The camel is the inst.i.tution upon which the commerce of the desert depends. A more awkward, ungainly beast can hardly be imagined--a shambling collection of humps, b.u.mps, k.n.o.bs, protruding joints, and sprawling legs seemingly attached to a head and neck in the near foreground. But that shambling gait will carry a load three times as heavy as the stoutest pack mule can bear, and it will carry it twice as far in a day.

A horse or a mule must be fed twice a day, but a camel will worry along for a week at a time with nothing more substantial than its cud. Horses and mules cannot traverse regions where the watering places are more than twelve hours apart, unless water be carried in storage; but the camel is its own storage reservoir, and can carry a supply sufficient to last for ten days.

At the end of his week of fasting the hump of the camel has shrunken to a fraction of its former size. When the animal has a few days of feeding the hump grows to its former proportions again. Indeed, the hump is merely a ma.s.s of nutrition ready to be formed into flesh and blood.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A caravan crossing the desert on the road to Jaffa]

Within the paunch of the animal and surrounding its stomach are great numbers of cells capable of holding seven or eight gallons of water.

When the camel drinks copiously these cells become filled and afterward slowly give up the water as the stomach requires. It may be truly said that the camel is a camel because of the desert and not in spite of it.

The spa.r.s.e population of the Sahara--Arabs, Berbers, and negroes--are dependent upon the camel, for until the railway shall traverse the Sahara the camel will be practically the only means of transportation.

The camel's flesh furnishes about the only meat consumed by the dwellers of the desert, for ordinary cattle can live only in a few localities along the desert border lands.

The native people of the desert are mainly of the race to which the Arabs also belong, although there are many Arabs and negroes. The Tuaregs and Bedouin Arabs are the best known. The Tuaregs are thought to be the descendants of the Berbers and of the same race as the Carthaginians, whom the Romans many times defeated but never conquered.

They have whiter skins than the Arabs and in appearance are perhaps the finest peoples of Africa. They are also the most ferocious and blood-thirsty villains on the face of the earth. Many of them live in the white-walled cities such as Ghadames, Kand, and Timbuktu--all large centres of population.

Their government is well organized. Each of the larger tribes is governed by a sultan, and in each there are several castes--a sort of n.o.bility of unmixed Tuareg blood being at the head and negro slaves at the lower end of the social ladder. The families of the highest caste are usually well-to-do, and both the men and the women are taught to read and write. The garments usually worn by a Tuareg man consist of white trousers, a gray tunic with white sleeves, sandals of ornamented leather, and a white turban. When away from home the Tuareg covers the lower half of the face by a cloth mask.

The usual occupation of the Tuaregs is twofold--to guard caravans or to rob them. The average Tuareg is perfectly indifferent as to which he does. A caravan from the Sudan enters, we will say, Kano. The garfla sheik pack master, or superintendent, goes at once to the financial agent of the sultan and pays the usual liken, or tariff charges. Then he goes to the sultan himself and incidentally leaves in his possession a generous money present. Then, if he desires, he may hire half a dozen or more guards.

The hiring of these will insure the caravan against theft or robbery on the part of the predatory bands living at Kano. The guards will also faithfully defend the caravan in case of attack by Bedouin Arabs. On the other hand, should the garfla sheik forget the present to the sultan, or neglect to hire guards, those same Tuaregs would be the first to attack and loot the caravan.

The Bedouin Arab is the chief trial of the caravans. He is always a foe to them; and although he ostensibly herds camels and horses, his real occupation is robbery and pillage. For days nomadic Arabs will follow a caravan, keeping always out of sight. Most likely a band of a dozen or more mounted on swift horses will survey the caravan from a distance at which they are not likely to be discovered. Then they make their way ahead of it to some point where a dune or a gully will conceal them.

Then, just as the end of the caravan drags by, there is a sudden sortie and a rattling musket fire. And before the guards can gather to the defence half a dozen camels are cut out of the train, a driver or two is shot down or pierced with a.s.segais, and both the robbers and their loot are beyond the reach of the guards.

But perhaps the greatest value of the desert is its effect upon the climate of Europe. Hot winds blow from the Sahara in all directions; the northerly winds, crossing the Mediterranean, are not only tempered thereby, but the desert blasts tempered and filled with moisture finally reach the southern slopes of Europe, where they convert the nutrition of the soil into bountiful crops of corn, wine, and oil.

The conquest of the great African desert is already in sight, and the railway will be its master. The Cape to Cairo line is no longer a vision of the future; the ends of its two parts are rapidly shortening the interval that separates them and they are almost in sight of each other.

When the lines that are projected from the Mediterranean coast shall have traversed the stronghold of the Tuaregs to penetrate the wealth of the Sudan and the Kongo, the Sahara will have become merely an incident.

