the action of the live crows which are thus scared away.