The flesh of the lion, though sometimes eaten, is not good, but his skin is a valued gift, and presented only to Sultans and illustrious chiefs, and occasionally, to marabouts and zaouïas. The Arabs fancy that it is good to sleep upon one, as it drives away the demons, conjures up good fortune, and averts certain diseases. Lion's claws, mounted in silver, are used as ornaments by women; while the skin of his forehead is a talisman worn by some persons on their head to preserve the energy and audacity of their brain. In short, lion-hunting is held in high repute among the Arabs. Every combat with that animal may take the device: Kill or Die! He who kills him, eats him—says the proverb—and he who kills him not is eaten by him. In this spirit they bestow on any one who has killed a lion, this laconic and virile eulogy: Hadak houa—"that one is he!" A popular belief illustrates the grandeur of the part played by the lion in the life and imagination of the Arabs. When a lion roars, they pretend that they can readily distinguish the following words: Ahna ou ben-el mera—"I and the son of woman." Now, as he twice repeats ben-el mera, and only once says ahna, they conclude that he recognizes no superior save the son of woman.
THE CAMEL.[[89]]
It was said by the Prophet: "The good things of this world, to the day of the last judgment, are attached to the forelocks of your horses;
"Sheep are a blessing;
"And the Almighty has created nothing, as an animal, preferable to the camel."
The camel is the ship of the desert. Allah hath said: "You may load your merchandize in barks and on camels." As in the desert there is very little water, and there are long distances to be traversed, the Almighty has endowed them with the faculty of easily enduring thirst. In winter they never drink. The Prophet more than once gave the following advice: "Never utter coarse remarks on the subject of the camel or of the wind: the former is a boon to men, the latter an emanation from the soul of Allah." Camels are the most extraordinary animals in the world, and yet there are none more docile, owing to their being so much with men. So great, indeed, is their docility, that they have been known to follow a rat, that, in the act of gnawing, pulled a rope smeared with butter, by which they were fastened. Such is the will of Allah. These apophthegms suffice to show that the camel is, of all created animals, the most useful in respect of the wants of the Arabs.
The Arabs of the Sahara can tell the age of a camel by its teeth. They say it is long-lived, though they cannot give any very precise information on the subject. They put the case, however, in this manner. If a camel be born on the same day with a child, it has reached old age by the time the latter has distinguished himself in combats, which implies the age of eighteen to twenty-five years. Camels require much care and experience in managing them. Whenever it is possible, the male camels are led to a different pasture from the females. After the 15th of April, they are not sent out to feed until the afternoon, because it has been remarked that the grass is covered with a sort of dew that lays the foundation of fatal diseases. Care is also taken to prevent the camels from eating within the douar what remains in the morning of the small quantity of grass given to the horses overnight. These precautions are necessary during the six weeks or two months in which the dew is observed. Throughout the whole winter, the end of autumn, and the beginning of spring, the camels may be permitted, with advantage, to browse on shrubs with a salt flavour; but in the beginning of April, and at the end of May, they must not be allowed to do so for more than five or six days.
The shearing of the camels takes place in the latter part of April. They are made to lie down, and are operated upon by the shepherds and female slaves, a woman standing behind them to gather the fleece which she thrusts into bags. It is a somewhat slow operation. El oubeur, or camel's fleece, is used in making canvas for tents, camel-ropes, sacks called gherara, and djellale, or horse-cloths. It is mixed almost invariably with common wool.
The ordinary burden of a camel is two tellis of wheat, or about 250 kilogrammes. If not over-driven, it can go from dawn to sunset, at least if it be allowed, as it journeys along, to elongate its neck and pluck the herbage that grows on either side of its path. In this manner it will cover from ten to twelve leagues in the twenty-four hours, and every fifth day it must be permitted to rest. In the desert, camels are let out to hire, not by the day, but by the journey, going and returning, according to the distance. For instance, from El-Biod, among the Oulad-Sidi-Shikh, to the Beni-Mzab, or about fifty leagues, costs from two to three douros, and from the same point to Timimoun six or seven douros.