CHAPTER XI

POLAR REGIONS--THE CONQUEST OF THE ARCTIC

Excepting the arctic and the antarctic regions, with their fortifications of eternal ice and snow, intrepid explorers have made known nearly every part of the world. There Giant Frost guards his frozen secrets and defies man to wrest them from him. Many a hero has perished in endeavoring to solve the Sphinx-like riddle of northern lands and seas. Many a gallant ship has found its grave in northern ice-clad waters. Yet there has never been a lack of adventurous spirits to continue the work.

But one after another the strongholds of nature have gradually yielded to persistent attacks. Especially is this true of the arctic regions, of which not more than two million square miles of sea and land remain to be explored.

Buffeted by adverse winds and floating ice-fields, venturous explorers have drawn nearer and nearer to the north pole. Again and again, the attack has been renewed, until, after half a lifetime, Robert E. Peary, an officer of the United States navy, made a brilliant dash and planted the national ensign at the pole.

The story of arctic exploration and discovery is filled with interest.

It is pathetic, tragical, and calculated to awaken the deepest emotions.

Nevertheless, it is enlivened by brilliant exploits, deeds of daring, and acts of heroism.

For many years the search for a northern pa.s.sage to India in the furtherance of commerce was the chief incentive to arctic exploration.

Even more than a century before Columbus discovered America, two Venetian brothers named Zeno sought a northwest pa.s.sage to the Orient, believing that the difficulties in navigating it would be offset by the shortening of the route.

The success achieved by Spain during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in discovery, conquest, and colonization incited England to find a northwest pa.s.sage, in the hope that such a route, by shortening the distance to the East Indies, would extend her commerce.

After the discovery of the mainland of North America, Sebastian Cabot, under the patronage of Henry VII, planned a voyage to the north pole, thinking that would be the best route to ancient Cathay. He proceeded only as far as Davis Strait; then, becoming discouraged by the immense fields of ice, he turned the prow of his vessel homeward.

Soon afterward the Muscovy Company of London sent out an exploring expedition with instructions to find a northwest pa.s.sage. This expedition, taking a different route from its predecessors, reached Nova Zembla. But the ice-fields forced the vessel back to the sh.o.r.es of Lapland, and the ship was never spoken of again. Years afterward the ship's company were found frozen in death.

Next in importance came the renowned Frobisher, a strong advocate of a northwest route. He made three voyages to the Arctic Ocean, the last two being under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth. Frobisher believed that fabulously rich fields of gold existed in the north, and his expedition was organized for the purpose of discovering them. His search for precious metals was fruitless, but he added much to the world's knowledge of polar regions, and he has been remembered in the strait that bears his name.

The Muscovy Company again sent out an exploring vessel, this time under the able navigator Henry Hudson, with orders to go "direct to the north pole." He did his best to carry out his instructions and, sailing along the northern sh.o.r.e of Spitzbergen, reached lat.i.tude 81 30' north.

Finding the route utterly impracticable, he returned home. In all, Hudson sailed on four voyages of discovery, twice in the employ of English companies and twice in the employ of the Dutch East India Company.

In one of his voyages under the Dutch, after advancing as far north as he deemed prudent, he turned southward and cruised along the Atlantic coast. Entering New York Bay, he proceeded up the broad river that now bears his name, believing at first that he had found the coveted short route to India. Soon he was undeceived, for as he went farther up he found the seeming pa.s.sage to be merely a large river. He gave his employers such a glowing account of the valley of the Hudson River that the merchants of Holland sent out ships to establish trading posts along the river and to trade with the Indians.

On his fourth voyage, while seeking a pa.s.sage northwest, he discovered the strait and the bay both of which bear his name. Desiring to continue his explorations the next year, he sailed westward on the bay and wintered on the island of Southampton. In the spring he again tried to find the long-wished-for pa.s.sage.

The long, cold winter and lack of suitable food told heavily on his men.

They became badly demoralized and declared that they would not remain longer in such an inhospitable region. When Hudson insisted, the men mutinied. Seizing their commander, they placed him with his son and five sailors in an open boat and sailed away. After this cruel act of the mutineers, no trace of Hudson or those who were with him was ever found. But Hudson's fame will never die. Historians will ever laud his achievements, and his name is indelibly inscribed on the map of the world. The ringleader of the mutineers with five of his companions was afterward killed by the natives, and several of the others starved to death. The rest of the crew succeeded in getting the ship back to England; there they were tried, found guilty of mutiny, and sent to prison.

In 1616 the intrepid William Baffin took up the search. He penetrated the bay bearing his name and explored the pa.s.sages of water westward to the mouth of Lancaster Sound.

Later the Russians became interested in exploration. Among the explorers Captain Veit Bering of the Russian navy was the most eminent. In the early part of the eighteenth century Bering was commanded by Peter the Great to take up the search for the long-sought pa.s.sage. He explored the northeastern coast of Asia as far north as sixty-seven degrees lat.i.tude, discovering a fact hitherto unknown, that North America is separated from Asia by a narrow pa.s.sage of water containing small islands. The pa.s.sage received the name Bering Strait from its discoverer, and the same name was bestowed upon the sea leading to it.

