The Camel and Heavy Weapons.

[kronckew]

one of our satellite channels here, 'movies4men', showed gunga din just before lunch today, i tuned in just in time for the final battle scene i mentioned above, ellyfants, smokey gatlings, lancers, scots guards and all form thsoe interested in the UK that can receive the channel it's on again on 22JUN16 at 01:45-04:00 in the morning, so get your recorder programmed

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kronckew

one of our satellite channels here, 'movies4men', showed gunga din just before lunch today, i tuned in just in time for the final battle scene i mentioned above, ellyfants, smokey gatlings, lancers, scots guards and all form thsoe interested in the UK that can receive the channel it's on again on 22JUN16 at 01:45-04:00 in the morning, so get your recorder programmed

One of the most famous poems ever.. By Rudyard Kipling~

YOU may talk o' gin an' beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,
An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;
But if it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.
Now in Injia's sunny clime,
Where I used to spend my time
A-servin' of 'Er Majesty the Queen,
Of all them black-faced crew
The finest man I knew
Was our regimental bhisti, Gunga Din.

It was "Din! Din! Din!
You limping lump o' brick-dust, Gunga Din!
Hi! slippy hitherao!
Water, get it! Panee lao!
You squidgy-nosed old idol, Gunga Din!"

The uniform 'e wore
Was nothin' much before,
An' rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind,
For a twisty piece o' rag
An' a goatskin water-bag
Was all the field-equipment 'e could find.
When the sweatin' troop-train lay
In a sidin' through the day,
Where the 'eat would make your bloomin' eyebrows crawl,
We shouted "Harry By!"
Till our throats were bricky-dry,
Then we wopped 'im 'cause 'e couldn't serve us all.

It was "Din! Din! Din!
You 'eathen, where the mischief 'ave you been?
You put some juldee in it,
Or I'll marrow you this minute,
If you don't fill up my helmet, Gunga Din!"

'E would dot an' carry one
Till the longest day was done,
An' 'e didn't seem to know the use o' fear.
If we charged or broke or cut,
You could bet your bloomin' nut,
'E'd be waitin' fifty paces right flank rear.
With 'is mussick on 'is back,
'E would skip with our attack,
An' watch us till the bugles made "Retire."
An' for all 'is dirty 'ide,
'E was white, clear white, inside
When 'e went to tend the wounded under fire!

It was "Din! Din! Din!"
With the bullets kickin' dust-spots on the green.
When the cartridges ran out,
You could 'ear the front-files shout:
"Hi! ammunition-mules an' Gunga Din!"

I sha'n't forgit the night
When I dropped be'ind the fight
With a bullet where my belt-plate should 'a' been.
I was chokin' mad with thirst,
An' the man that spied me first
Was our good old grinnin', gruntin' Gunga Din.

'E lifted up my 'ead,
An' 'e plugged me where I bled,
An' 'e guv me 'arf-a-pint o' water—green;
It was crawlin' an' it stunk,
But of all the drinks I've drunk,
I'm gratefullest to one from Gunga Din.

It was "Din! Din! Din!
'Ere's a beggar with a bullet through 'is spleen;
'E's chawin' up the ground an' 'e's kickin' all around:
For Gawd's sake, git the water, Gunga Din!"

'E carried me away
To where a dooli lay,
An' a bullet come an' drilled the beggar clean.
'E put me safe inside,
An' just before 'e died:
"I 'ope you liked your drink," sez Gunga Din.
So I'll meet 'im later on
In the place where 'e is gone—
Where it's always double drill and no canteen;
'E'll be squattin' on the coals
Givin' drink to pore damned souls,
An' I'll get a swig in Hell from Gunga Din!

Din! Din! Din!
You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!
Tho' I've belted you an' flayed you,
By the livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

[Bob A]

Much gratitude to Ibrahim al Balooshi, for the multitude of synaptical connections his thread has caused to flash in my memory banks.

