The Human Frame May Be Inured To Almost Anything; Thus The
Arabs, Who Have Always Been Accustomed To This Kind
Of exercise,
hardly feel the motion, and the portion of the body most subject
to pain in riding a rough
Camel upon two bare pieces of wood for
a saddle, becomes naturally adapted for such rough service, as
monkeys become hardened from constantly sitting upon rough
substances. The children commence almost as soon as they are
born, as they must accompany their mothers in their annual
migrations; and no sooner can the young Arab sit astride and hold
on, than he is placed behind his father's saddle, to which he
clings, while he bumps upon the bare back of the jolting camel.
Nature quickly arranges a horny protection to the nerves, by the
thickening of the skin; thus, an Arab's opinion of the action of
a riding hygeen should never be accepted without a personal
trial. What appears delightful to him may be torture to you, as
a strong breeze and a rough sea may be charming to a sailor, but
worse than death to a landsman.
I was determined not to accept the camels now offered as hygeens
until I had seen them tried; I accordingly ordered our black
soldier El Baggar to saddle the most easy-actioned animal for my
wife, but I wished to see him put it through a variety of paces
before she should accept it. The delighted El Baggar, who from
long practice was as hard as the heel of a boot, disdained
a saddle; the animal knelt, was mounted, and off he started at
full trot, performing a circle of about fifty yards' diameter as
though in a circus. I never saw such an exhibition! "Warranted
quiet to ride, of easy action, and fit for a lady!" This had been
the character received with the rampant brute, who now, with head
and tail erect, went tearing round the circle, screaming and
roaring like a wild beast, throwing his fore-legs forward, and
stepping at least three feet high in his trot. Where was El
Baggar? A disjointed-looking black figure was sometimes on the
back of this easy-going camel, sometimes a foot high in the air;
arms, head, legs, hands appeared like a confused mass of
dislocations; the woolly hair of this unearthly individual, that
had been carefully trained in long stiff narrow curls, precisely
similar to the tobacco known as "negro-head," alternately started
upright en masse, as though under the influence of electricity,
and then fell as suddenly upon his shoulders: had the dark
individual been a "black dose," he or it could not have been more
thoroughly shaken. This object, so thoroughly disguised by
rapidity of movement, was El Baggar; happy, delighted El Baggar!
As he came rapidly round towards us flourishing his coorbatch, I
called to him, "Is that a nice hygeen for the Sit (lady), El
Baggar? is it VERY easy?" He was almost incapable of a reply.
"V-e-r-y e-e-a-a-s-y," replied the trustworthy authority,
"j-j-j-just the thin-n-n-g for the S-i-i-i-t-t-t." "All right,
that will do," I answered, and the jockey pulled up his steed.
"Are the other camels better or worse than that?" I asked.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 55 of 290
Words from 28338 to 28895
of 151461
