Martha Martnick, age 9, of Coplay, Pa., for her question:
What is a dromedary?
This tall, silky fellow is a member of the camel family, and, like all his camel cousins, he looks down on the world with a very superior expression on his face. All. The camels have good reason to feel superior, but the haughty dromedary has the best reason of all. In the sandy deserts of North Africa, he can outdistance the fastest Arab steed.
The picture of a camel usually shows a tall, peevish looking animal with one hump upon his shaggy back. This fellow is the dromedary, alias the heirie, alias the African Camel. His cousin, the Bactrian camel, is a sturdier animal with two humps. He totes man's burdens across the b1eak and stony deserts of Asia, China and Turkistan.
The stately dromedary is the prized pack animal of the hot, dry deserts Of Arabia. His wide feet hug the sand without slipping, he can travel for three days Without water and many more days without food. Thick eyelashes protect his eyes when the sandstorms blow, and his thin nostrils are shielded with hair.
A strong work a day dromedary can carry 600 pounds which is equal to three heavy men on his back. Loaded with his pack, he sets forth with a line of his relatives across the sandy desert. The camel caravan travels from dawn until after dark and covers 25 to 30 miles a day. A fast horse can cover this distance in a few hours on hard ground. But the fastest of the fast Arab horses cannot keep pace with the came1 in the soft sand of the desert.
The camel’s walk is ca11ed a pace. He moves both right feet and then both left feet, and he swings gently from side to side somewhat like a ship on the rolling ocean. This is why he is called the ship of the desert.
The work a day dromedary has a cousin who is even more Superior. This elegant dromedary rates with the best of the riding horses. He is especially trained to take a rider on long, fast rides across the desert where a horse would soon bog down in the sand. This extra superior dromedary can travel for 18 hours without stopping, and. All this time he keeps up a Steady Pace Of eight to 10 miles an hour. As you can imagine, this riding dromedary is a pampered fellow. His silky coat is carefully combed, and he is adorned with fancy bridles and handsome trappings.
The camel has a reputation for being a surly, bad tempered animal. But this is unfair. If he is treated with kindness, he bears his heavy burdens with great patience though he may grunt and groan while they are being strapped onto his back. If he is treated unkindly, he will kick and bite. Sometimes he waits for a chance to spit a, mouthful of mushy food right in the face Of some camel driver who has been unkind. To him. The camel does more than his fair share of work, but he stubbornly refuses to be put upon.