DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4719#0241
r>
220
LYDIA.
The animal, which is commonly a mnle, is led: it carries
two panniers, in which are the passengers, inclosed in a tent
of white calico, fringed and ornamented with red, upon poles
fixed to the panniers; there are small eye-holes behind and
in front, which I observed were mnch nsed; a light ladder,
used for mounting and dismounting, is suspended from one
of the poles. These conveyances give a peculiar effect to
the cavalcade, which is in keeping with the costume of the
multitude of servants in attendance.
Strings of camels are continually passing, each comprising
about forty-five, and headed by a man upon an ass who leads
the first, the others being mostly connected by slight cords.
It is a beautiful sight to see the perfect training and docility
of these animals. The caravans, as the weather is becoming
warmer, are beginning to travel by night, generally halting
at about ten or eleven o'clock in the morning. The care of
the camels seems to be very much left to the children. I
have just watched a string of them stopping on an open
plain: a child twitched the cord suspended from the head of
the first; a loud gurgling growl indicated the pleasure of the
camel as it awkwardly knelt down, and the child, who could
just reach its back, unlinked the hooks which suspended from
either side the bales of cotton; another child came with a
bowl of water and sponge, and was welcomed by a louder
roar of pleasure as it washed the mouth and nostrils of the
animal. This grateful office ended, the liberated camel wan-
dered off to the thicket, to browse during the day; and this
was done to each of the forty-five, which all unbidden had
knelt down precisely as the one I have described, forming a
circle which continued marked during the day by the bales
of goods lying at regular distances. On a given signal in
the afternoon, at about three o'clock, every camel resumed
its own place, and knelt between its bales, which were again
attached, and the caravan proceeded on its tardy course. 1
am not surprised at finding the strong attachment of these
_ 4
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220
LYDIA.
The animal, which is commonly a mnle, is led: it carries
two panniers, in which are the passengers, inclosed in a tent
of white calico, fringed and ornamented with red, upon poles
fixed to the panniers; there are small eye-holes behind and
in front, which I observed were mnch nsed; a light ladder,
used for mounting and dismounting, is suspended from one
of the poles. These conveyances give a peculiar effect to
the cavalcade, which is in keeping with the costume of the
multitude of servants in attendance.
Strings of camels are continually passing, each comprising
about forty-five, and headed by a man upon an ass who leads
the first, the others being mostly connected by slight cords.
It is a beautiful sight to see the perfect training and docility
of these animals. The caravans, as the weather is becoming
warmer, are beginning to travel by night, generally halting
at about ten or eleven o'clock in the morning. The care of
the camels seems to be very much left to the children. I
have just watched a string of them stopping on an open
plain: a child twitched the cord suspended from the head of
the first; a loud gurgling growl indicated the pleasure of the
camel as it awkwardly knelt down, and the child, who could
just reach its back, unlinked the hooks which suspended from
either side the bales of cotton; another child came with a
bowl of water and sponge, and was welcomed by a louder
roar of pleasure as it washed the mouth and nostrils of the
animal. This grateful office ended, the liberated camel wan-
dered off to the thicket, to browse during the day; and this
was done to each of the forty-five, which all unbidden had
knelt down precisely as the one I have described, forming a
circle which continued marked during the day by the bales
of goods lying at regular distances. On a given signal in
the afternoon, at about three o'clock, every camel resumed
its own place, and knelt between its bales, which were again
attached, and the caravan proceeded on its tardy course. 1
am not surprised at finding the strong attachment of these
_ 4
>—■
:'- '■• -.
,• --.
Nad
r
4*.*'
■■'<.