Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 May 1899 — THE USEFUL CAMEL. [ARTICLE]

THE USEFUL CAMEL.

Something About the Abetluence of This Remarkable Animal. , There are many fables told about the camel; riding him is supposed to make people seasick; he has the reputation of being very vicious; he is supposed to have several stomachs and to go for weeks without water as a matter of choice. I can only say that in nearly four years of experience I have never met with a case of seasickness or heard of It; neither have I known a really vicious camel, except when they are In a state called by the Arabs “saim,” which means “fasting,” and corresponds to the "rutting” period In stags. As regards the camel’s stomach, I believe it is identically the same as that of any other ruminant, or that, at any rate, there is no formation of stomachs which would enable him to do without water. His abstinence is merely the result of training; and it is a fallacy to suppose that he is better without water or can work as well. In the camel corps we watered our camels every second day In the summer, every third day in winter, giving then their fill of water morning and evening on those days; Unt if in the summer we expected a long desert march without water, we trained them beforehand >y only watering every third day; but I never found that this improved their condition. The Arabs' keep their camels longer without water, it is true, but then they travel slower and their animals are grazed on soft foot, containing a certain amount of moisture; this lowers their condition and makes them Inferior to a corn-fed camel when hard work and long, fast journeys have to bC done. We always found that if we put a grass-fed Arab camel alongside of ours it failed in work and endurance; If corn-fed it cried -out for water as soon and sooner than ours did. I say “cried out,” becduse a camel when It wants water moans continually, and there is no more painful sound at night in the des§rt than the ceaseless moaning of thirsty camels.—Cornhlli.