<p>http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat52/sub331/item1182.html</p><p>Camels and Caravans</p><p>Story Frame 6: Camels on a Caravan Caravans move at about the speed of a walking man. They typically move 2 or 3 miles an hour for nine hours a day from dawn until mid afternoon. Moving at that rate they can cover 1,000 miles in five to eight weeks. Describing a camel on a sand dune, John Hare wrote in National Geographic: “Although the camels sank hock deep in the loose, powdery sand, they struggled on, snaking around, up and over the dunes, grunting when the uphill going was difficult and surging forward on the downhill slopes." In the desert and on caravans, camels are usually tethered head to tail in a line. Otherwise they tend to become disorderly and head any direction they want. They have to be kept going at the same pace. If not their tethers might break and then there would be a big mess. If they sense water or danger ahead they tend to close formation. Caravan camels are seldom ridden. They are used primarily as pack animals. At oases the camels can eat palm fronds. Around wells they can feed on tamarisk and acacia trees. In barren areas the can feed on rough grasses and shrubs. Their riders can win their camel's hearts by sharing some of their dates with them. Along the caravan route where there is no vegetation camels are fed fed grass carried by the caravan, which the caraveeners sometimes sleep on at night.. Calculating how much grass to carry is important. If you carry to much the camels are unnecessarily burdened. If you don't bring enough they go hungry. Although camels can go a long time without drinking if they work hard they need food to keep them going. When they haven't eaten and their stomachs are empty their breath gives off a horrible smell. </p>