First, the links to Lawrence, Castle Hill and the Arab Bulletin. I had thought I had done with TEL decades ago, but now I'm awash in so much new information I may have to dive into those deep, if brackish, waters again.

Then Kipling and Gunga Din, for a moment of complete thread hijack, for which in best military tradition I assume it's best to apologise after, rather than seek permission:

"YOU may talk o' gin an' beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,"
inspired the title of George Macdonald Fraser's book, "Quartered Safe Out Here", which I mention for the following tangential reasons; it is one of the few books on military campaign written by a professional writer who served in the ranks, rather than as an officer, further because it describes the WWII Burma campaign, so seldom mentioned. It concerns the commander General William Slim, who might have been the best fighting general officer in the British military at the time. (General Slim also influenced the use of the Naga warriors, under the command of Miss Ursula Bower, to interdict (and behead many of) the Japanese in the Burma Theater, while providing an escape chain for downed airmen flying The Hump. Anyone interested in the doings of that time would be well advised to look into Fraser).

Sorry. Thank you for your patience. Now back to (quadrupedal) beasts of burden in warfare . . .

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Bob A

Much gratitude to Ibrahim al Balooshi, for the multitude of synaptical connections his thread has caused to flash in my memory banks.

First, the links to Lawrence, Castle Hill and the Arab Bulletin. I had thought I had done with TEL decades ago, but now I'm awash in so much new information I may have to dive into those deep, if brackish, waters again.

Then Kipling and Gunga Din, for a moment of complete thread hijack, for which in best military tradition I assume it's best to apologise after, rather than seek permission:

"YOU may talk o' gin an' beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,"
inspired the title of George Macdonald Fraser's book, "Quartered Safe Out Here", which I mention for the following tangential reasons; it is one of the few books on military campaign written by a professional writer who served in the ranks, rather than as an officer, further because it describes the WWII Burma campaign, so seldom mentioned. It concerns the commander General William Slim, who might have been the best fighting general officer in the British military at the time. (General Slim also influenced the use of the Naga warriors, under the command of Miss Ursula Bower, to interdict (and behead many of) the Japanese in the Burma Theater, while providing an escape chain for downed airmen flying The Hump. Anyone interested in the doings of that time would be well advised to look into Fraser).

Sorry. Thank you for your patience. Now back to (quadrupedal) beasts of burden in warfare . . .

Brilliantly put !! Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by kronckew

one of our satellite channels here, 'movies4men', showed gunga din just before lunch today, i tuned in just in time for the final battle scene i mentioned above, ellyfants, smokey gatlings, lancers, scots guards and all form thsoe interested in the UK that can receive the channel it's on again on 22JUN16 at 01:45-04:00 in the morning, so get your recorder programmed

Wish I still had my helmet!

[Jim McDougall]

Ibrahiim, thank you so much for posting "Gunga Din" in full by Kipling.
Kipling's work is quintessant in describing the wonderful color and pageantry of the British Raj, its diversity, as well as the dramatic contests between cultures and their challenges.

It was said that the British soldier would never bother gathering souveniers or trophies from an enemy he did not respect and admire. While Gunga Din was of course not an enemy, but ally in the British ranks, and this poem just shows the great respect the British Army learned to hold for so many of these people.
In most cases, the cultures in India were not really subdued by the British, but came to become allied with them in a carefully orchestrated accord, in my opinion of course.

Getting back to the camels, I really am intrigued by knowing more firsthand on their behavior from someone who has actually dealt with them. It seems they are far more phenomenal and perplexing than I imagined.

Good notes on Lawrence, another favorite topic, and it seems there was a recent discovery of a .45 pistol (Lawrence was the only one present with a M1911 Colt at the site of the famed railway ambush). This is said to be proof of Lawrences account of the raid, which had been strongly debated.

