R.K. refers to the bad smell of camels in The face
of the Desert, Egypt of the Magicians.
Describing how hashish smugglers and gun runners on
swift camels had to be chased
on still swifter camels he wrote. "The one thing in
the Law's favour is that Hashish smells
abominably - worse than a heated camel - so, when
they range alongside, no time is
lost in listening to lies."
Also the effects of the smell of camels turns
up in the most outlandish places. During
the goldrush on the Fraser River. British Columbia
in 1882-1884 an enterprising
American supplier bought tweny three camels from
the U.S.Army camel corps because
they could carry twice as much as any mule. Once
they had been fiitted with buck skin
boots to protect their soft feet from being cut on
rocks they performed well. But their
smell stampeded the other carriers mules and
horses, with the resulting lawsuits
causing the project to be abandonded the
camels were turned loose. The end of
"The Dromedary Express,"
Regards Richard Haythornthwaite.
