The herd of camels

Puzzle

An Arab sheik, finding himself about to die, called his sons about him and said:
"Divide my camels among you in the proportion of one half of the herd to the eldest son, the second son one-third, and to the youngest son one-ninth. Thereupon the oldest son cried:
"O, my father, one-half, one-third, and one-ninth do not constitute a whole. To whom, therefore, shall the remainder of the herd be given?"
"To any poor man who may be standing by when the division is made," replied the sheik, who thereupon died.
When the herd was collected a new difficulty arose. The number of the camels could not be divided either by two or three or nine. While the brothers were disputing, a poor but crafty Bedouin, standing by with his camel, exclaimed,
"Behold, I will sell you my beast for ten pieces of silver, so that you may then divide the herd."
Seeing that the addition of one camel would solve the difficulty, the brothers jumped at the offer, and proceeded to divide the herd, but when each had received his allotted portion there yet remained one camel.
"I am the poor man standing by," said the crafty Bedouin, and, gaily mounting the camel, he rode away, with the ten pieces of silver in his turban.
Now, how many camels were in the sheik's herd ?
To the best of my knowledge and belief this beautiful problem has never been presented correctly before. In garbled form it is given in the puzzle books, or even by professors to illustrate a paradoxical situation which could be corrected by the introduction of one more camel.
They omit the all-important sentence, "Divide the camels in the proportion of one-half and one-third and one-ninth." That word "proportion" is the saving clause which makes the problem sound.

Answer

References

• Loyd, Sam [1914]. in Loyd, Sam, Jr.: Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles Tricks and Conundrums (in English). New York: Lamb Publishing company, page 57.