THE CAMEL TRIBE, OR TYLOPODA.
The nameTylopoda, by which the Camels, together with the Llamas, are known to naturalists, is derived from two Greek words (τύλος, a knot or callus, and πούς, a foot), signifying that the feet, instead of being protected by hoofs, are covered with a hardened skin, enclosing the cushion-like soles of the feet, which are so constructed that they spread out laterally when brought in contact with the ground, an arrangement of evident advantage to desert-ranging animals. The tips of each of the two toes are protected by nails, as can be seen in the accompanying drawing.
FOOT OF CAMEL.
FOOT OF CAMEL.
There are also other points in which these creatures differ from the more ordinary Ruminantia. In the front of the upper jaw there are two teeth—one on each side, placed laterally—which correspond to the side cutting teeth in man, and tothe similarly-situated “nippers” of the Horse. In the Deer, Ox, Sheep, and their allies there is not a trace of these, as has been previously explained (page 4). As to the limbs, it may also be mentioned that the true knee-joints—which in animals like the Horse are almost entirely hidden within the general skin-covering of the body—are much more conspicuous and free.
The stomach is peculiar; it wants the “manyplies,” or third compartment, but possesses the “paunch,” “honeycomb-bag,” and “abomasum,” the last-named of which is of great length. In the walls of the paunch there are present two extensive collections of “water-cells,” which serve their owners in good stead whilst traversing the desert or residing in regions where fresh water is not to be procured except with difficulty.
Fig.A.—STOMACH OF THE LLAMA.
Fig.A.—STOMACH OF THE LLAMA.
Fig.B.—WATER CELLS OF THE CAMEL’S STOMACH.
Fig.B.—WATER CELLS OF THE CAMEL’S STOMACH.
Fig.Ais a view of the stomach from below (or, in other words, from the side farthest from the backbone), in which it is seen that the clusters of water-cells (aandb) are arranged, one (a) the larger, along part of the right border of the viscus, whilst the second (b) is transverse, the remainder of the walls being smooth. These water-cells, seen from within in Fig.B, are formed by the development of septa, both transverse and longitudinal, in the substance of the paunch-wall. They are deep and narrow, much like the cells of a honeycomb, and have a muscular membrane covering their mouths, in which there is an oval orifice opposite to each compartment capable of being further dilated or completely closed, probably at the will of the animal. When fully distended, these paunch-cells in the Arabian Camel are capable of storing a gallon and a half of water. The second stomach, or reticulum, is also modified in the same direction, the usually extremely shallow cells being deep, at the same time that food isnever found in them after death. Of the last compartment, or “abomasum,” it may be noted that it is nearly cylindrical in shape, its walls being very muscular. It is in this stomach that true digestion is carried on.
Of the Camels two species are known, differing in the number of the humps upon their backs. Nothing is known of either variety in the wild state. We will commence with the description of
THE (TRUE) CAMEL.[45]
The One-humped Camel of Arabia is frequently termed the Dromedary, but this latter name is correctly applicable only to the swift variety of the species which is employed for riding, the heavier-built One-humped Pack-Camel not being included under the designation.
HEAD OF THE (TRUE) CAMEL.
HEAD OF THE (TRUE) CAMEL.
It is the Arabian Camel—theShip of the Desert—which is much more serviceable to man than its Bactrian ally. Its distribution has extended westwards along North Africa, from which attempts have been made to introduce it into Spain. Eastwards it is found as far as India.
In the Camel the limbs and neck are lengthy. A single bulky hump is present on the middle of the back, composed of fatty cells held together by strong bands of fibrous tissue which cross in all directions. Like all similar accumulations, it varies much in size according to the condition of the animal, dwindling almost to nothing after protracted hard work and bad feeding, being firm and full in times of ease and plenty. When on the point of commencing a long journey, thereis nothing on which an Arab lays so much stress as on the condition of his Camel’s hump, which, from what we have just said, must be considered to be nothing more or less than a reserved store of food.
Upon the chest, the elbows, the fore-knees (true wrists), knees, and hocks, callous pads of hardened skin are found, upon which the creature supports its weight whilst kneeling down, a position in which it always rests, and one which it assumes when being loaded. These pads are present in the new-born Camel-calf, proving, contrary to the view maintained by some, that they are not the direct result of pressure, but are special provisions in accordance with the requirements of the species, arrived at by a process of natural selection, those individuals alone surviving in which there is the power of resisting the injurious effects of protracted strain upon a few spots of the skin.
