s where none had previously existed, and
blew the side out of a cliff in order to improve one already in use, the
lot of the transport services, and more particularly of the "Camels," was
not a happy one. Everything was against them, especially the weather. Rain
and cold are the camels' worst enemies, and thousands perished of exposure,
but the work still went on at all hours of the day and night, in all
weathers, and over every imaginable kind of road but a good one.

Troops holding outlying positions in the hills were inaccessible to any
form of transport but camels, and these had frequently to climb up steep,
rocky paths just wide enough to take them and their burdens. On the one
side was a precipice; on the other an abyss. Each camel-driver usually led
a couple of camels, marching abreast, but when the narrowness of the path
made it necessary for them to climb in single file, one was tied by his
head-rope to the rear of the other camel's saddle. This, though it was
absolutely necessary, rather added to the dangers of the climb. The
incessant rains had made the paths slippery in the extreme, and the camel
at the best of times is not the most adaptable of creatures; his
conformation, moreover, is all against him in so far as scaling a cliff is
concerned.

The merest slip on one of these treacherous paths meant destruction. The
rear-most camel would stumble, oscillate violently for a moment, and over
the side he would go, probably dragging his fellow with him and not
infrequently the unfortunate driver as well. Sometimes a camel out of pure
cussedness would "barrack" in the middle of a precipitous, narrow path, and
only by crawling through the legs of the halted camels could he be reached
by the exasperated officer or N.C.O. in charge of the party.

Now a camel has all the obstinacy of a mule and, in addition, is almost
impervious to pain. Flogging has little effect on him and profanity none
whatever; violence is necessary. Frequently the only way to shift one of
these obstinate beasts was by lighting a fire under him! Then he moved,
sometimes in such a hurry that he fell over the precipice and broke his
neck. I am aware that this method is not mentioned in Field Service
Regulations, but a great many things are done on active service which do
not come within the scope of that admirable volume. Further, when men's
lives were dependent on their receiving food and water at stated times, any
methods were justifiable. You