fwift as horfes, and capable of bearing much burdens 119.

greater

CIII.

*19 Greater burdens.]-Of all the defcriptions I have met with of this wonderful animal, the following, from Volney, feems the most animated and interefting:

No creature feems fo peculiarly fitted to the climate in which it exifts, as the camel. Defigning the camel to dwell in a country where he can find little nourishment, nature has been fparing of her materials in the whole of his formation. She has not bestowed upon him the fleshinefs of the ox, horse, or elephant, but limiting herself to what is ftrictly neceffary, she has given him a small head without ears, at the end of a long neck without flesh. She has taken from his legs and thighs every mufcle not immediately requifite for motion, and in fhort has bestowed on his withered body only the veffels and tendons neceffary to connect its frame together. She has furnished him with a strong jaw, that he may grind the hardest aliments; but, left he fhould confume too much, fhe has ftraitened his ftomach, and obliged him to chew the cud. She has lined his foot with a lump of flesh, which, fliding in the mud, and being no way adapted to climbing, fits him only for a dry, level, and fandy foil, like that of Arabia: fhe has evidently deftined him likewife for flavery, by refufing him every fort of defence against his enemies. So great, in fhort, is the importance of the camel to the defert, that were it deprived of that useful animal, it must infallibly lofe every inhabitant.-Volney.

With refpect to the burdens which camels are capable of carrying, Ruffel tells us, that the Arab camel will carry one hundred rotoloes, or five hundred pounds weight; but the Turcomans camel's common load is one hundred and fixty rotoloes, or eight hundred pounds weight. Their ordinary pace is very flow, Volney fay's, not more than thirty-fix hundred yards in an hour; it is needless to prefs them, they will go no quicker. Raynal fays, that the Arabs qualify the camels for expedition by matches, in which the horse runs against him; the camel, lefs active and nimble, tires out his rival in a long courfe. There is one peculiarity with refpect to camels, which not being generally

SCIII. As my countrymen of Greece are well ac quainted with the form of the camel, I fhall not here describe it; I fhall only mention those particulars concerning it with which I conceive them to be lefs acquainted 120 Behind, the camel has four thighs, and as many knee joints; the member of generation falls from between the hinder legs, and is turned towards the tail,

CIV. Having thus connected their camels, the Indians proceed in search of the gold, choosing the hottest time of the day as moft proper for their purpofe, for then it is that the ants conceal themselves under the ground. In diftinction from all other nations, the heat with these people is greatest, not

rally known, I give the reader, as tranflated from the Latin of Father Strope, à learned German miffionary. "The camels which have had the honour to bear prefents to Mecca and Medina are not to be treated aftewards as common animals; they are confidered as confecrated to Mahomet, which exempts them from all labour and fervice. They have cottages built for their abodes, where they live at eafe, and receive plenty of food, with the most careful attention."-T..

120 To be lefs acquainted.]-Thefe farther particulars concerning the camel, are taken from Mr. Pennant.

The one-bunched camel, is the Arabian camel, the twobunched, the Bactrian. The Arabian has fix callofities on the legs, will kneel down to be loaded, but rises the moment he finds the burden equal to his ftrength. They are gentle always, except when in heat, when they are feized with a fort of madness, which makes it unfafe to approach them. The Bactrian camel is larger and more generous than the domefticated The Chinese have a swift variety of this, which they call by the expreffive name of Fong Kyo Fo, or camels with feet of the wind,

race.

at

at mid-day, but in the morning. They have a vertical fun till about the time when with us people withdraw from the forum ; during which period the warmth is more exceffive than the mid-day fun in Greece, fo that the inhabitants are then faid to into the water for refreshment. Their mid-day is nearly of the fame temperature as in other places; after which the warmth of the air becomes like the morning elsewhere; it then progreffively grows

