Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-07-03
JAMES MADISON.
AsAtord, (Con.) June II.

TO THE EDITOR OF ZEE NOh 6ANiI1e esA
SIR,
Accidentally, on my passage thro' this
state, | met with an extract from your pa
per recommending the Introduction OF the
Camel to the southern sections OF the union,
as an animal of burthen. Many years ago
I held command on the southern 'front.'
ers of Georgia, and mad occasion to recon
.noitre a very considerable part OF that coun-
try; | remarked much inconvience IN trans
porting the productions of interior planta-
Mfons to nayigable waters, by reason OF the
Weakness of the working cattle and horses;
distractions Of loose sands and slippery
clay bottoms, and the want Of forage to sup
port teams: for these are irnpedlments
which can never be wholly removed-A re-
medy can be had by introducing the camel.
| formed this opinion soon after becoming
acquainted with the customs and habits OF
the Moors and Arabs on the coast OF Atrl-
ca and it was my intention to have sent
number of that and other animals from that
coast to some of my friends in the southern
states, had not adversely defeated my de-
signs. All which is stated in the piece a
bove alluded to, concerning the use OF the
camel can confirm from actual experiment.
About FIVE hundred camels bore our bag
gage, provision and camp equipage from
the borders Of Egypt to the eastern pro-
vinces of Tripoli. They we've driven by
Arabs. The region thro' which 1--WE passed
was extremely sterile. In a march OF about
six hundred miles 10 the desert we saw mel
Their cottage, fruit tree, nor natural
stream of water-On The borders Of noun
tains and in the ravines lYe found a msera-
bic shrubbery wild thyme, thistle, kind
of dwarf sweet brar, low and knoeted thorn
P!S l vi ist were made for the subsistence
OF our cames~-ihe proportionate burthen
laden on each OF them was about seven hun
dreel weight. The vallies between the high
grounds and mountains are plains of sand,
IN some places deep and quick. In many
instances we were compelled to march two,
three, or Jour days through these dreary
plans without aHordme any forage to those
patient animals; and it was only when we
tell in with such coarse vegetation as have
before described, that they were loosed
from their hampers and permitted to roam
!. under the vigilance and responsibility of
their drivers; they seemed tc prefer the
toughest weeds, and were peculiarly fond of
thistle and wild thyme. Though, from the
scantiness of this wretched kind Of FORAGE.
they became low in flesh, not one of them
failed; and | am persuaded from nv own
observation that they did not have water
more than four or five times during pas
sage OF ffty days. The scanty supplies which
we took from accidental cisterns and rare
reservoirs hardly kept alive our furnishing
host, and our cavalry horses, which cannot
subsist without drink. One Arab was al
lowed to the care of ten oamels. How use
full might this animal be rendered on the
plains of our southern climates? Cold wea-
Their, freezing, is destructive to them and
they make a laborious and weary progress
among rocks.
In such parts Of the southern states as
where roads are Imperfect, and where the
mails and otherconmunlcations are carried
by horses, the Dromedary would also be a
useful introducton.-1his animal seemst to
be species of the camel; less in size; not
calculated for burthen slender Of frame
easy OF motion, aud speedy of travel. It's !.
general daily. march is about sixty miles
when pushed one hundred. 1t feeds on the
same plants as the camel and is equally do
Gle and obedient. II is remarkable that the
camel always kneels to receive It's burthen,
and has the sagacity to know and complain
when too muchis imposed for his strength
he kneels also to be unladen.
Other kinds of useful animals might also
be brought from Africa. They have the
finest mules on the Barbary coast have
ever seen in any country; and the means Of