The coat is, in the summer, scanty; in the winter, of considerable length, and matted into lumps. The two-toed feet are very much expanded, and tipped with a pair of small hoofs. The lips are covered with hair, the upper one being split up for some distance in the middle line. The nostrils, when closed, are linear, and from their construction prevent sand from entering the air-passages when the animal desires it. The tail is of fair length, reaching to the ankle-joint. There is a fixity about its attitudes, and a formality about its paces, which is quite characteristic. Its power of enduring fatigue upon its scanty fare, whilst carrying a weight as great as 600 lbs., together with its endurance, makes it invaluable in its desert home.
(TRUE) CAMEL.
(TRUE) CAMEL.
A stolid obstinacy is its usual disposition. Mr. Palgrave, criticising the reputation that the animal has for docility, remarks:—“If docile means stupid, well and good; in such a case the Camel is the very model of docility. But if the epithet is intended to designate an animal that takes an interest in its rider so far as a beast can; that in some way understands his intentions, or shares them in a subordinate fashion; that obeys from a sort of submissive or half fellow-feeling with his master,like the Horse or Elephant: then I say that the Camel is by no means docile—very much the contrary. He takes no heed of his rider, pays no attention whether he be on his back or not, walks straight on when once set agoing, merely because he is too stupid to turn aside; and then, should some tempting thorn or green branch allure him out of the path, continues to walk on in the new direction simply because he is too dull to turn back into the right road. In a word, he is from first to last an undomesticated and savage animal rendered serviceable by stupidity alone, without much skill on his master’s part, and any co-operation on his own, save that of an extreme passiveness. Neither attachment nor even habit impresses him; never tame, though not wide awake enough to be exactly wild.”
BACTRIAN CAMEL.
BACTRIAN CAMEL.
Nevertheless the animal gives indications of intelligence when badly treated, if we may judge from its revengeful nature, well illustrated in the following account:—
“A valuable Camel, working in an oil-mill, was severely beaten by its driver. Perceiving that the Camel had treasured up the injury, and was only waiting a favourable opportunity for revenge, he kept a strict watch upon the animal. Time passed away; the Camel, perceiving that it was watched, was quiet and obedient, and the driver began to think that the beating was forgotten, when one night, after the lapse of several months, the man was sleeping on a raised platform in the mill, whilst, as is customary, the Camel was stabled in a corner. Happening to awake, the driver observed by the bright moonlight that, when all was quiet, the animal looked cautiously around, rose softly, and stealing towards a spot where a bundle of clothes and a bernous, thrown carelessly on the ground, resembled a sleeping figure, cast itself with violence upon them, rolling with all its weight, and tearing them most viciously with its teeth. Satisfied that its revenge was complete, the Camel was returning to its corner, when the driver sat up and spoke. At the sound of his voice, and perceiving the mistakeit had made, the animal was so mortified at the failure and discovery of its scheme, that it dashed its head against the wall and died on the spot.”
THE BACTRIAN CAMEL.[46]
The Two-humped Camel is found in the regions to the east and north of the home of its One-humped ally, extending as far as Pekin and Lake Baikal. It it a heavier, shorter-legged, and thicker-coated species, at the same time that the feet are more adapted to a less yielding soil from their greater callousness. The hair is specially abundant upon the top of the head, the arm, wrist, throat, and humps. There is no variety of this species corresponding to the Dromedary One-humped Camel.
HUANACO ATTACKED BY A PUMA.
HUANACO ATTACKED BY A PUMA.
THE LLAMAS.[47]
The Llamas, when the term is employed in its wider sense, include the American representatives of the Camel tribe, none of which have any trace of the dorsal hump or humps found in their Old World allies. They are mountain animals, found in the Cordilleras of Peru and Chili, in this respect also differing from the desert-loving Camels, with which they agree in all important structural peculiarities, including the stomach, lips, nostrils, and coat. The feet are somewhat modified in accordance with the rocky nature of the mountain regions which they inhabit, the sole-pads being less considerable, and almost completely divided into two hard cushions, with a long and hooked nail in the front of each.
ALPACA.⇒LARGER IMAGE
ALPACA.
