ey hunt gazelles, and in the Lybian desert
the "cheetah," or hunting leopard, is tamed and used for the same
purpose, and in this way the monotony of many a long desert march is
relieved.

When on a journey smaller tents than those which I have described are
used, all the heavy baggage being loaded on to camels, upon which the
women and children also ride. Camels have often been called the "ships
of the desert," and they are certainly the most useful of all animals
for such travelling, for their broad pads prevent their feet from
sinking into the soft sand, and not only do they carry enormous loads,
but are able for days together to go without food or water. When
Abraham sent his servant to seek a wife for Isaac, it was on camels
that he travelled, and shaded, no doubt, by her canopy of shawls, it
was on camel-back that Rebekah returned with him to the tent of his
master. So to-day we may often meet a similar party on their journey,
the women seated beneath the "mahmal," as the canopy is called, while
the food and water for the journey is slung from the saddles of the
camels ridden by the armed men who form their escort.

Camels are of two kinds--the heavily-built beast, such as we see in
Egypt, and which is used for baggage purposes, and the "hagin," or
dromedary, used solely for riding. Lest any of my readers should fall
into the common error of supposing that the dromedary has two humps,
let me say that the only difference between it and the ordinary camel
is that it is smaller and better bred, just as our racehorses differ
from draught animals, and must not be confounded with the Bactrian or
two-humped camel of Asia. These hagin are very fleet, and often
cover great distances, and I have known one to travel as much as 100
miles between sunset and sunrise!

On a journey the pace of a caravan is that of its slowest beast, and
very arduous such journeys often are, for there is no shade, and the
dust raised by the caravan envelops the slowly moving travellers,
while the fierce sun is reflected from the rocks, which often become
too hot to touch. On the other hand, the nights are often bitterly
cold, for the sand is too loose to retain any of its heat, while the
salt with which the desert is strongly impregnated has a chilling
effect on the air. Most trying of all, however, are the hot desert
winds, which often last for days together, drying up the water in the
skins, while the distressed travellers are half suffocate