go

People withdraw from the forum.]-The times of the forum were fo exactly afcertained, as to ferve for a notation of time. The time of full forum is mentioned by many authors, as Thucydides, Xenophon, Diodorus Siculus, Lucian, and others, and is faid by Suidas to have been the third hour in the morning that is, nine o'clock; and Dio Chryfoftom places it as an intermediate point between morning, or fun-rife, and noon, which agrees alfo with nine o'clock. One paffage in Suidas fpeaks alfo of the fourth, fifth, and fixth hours; but either they were fora of different kinds, or the author is there mistaken, or the paffage is corrupt. See Ælian, xii. 30. and Athenæus, xiv. 1. the time of breaking up the forum, ahogns diaλvais, is not, I believe, mentioned, except here, by Herodotus; but by this paffage it appears that it must have been alfo a stated time, and before noon; probably ten or eleven o'clock. This account of a fun, hotter and more vertical in the morning than at noon, is fo perfectly unphilofophical, that it proves decifively, what the hypothesis of our author concerning the overflowing of the Nile gave strong reason to fufpect, that Herodotus was perfectly uninformed on fubjects of this kind. Mid-day, or noon, can be only, at all places, when the fun is highest and confequently hotteit, unless any clouds or periodical winds had been affigned as caufes of this fingular effect. Whoever fabricated the account he here repeats thought it neceffary to give an appearance of novelty even to the celeftial phenomena of the place. Herodotus himself uses the term of nowga ayogns in book ii. ch. 173, and vii. 223.-T.

milder,

Jus

127

A

milder, till at the fetting fun it becomes very
cool.

CV. As foon as they arrive at the spot, the Indians precipitately fill their bags with fand, and return as expeditiously as poffible. The Perfians say that thefe ants know and purfue the Indians by their fimell, with inconceivable fwiftnefs. They affirm, that if the Indians did not make confiderable progrefs whilft the ants were collecting themselves together, it would be impoffible for any of them to escape. For this reafon, at different intervals " they separate one of the male camels from the female, which are always fleeter than the males, and are at this time additionally incited by the remembrance of their young whom they had left. Thus, according to the Perfians, the Indians obtain their greateft quantity of gold; what they procure by 3.17. digging is of much inferior importance.

3.199.17.

F22

CVI. Thus it appears that the extreme parts of the habitable world are diftinguished by the poffeffion of many beautiful things, as Greece is for its agreeable and temperate feafons. India, as I have already remarked, is the last inhabited country su 10.81

12 At different intervals.]-This passage is fomewhat perplex ing. The reader must remember that the Indian rode upon the female camel, which was betwixt two males. This being the fwifteft, he trusted to it for his own perfonal fecurity; and it may be fappofed that he untied one or both of the male camels, as the enemy approached, or as his fears got the better of his ava◄ rice.-T.

126

THALI A.

towards the east where every species of birds and of quadrupeds, horfes excepted "23, are much larger than in any other part of the world. Their horfes are not fo large as the Nifæan horfes of Media. They have alfo a great abundance of gold, which

123 Horfes excepted.]-Every thing of moment which is involved in the natural history of the horse, may be found in M. Buffon. But, as Mr. Pennant obferves, we may in this country boaft a variety which no other fingle kingdom poffeffes. Moft other countries produce but one kind, while ours, by a judicious. mixture of the feveral fpecies, by the happy difference of our foil, and by our fuperior fkill in management, may triumph over the rest of Europe in having brought each quality of this noble animal to the highest perfection. The fame author tells us, that the horse is in fome places found wild; that these are less than the domestic kinds, of a mouse colour, have greater heads than the tame, their foreheads remarkably arched, go in great herds, will often furround the horfes of the Mongals and Kalkas while they are grazing, and carry them away. These are exceffively vigilant: a centinel placed on an eminence gives notice to the herd of any approaching danger, by neighing aloud, when they all run off with amazing swiftness. These are sometimes taken by the means of hawks, which fix on their heads, and distress them fo as to give the pursuers time to overtake them. In the interior parts of Ceylon is a fmall variety of the horse, not exceeding thirty inches in height, which is fometimes brought to Europe as a rarity. It may not, in this place, be impertinent to inform the reader, that in the Eaft the riding on a horfe is deemed very honourable, fince Europeans are very dom permitted to do it. In the book of Ecclefiaftes, chap. x. ver. 7. we meet with this expreffion, "I have feen fervants on horfes," which we may of course understand to be spoken of a thing very unusual and improper.

fel

To conclude this fubject, I have only to obferve, that the Arabian horses are juftly allowed to be the finest in the world in point of beauty and of swiftness, and are fent into all parts to improve the breed of this animal.-T.