New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-01-19
apparently nasigable for large steamers. The IN
hsbitants Of an Indian village found here repro
scented TIE river as maintaining the same character
as at Fort Yuma, near ts junction with the CHA.


scented TIE river as maintaining the same character
IS at Fort Yuma, near its junction with the Gila-
Here the camels were put TO very Important
test. II il positively stated BY Father Hue, In
his travels in Tartary, and by other writers, that
the camel cannot swim. and this alleged defect OF
theirs had caused Lieutenant Beale good deal OF
anxiety Having reached the Colorado he was de-
termined to settle the question for himself. Tie
first camel brought to the bank refused to enter the
river; but another being brought down, to the
great delight Of the whole company, il took the
water freely and swan boldly across. The others
tied one behind the other in strings OF five, were
taken across in the same way. They not only
with ease but in this particular, as In Others
they seemed to Guido the horses and mules This
seemed to be the only remaining test needed 10 es-
tablish tie character of the camel as beast OF
burden specially suited for those regions. Lieut.
Beale had started with the determination that the
experiment should be no halfway one, and he
made it point to subject his camels to trials which
no other apimal could stand. AS to the result he
thus expresses himself:
"In all our lateral explorations they have carried
water sometimes for more than week, for the mules
used by the men-themselves never receiving even
bucket full TO Of them they have traverSed pa
tries covered with the sharpest volcanic rock and yet
their feet 10 this hour have evinced symptom OF
tenderness injury; with heavy packs they have
crossed mountains, assembled and descended precip-
tous places where unladen mule found 1t difficult
to pass, even with the assistance Of the rider dis
mounted, and carefully picking its way. / think 1t
would be within bounds to say that in these various
lateral explorations they have traversed nearly double
the distance passed over by our mules ana wagons.
"Leaving home with all the prejudice attaching to
untricd experiments and with many in our camp op-
posed TO their USE aud looking forward confidently to
their failure, believe at this time, may speak for
every IN our party, when say there IL not one
Of tiem WHO would not prefer the mort Indifferent OF
our camels to four Of beet mules, and look for
ward hopefully to the time when they will be in gene
raj use in all parts of our country.
The country for eighty miles west of the Colo
RADIO continues sandy desert, with but little water
or grass. At that distance the expedition struck
the Moiae, which there began to have some
water in its bed Crossing the San Bernardino
Mountain by the CajOn Pass, they reached Los
Angeles on the Goth of November. This route is
far preferable III every respect to that by the ella,
hitherto followed. 1t is especially adapted for the
sheep trade--sheep being the chief staple of New
Mexico-and is likely to lead to increased trade
and intercourse between New-Mcxico and Cali
forlia.
What particularly adapts the camel for use in
those regions is not merely their capacity to en-
dure fatigue and TO 90 without water but the very
coarse and scanty food with which they are con-
tent. They eat as they go along, whatever they
find in their path, bending their long necks and
throwing their heads into every narrow creyice Of
the rocks where grows q cactus or clump of
grass, or cropping the leaves from the branches of
trees without in the least retardng their progress
In this respect, in many others, they have
great advantage over mules or horses, which re-
quire food as regularly as man himself.