About ten years afterward Bering determined to explore the northwest coast of North America. He landed twice upon the coast, but, being driven back by violent storms, was at length wrecked on an island, where he died. His crew, though suffering terrible hardships, lived through the winter. With the coming of spring, however, they rigged a craft from the stranded vessel in which a few survivors reached the coast of Asia.

In 1743 the British Government offered a reward of twenty thousand pounds for the discovery of a northwest pa.s.sage by the way of Hudson Bay. Thirty-three years afterward a like reward was offered for the actual discovery of the north pole and the same amount for the exploration of any navigable pa.s.sage. The sum of five thousand pounds was also offered to any one who should approach within one degree of the north pole. These standing rewards greatly stimulated arctic exploration.

Of the many voyages of exploration that followed, Sir John Franklin's last expedition was the most tragical. This expedition was fitted out by the British Government with the necessary supplies and scientific instruments for a three years' cruise. Two stanch vessels, the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_, both of which had been previously employed in antarctic exploration, were selected to stem the ice-fields of the north, and a tender with extra supplies accompanied them as far as Davis Strait. The vessels were last seen in Lancaster Sound moored to an iceberg, where they were spoken to by a whaling ship homeward bound.

Three years having pa.s.sed and no tidings having been received from the expedition, all England became extremely anxious concerning the safety of the explorers. The British Government then sent out two vessels to seek Franklin, but no trace of the missing commander or his men was found.

The government then redoubled its exertions, supplemented by private parties, and in 1850 no less than twelve vessels were vigorously searching the arctic lands and waters for their lost brothers. Lady Franklin spent her fortune in endeavoring to find trace of her n.o.ble husband.

The heart of humanity was touched with the deepest sympathy and moved by the n.o.blest motives. The United States Government, aided also by private citizens, fitted out vessels to continue the search. At one time ten of the searching vessels met in the Arctic. The results of these expeditions were meagre in securing trace of the lost ones, but they greatly enriched our knowledge of northern lands and seas.

Not until five years after the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ left England was trace of the explorers found. Near the head of Franklin Strait, off the sh.o.r.e of King William Land, evidence of an encampment of some of the men was discovered, and at Beechey Island, near by, carpenters' tools, empty meat cans, and the graves of three of the men threw more light on the mystery of the ill-starred expedition. A few years later, at Victory Point, Lieutenant Hobson found a record of the death of Franklin, the date being July 11, 1847.

Charles F. Hall, a native of New Hampshire, but long a resident of Ohio, who had been a reader of arctic literature, became deeply interested in the search for Sir John Franklin. Obtaining financial aid from different sources, he made four voyages to the arctic, the first being devoted to searching for Franklin's men and in solving the mystery of their disappearance. His third voyage was the most fruitful one in securing results. Hall believed that the Eskimos knew more about the lost explorers than they were willing to tell, and that if he could but gain their confidence he could extract from them the story. In furtherance of his plan, he resolved on his third voyage to live with them several years. In 1864 he started on this voyage north. On his arrival in the arctic he sought out the natives and made himself one of them, adopting their mode of life and food.

He spent five years living and travelling with them. Having won them over, he obtained the story of the ill-fated explorers. He learned that one of Franklin's vessels had actually made the northwest pa.s.sage to O'Reily Island, southwest of King William Land. Five men remained on board alive, but the vessel was abandoned by the crew. The next spring the Eskimos found it in good condition frozen fast in the ice.

The skeletons of Franklin's men were found scattered over King William Land, where they had perished one after another from starvation and cold. Some had engaged in conflict with the natives in endeavoring to secure food, but being weak from hunger were unsuccessful. Of the one hundred and five men who accompanied Franklin not one was ever found alive.

During the year 1850 the problem of the northwest pa.s.sage was solved by Captains M'Clure, Collinson, and Killet. South of Melville Island, M'Clure, who had sailed through Bering Strait, met the ship of Killet which had come through Lancaster Sound. M'Clure, having wintered near the connecting waters, had really established the existence of the pa.s.sage by observation before the meeting. Twenty days later Collinson came up in his ship. Finding the problem of the northwest pa.s.sage solved, he turned to the southeast and completed the pa.s.sage in another direction.

It thus became evident that so far as commercial purposes were concerned a northwest pa.s.sage was impracticable and that further northern exploration must be considered in the light of scientific and geographic value only.

Hall's labors did not cease with his discovery of the Franklin expedition. He became an enthusiast concerning the arctic and seemed to enjoy its weird icy scenery and attendant perilous excitement. Believing that he could reach the north pole if he had a properly equipped expedition, he planned a fourth voyage and appealed to Congress for a.s.sistance.