'Through Persia on a side-saddle' [‎204] (239/360)

204 THROUGH PERSIA ON A SIDE-SADDLE
camels in this state, as they were half mad, and would
attack any one without respect of persons.
The drivers say that a must camel eats scarcely any
thing, and yet is so strong that it will carry double loads
without murmuring; at this time it will probably wreak
vengeance on a cruel master, for it is accredited with an
exceedingly tenacious memory, and is supposed to store
up unmerited beatings against a day of reckoning.
The only way to deal with a camel desirous of
attacking you is to face it boldly and threaten it with
a stick, the merest switch having a good effect, especially
if you can manage to hit it on its neck, the vulnerable
part.
We used to send on all the stores, luggage, and extra
tents every night about ten o'clock, six animals staying
behind to carry the remaining tents and camp equipage
on the following morning. This pishkhana, as the
advance-guard was called, was a good arrangement when
travelling with such slow-moving creatures as camels, for
it enabled us to have the tents in position and tea ready
when we reached camp the next day. It had, however,
its drawbacks, for our usual bedtime was at the early hour
of eight o'clock, and it was impossible to get to sleep until
the cessation of roars and groans announced that the
loads were at last adjusted, and that our caravan was on
its way. Another disadvantage of this system was that
the camels were brought up close to our tents to be loaded
up, and the horrible fetid odour, seemingly inseparable
from these creatures, would penetrate to us, reminding
us of an ill-kept menagerie.
Our second desert march was to Zahu, still through a
dreary volcanic region, where not even a bird was to be