(in fact, I never met a camel at all....except in print, and I liked them....
I think)
About two years ago I read Helen Thayer's absorbing,
captivating, and informative book "ACROSS THE GOBI,"
which was the story of her and her husband Bill's trek of
1600 miles across the dry, forbidding, dangerous GOBI
DESERT.
Some would say the odds were stacked against them,
for Helen was 63 and Bill was 74...and their trek was
in mid-summer.
One reviewer said: This nail-biting adventure reads like
a harrowing travelogue."
Not all was sweetness and light in this risky journey---
they were arrested for straying across borders...and
then about the worst thing happened.
They had rented two recalcitrant camels from a native
Mongolian @ $1500 each, per journey. These critters
they named "Tom" and "Jerry."
These animals could carry a great deal of weight long
distances. The worst thing was---Tom in a pique of some
kind (camels are temperamental) stumbled accidentally
(or intentionally) and dumped a number of water casks,
amounting to maybe 300 gallons, into the thirsty sand.
They survived this, on meeting some helpful Mongolians
who knew of a water hole, nearby.
There were other vicissitudes and episodes of camels'
spitting their green vomit cuds at our author or husband,
when things were iffy with the touchy animals.
After the GOBI Trek was successfully completed and the
camels returned to their owners, Helen and hubby
recuperated in the USA and four years afterwards went back
to Mongolia for a nostalgic visit and a sort of wrap-up
to their finished expedition.
When they visited Tom and Jerry's camel pasture, and upon
seeing the Thayers, the two animals recognized and
remembered them and came running across the pasture
to nuzzle them, with their green cuds and all.
-----------
After I published a review of the Thayer book, a number of
readers had not-too-kind comments to make about camels
they had met...at State Fairs, carnivals, livestock shows,
zoos, and even a couple readers had ridden them in Egypt!
They cited the animals' stubbornness, uncooperative attitudes,
their tendency to spit green on you if they were displeased,
and their overall haughty attitudes.
One friend who had always wanted to visit Egypt didn't get
to go but liked camels. I had a special picture of one drawn
for her. I hope it's on her wall today!
---------------
My camel story is not over, for my wife/editor spotted a book
which would be easy for me to read on my iPad and she
bought it. There it languished for several months.
It was "TRACKS---A WOMAN'S SOLO TREK ACROSS 1700
MILES OF AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK," by Robyn Davidson.
Robyn begins her interesting tale as she moves from
Sidney to Alice Springs (at circa age 25) to get a job,
purchase some camels, learn how to manage them, and
walk and ride them all the way to the west coast of
AUSTRALIA.
She, in fact accomplishes this goal after two years of hard
work (with camel owners) and many long hard hours of
effort in taking care of other folks' animals.
She made the trip with camels she had purchased and trained---
Dookie, Zeidel, Jeb, and Zeidel's little nursing camel, Goliath---
plus her faithful dog Diggity, who cuddled with her, keeping
her warm and feeling secure during the many cold desert
nights.
Three of the things she hated most on her trip were creatures
that tended to bunk with her under her "swag" (bedroll) for
warmth at night--- eight-inch centipedes, scorpions, and one
particular poisonous snake--I've forgotten its name. I believe
eight of the ten most poisonous snakes in the world are found
in Australia.
I'll have to admit that I learned much about camels from this
author and came to appreciate them even more--from her stories.
It is surprising to read of several incidents in which
some of her creatures "lost their heads" and went berserk
and she had to clobber them with heavy-duty cudgels...and
then to make up as if nothing had happened...when the
offending animal came hanging around, "sheepishly" and
repentantly.
Here are some random quotes from Robyn, which show her
love for her animals----
"I will now, once and for all destroy some myths about these
animals. They are the most intelligent creatures I know,
except for dogs. And I would rank them on IQ roughly
equivalent to eight-year-old children."
"They are affectionate, cheeky, playful with you; yes, witty,
self-possessed, patient, hard-working...and endearing,
interesting, and chummy."
"They are extremely bright and perceptive but difficult to
train if handled badly. They can be quite dangerous and
definitely recalcitrant."
"They are like great curious puppies...nor do they smell
except when they regurgitate slimy, STINKY all over you
in a fit of pique or fear. They are hearty, ethnocentric,
and CLEARLY BELIEVE THEY ARE GOD'S CHOSEN
RACE,"
"But they are also COWARDS and their aristocratic
demeanor hides derelict hearts."
"I was hooked." (Robyn)
This marvelous tribute--likely no finer in literature--from
a woman who fed, doctored and nursed, trained, tracked-
when-lost, disciplined, babied, loved, and lived with camels
as their devoted friend for a good many years...
I have come to admire and appreciate these animals,
seemingly especially created for the dry desert climes of the
world, and want to know more about them.
Judging from what I've read from Thayer and Davidson,
the attitude of camels might be--"What you see---is what
you get. Take it or leave it"
You will no go wrong in reading these two books.
-------------------
RE: the above camel picture: My wife "BE" (Beloved Editor),
heard me say one day, after reading the Thayer book, "I reckon
I might get myself a little statue of a camel for my writing area
"animal shelf."
Five minutes later she appeared with one I'd forgotten
about...an unlikely gift from our little son. It had been stored
in a corner somewhere.
-----------
It is said that there were once 10,000 feral camels roaming
free in the Aussie Outback.
*************
BY MIL
4/23/16
