OUR CAMELS. 27

beasts, and we were of course very particular to have

the pick of the lot ; sore-backed ones were exchanged,

and camel after camel sent back for (sometimes

imaginary) weaknesses, till the officer in charge vowed he'd exchange no more.

The next thing was to fit the saddles, and much

trouble ensued, as no two camels are humped exactly

alike ; that done, we mounted our beasts with some

difficulty, and manoeuvred a bit in line, the camels

acting as if they had never done anything else all their

lives. Their headgear was simple, a black leather

headstall, the rein being a rope about seven feet long,

attached to an iron curb-chain under the lower lip, no

part of the headgear in the mouth ; by this, passing

on the left side of the neck, you could pull him to

the left, or press it against his neck, making him go

to the right ; it also served as a rope for tethering or

knee-lashing him.*

The men were highly delighted with their first

* I.e. tying his near foreleg (bent) to his neck when kneeling.

mble knee-lashing is accomplished by tying his neck to both

>relegs when in the same position, thus making him quite helpless

>t so easy as it sounds, especially with a restless animal