[Berkley]

Fascinating thread!
I thought I recognized one if the illustrations in Ibrahiim's original post, and after a little searching found it. I reproduce it here, as shown in that wonderful resource, the Francis Bannerman Catalog of Military Goods. The accompanying text offers some interesting details: "as good as new" and "only used a short time" suggesting that Bannerman's stock, at least, did not see much action before being sold out of service.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Ibrahiim, thank you so much for posting "Gunga Din" in full by Kipling.
Kipling's work is quintessant in describing the wonderful color and pageantry of the British Raj, its diversity, as well as the dramatic contests between cultures and their challenges.

It was said that the British soldier would never bother gathering souveniers or trophies from an enemy he did not respect and admire. While Gunga Din was of course not an enemy, but ally in the British ranks, and this poem just shows the great respect the British Army learned to hold for so many of these people.
In most cases, the cultures in India were not really subdued by the British, but came to become allied with them in a carefully orchestrated accord, in my opinion of course.

Getting back to the camels, I really am intrigued by knowing more firsthand on their behavior from someone who has actually dealt with them. It seems they are far more phenomenal and perplexing than I imagined.

Good notes on Lawrence, another favorite topic, and it seems there was a recent discovery of a .45 pistol (Lawrence was the only one present with a M1911 Colt at the site of the famed railway ambush). This is said to be proof of Lawrences account of the raid, which had been strongly debated.

Thank You Jim, I feel that the essence of ethnographics is contained in some of these anecdotes and more so in the poetry especially about soldiers exploits... where it brushes shoulders with the weaponry of the day.

Camels of course are part of the story of exploits across the regions not only as logistic long haul beasts of burden but in carrying up ammunitions and bringing back casualties from the battlefront...even though the journey for an injured soldier would be hellish in such conditions.

It is odd that they have peculiar feet that make plodding in sand quite pleasant and oddly once they start into a trot it is as if they are hydroplaning and though it looks hairy the ride is not unpleasant and you feel the magic carpet experience ...Oddly they can run in a sort of jailhouse walk method or bound along like rabbits...They are said to have come from an animal that was like a big hare originally from the USA. They are related to Lama and also the one humper is of the same family and can breed with two humpers !!

The meat is almost free of cholesterol as is the milk though straight from the camel it goes through Europeans like lightening thus not recommended unless you are used to it.

Strangely they can see in a sandstorm as they have special see through eye lids .. Whats more is they can small water miles away..and can make a beeline for it. This is useful in the desert where you may be no further away than 30 feet from running water but unfortunately it is straight down...

They are built with very strange reproductive organs ...and some people wonder how such small equipment originate and how can people make gunpowder flasks out of these? It is said that when Moses was doing the Ark that the parts of the Donkey..somehow got mixed up with those of the camel !! so now we have donkeys with massive equipment and camels with tiny gear. Camels in the middle east need to be put to the business of reproduction as they seem to have forgotten how to do it... It is one of the funniest procedures ...

Camels here are all owned by someone ..When an imported beast comes in fro Australia they come equipped to do everything. Arabian camels dont jump...Australian ones do... very high. They can also kick a handler in the face on the way up and down...Much to the handlers amazement.

When running camels can go and go... The heart rate hardly moves ... They have massive capacity to carry heavy weights and only get tetchy if after a week they haven't been able to access water...which can be pretty brackish...If you have no water you die after losing only a relatively small amount of body weight... Camels don't... They get a bit angry... but they can lose 25% of their weight to the extent you cant identify which is your camel...they change shape that much... but on getting to water they act like vacuum cleaners and hoover up all that weight loss in about 15 minutes and whats more.. they carry on like nothing just happened...!! The big camel trains of an age gone by didn't stop ...they watered and fed on the move... and could be thousands strong...

On being asked how much weight it can carry the Bedouin will just smile at you ...You just keep putting on the weight... You will know its too much when the beast refuses to stand up!!

To end on a male female note... Female camels don't come into season...(they are actually in season all the time).. Males do. Beware these gigantic Galaisa (lead Camel) males with teeth like those of a two ton lion... they use these gigantic jaws to tear down the branches of desert thorn trees to eat the tiny leaves...They can easily bite off a human arm or leg...and head...if as a handler you get between a female and a male camel in season... usually the colder months.