CHAPTER XIX.

A CAMEL JOURNEY.-THE ISLAND OF PHILE, AND THE FIRST CATARACT OF THE NILE.

FRANK and Fred were destined to enjoy a novelty in the way of

travelling. They were to make their excursion to the island of Phile on the backs of camels.

It is about five miles from Assouan to Philæe, and the road is chiefly through the rocky desert, or along the equally rocky bank of the river. The travellers had the choice of camels or donkeys for the journey, and the two youths unhesitatingly decided in favor of the former.

"You can ride almost any time on a donkey," said Fred, "but it isn't every day you can have a camel."

"I quite agree with you," Frank replied. “We'll have a jolly ride of it, and have a good story to tell when we get home."

The boys went out before breakfast and found, close to the landingplace, a group of camels waiting for the proposed excursion. They were all lying or kneeling on the ground, and the boys walked around them with the air of having been familiar with camels all their lives. Finally they selected two, and at the suggestion of the drivers Frank proceeded to mount his new beast of burden, just to try his qualities.

"I began," said Frank, afterward, in telling the story to the Doctor "I began by patting the camel on the head, and saying 'good fellow! good fellow! He returned my kindness by trying to bite me, and if I had not jumped quickly to one side he would have had a good nip at my arm. The driver then stood by his head, and I proceeded to take my seat in the saddle, which resembled a wood-sawyer's 'horse' with a blanket thrown across it.

"As soon as I was in place I seized the front and rear of the saddle; the driver then pulled at the halter, and said something that sounded like heyda! heyda !

"The camel began to move as though there was a small earthquake under him. There were three motions-a surge backward, a surge forward, and then a backward plunge that brought him to a level.

"I could not see exactly how it was done; but Fred, who was looking on, said the camel rose on half his fore-legs, then on all of his hind-legs, and lastly on the remaining half of his fore-legs. This will account for the three motions that were required to bring him up standing."

"Yes," answered the Doctor, "and he kneels in the reverse way-half the fore-legs, all the hind-legs, and then half the fore-legs. He is always

made to kneel for receiving his burden or being relieved of it. He makes a great fuss when he is being loaded, and leads you to suppose that the burden placed on him is much more than he can bear. The older the camel the more noise does he make."

"He must have thought I weighed a ton at least," Frank responded, "for he began groaning and bellowing as soon as I entered the saddle, and did not stop till he was on his feet. Then he concluded it was no use protesting any more and became quiet."

The boys did not learn till after the commencement of their journey that the saddles on which they rode were nothing more than pack-saddles for transporting freight around the cataract, and their beasts of

burden were the ordinary freight camels, and not those kept exclusively for riding. A blanket was thrown over the saddle, but it did not conceal the inequalities of it, and long before their return the youths would have been quite willing to exchange their poetic camels for prosaic donkeys. The last mile of Frank's ride was performed on foot, and it would have been a difficult matter to persuade him to try the excursion over again

under similar conditions.

The regular saddle for camel riding is a sort of dish, in which you sit with your feet crossed around the pommel or hanging over the side. You can have a pair of stirrups attached if you like, for resting the feet, and they are by no means to be despised. An excellent plan for a long jour

EFFECTS OF A CAMEL RIDE.

243

CAMELS (FROM AN ASSYRIAN SCULPTURE).

ney is to sling a couple of boxes or a pair of well-stuffed bags across a common pack-saddle, and cover them with mattresses and blankets, so as to make a platform about six feet broad; then put up your bed in a roll and fasten it to the back of the saddle, to form a comfortable rest, and with a pair of stirrups fastened to the saddle-bow you can select your own position for riding. If the sun is hot you can spread an umbrella; and if you have been fortunate in your selection of a camel, and his motion is easy, you will find no difficulty in reading and even in sleeping, though a nap on the back of a camel is not altogether safe.

The camel has a peculiar rocking motion that is a great strain on the spine of the inexperienced rider. He does not feel it much till the second day, and then, as Fred

camel is wonderfully adapted to travelling over the sands of the desert. It is divided into two lobes, and each lobe is armed with a stout claw, like the point of the ox's hoof. The foot is like a great sponge, and when

placed on the ground it spreads out very wide, but is immediately contracted when raised. It thus presents a broad surface to the sand or mud, and where the ground is steep and slippery it clings like the foot of a fly

1

2

FOOT AND STOMACH OF THE CAMEL.

1, Fore-foot; 2, sole; 3, hind-foot, side; 4, structure of the stomach.

on a window-pane. The strong claw assists its adhesion, and consequently the camel can climb the side of a mountain which is impassable to a wellshod horse.

His nostrils are formed so that he can close them at will to keep out the drifting sand, and his stomach is so contrived that it will hold a supply of water sufficient for six or eight days. There are numerous cells or cups in the animal's stomach, and when he has plenty of time for drinking he fills all these cells, and thus accumulates a store for future use. His

When he is not at work, and has good pasturage, the camel becomes fat, and his hump is especially round and full-it is a mass of fat; and when he is overworked and poorly fed, as he generally is in the desert, the fat goes away from the hump to nourish the rest of the body. This is particularly noticeable of the camels in Asia Minor, where they are in very active use till they get worn to skeletons, and are then turned out to rest and recover their fat.