⇒LARGER IMAGE
Llamas were found domesticated when South America was first discovered by the Spaniards,and as there were then no Mules or Horses there, these creatures were employed exclusively as beasts of burden, as well as for their flesh, their wool, and hides. Their disposition and their habits also resemble those of the Camel. They have their own peculiar gait and speed, from which they cannot well be made to vary. When irritated they foam at the mouth and spit, sulking and lying down when overloaded. As beasts of draught their most important use is to convey the ores from the mines of Potosi and elsewhere in the Andean range. From the account of Augustin de Zerate, who was a Peruvian Spanish Government official in the middle of the sixteenth century, we learn that “in places where there is no snow the natives want water, and to supply this deficiency they fill the skins of Sheep [Llamas being meant] with water, and make other livingSheepcarry them, for it must be remarked that theseSheepof Peru are large enough to serve as beasts of burden. They can carry about one hundred pounds or more, and the Spaniards used to ride them, and they would go four or five leagues a day. When they are weary they lie down upon the ground, and as there is no means of making them get up, either by beating or assailing them, the load must of necessity be taken off. When there is a man on one of them, if the beast is tired he turns his head round and discharges his saliva, which has an offensive odour, into the rider’s face. These animals are of great use and service to their masters, for their wool is very good and fine, particularly that of the breed called Pacas, which have very long fleeces; and the expense of their food is trifling, as a handful of maize suffices them, and they can go four or five days without water. Their flesh is as good as that of the fat Sheep of Castile.”
LLAMA.
LLAMA.
It is somewhat difficult to decide exactly the relations of the wild to the domesticated species of the Llamas. It seems most probable that there are two true species, known as the Huanacos (Lama huanacos) and the Vicuna (Lama vicugna), of the former of which the true Llama is a domesticated variety, as the Alpaca is of the latter.
The HUANACO—or Guanaco, as it is sometimes written—has a more elongated head and more slender legs than the Vicuna, at the same time that there are elongated warty tubercles upon the hinder limbs not found in the latter species. Its height at the shoulder is three feet and a half. The fur is uniformly brown, at the same time that it is rough and short. It can be domesticated without difficulty. Its tail is short and hairy. Its native haunts are the highlands of Peru and Chili, as well as farther south, where it lives in herds, which descend to the valleys in the wintermonths. When hunted they have a habit of now and again facing their pursuers, after which they gallop off afresh. When attacked at close quarters they defend themselves by striking with their fore-feet. From Mr. Darwin’s account of the animal in the “Voyage of theBeagle,” we learn that it “abounds over the whole of the temperate parts of South America, from the wooded islands of Tierra del Fuego, the rough Patagonia, the hilly parts of the La Plata, Chili, even to the Cordillera of Peru. Although preferring an elevated site, it yields in this respect to its near relative the Vicuna; on the plains of Southern Patagonia we saw them in greater numbers than in any other part. Generally they go in small herds, from half a dozen to thirty together, but on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred. On the northern shores of the Strait of Magellan they are also very numerous. Generally the Guanacoes are wild and extremely wary. The sportsman frequently receives the first intimation of their presence by hearing from a distance the peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. If he then looks attentively, he will perhaps see the herd standing in a line on some distant hill. On approaching them, a few more squeals are given, and then off they set at an apparently slow—but really quick—canter along some narrow beaten track to a neighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he should abruptly meet a single animal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless, and intently gaze at him; then, perhaps, move on a few yards, turn round, and look again. What is the cause of this difference in their shyness? Do they mistake a man in the distance for their chief enemy, the Puma, or does curiosity overcome their timidity? That they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on the ground and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to reconnoitre him.... On the mountains of Tierra del Fuego, and in other places, I have more than once seen a Guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge.... The Guanacoes readily take to the water; several times at Port Valdez they were seen swimming from island to island. Byron, in his ‘Voyage,’ says he saw them drinking salt water. Some of our officers likewise saw a herd drinking the briny fluid from Salina, near Cape Blanca. I imagine, in several parts of the country, if they do not drink salt water they drink none at all. In the middle of the day they frequently roll in the dust in saucer-shaped hollows.... The Guanacoes appear to have favourite spots for dying in. On the banks of the St. Cruz the ground was actually white with bones in certain circumscribed places, which were generally bushy, and all near the river. On one such spot I counted between ten and twenty heads, some gnawed, as if by beasts of prey.”
The Domestic Llama resembles its wild ancestor in most respects. Its colour may, however, be variegated, or even white. Its woolly coat is longer, but not so fine, and when it is removed by shearing the animal is conspicuously spotted.
The VICUNAis a smaller animal of a light lion-brown colour, with a short and hairy face; its neck is lengthy, as in its allies; its height about two feet six inches. Its wool is particularly fine, and has been much employed, undyed, as a material for clothing. It is active and spiteful, inhabiting a region higher and therefore colder than the Huanaco.
The Alpaca is its domestic form, with thicker and much darker wool, as well as shorter limbs. Its colour is often nearly black, or black varied with white or brown.
The manufacture of alpaca stuffs dates from the year 1836, when Mr. (afterwards Sir) Titus Salt commenced weaving the unusually long-haired wool, which at the time found no sale in the markets on account of its not being suited to the existing combing apparatus. Since that period alpaca has been much employed as a fabric, possibly to be again replaced in great measure by the sheep wool of the Australian and other British colonies.