The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1851-02-05

CAMELs FOR ARMY TRANsPoRTATIoN-We oh.
serve from the proceedings in the Senate of the
United States, that on motion of Mr.. Davis of Mis-.
slssppi, the Committee on Military Affairs were in.
slfucted 70 inquire into the expediency of introduce
ing camels for the purposes of army transportation
We trust the committee will report in favor of the
experiment, and that Congress will order il to be
tlied' ihere are many reasons for believing that
it would he emnently successful
The camel is proverbiay the ship of the des
erI his entire organization is especially adapted
ior heavy burdens and long marches without food
or water He carries a weight Of eight hundred
pounds, and travels cheerfully over the sands of
ASIA anc Africa, often wlthoutsubsistence or drink
for several days And he appears to be as well
adapted to the rugged mountain passes of afghan.
islan as to the desoate sandy tracks of the Great
Sahara. Not only is he employed in the caravans
between Morocco and Timbuctoo, but in the north.
of China.
Ihe country on the eastern bank of the Rocky
mountains is Asintic in its character. There is
indeed, wonderful resemblance between the
ufeai oalt Lake, and its surrounding mountains
and deserts to the topography of the Dead Sea of
Sodom. Between the Arkansas and Santa Fa. in
New Mexico, and thence via the Gila, across The
continent TO San Diego, the same general charac.
tenstics OF soil, climate, and vegetation prevail, as
IN IN me deserts OF Arabia, and the mountain passes
OF the ancient track of the Israelites. We have the
same volcanic traces, the same blank and vacant
desoiatlon in the one region in the Other except
ing that subsistence and water for caravans are
more abundant on the Gila than on the horrjd
wastes of Arabia Petrea But the thorny desert
vegetation which prevails from the Arkansas to the
faclfic, repeling even the hardy mule from touch.
ing II, We have no doubt would be found to be the
best of forage for the camel.
Again, the army appropriation bill of the last
year shows an increase of expenditure of several
millions greater than required for the peace
establishment anterior to our vast acquisitions of
territory from Mexico. The bulk Of this increased
expenditure is on account of army transportation
over these territories. They are without navigable
rivers-destitute of resources for railroads and in
many places, so sparsely supplied with grass and
water, that immense numbers of mules, horses and
oxen have perished from exhaustion Yet mules,
horses and oxen must be relied upon, until some
substitute is provided. There seems to be no doubt
that the camel would most admirably fulfil the du-
ties OF this overland desert transportation
The experiment is, to say the least of it, deserv.
ing fair trial Our public ships in the Mediter-
ranean, without additional expense to the govern
ment over the cost and subsistence of the camels,
could land them at New Orleans or the Brazos st.
Jago. And once introduced into the great plains
OF our southwestern frontiers, it is probable thew
would soon supersede altogether the use of mules
In the overland carrying trade, as well as in army
transportation. The experiment ought to be tried
New York Herald