The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-20
FRISKY CABIELS.
Thirteen "Ships of the Desert' Imported Into
New Jersey as a Substitute for Horses.
pbiIodo1,hto Tf,.o.

Philadelphia Times.
A drove of thirteen camels. belonging to Theo
dore ). Vaniderstine, who bought them for
breeding purposes, injured three men and
wrecked the show window of Martindale's drug
store in Camden yesterday. Two months ago
Mr.. Vaniderstine, an eccentric gentleman, who
made a fortune by brewing weiss beer, ordered
Carl Hagenbeck, the famous European dealer in
wild animals, to purchase fifteen camels for him.
Two died crossing the ocean. The remaining
thirteen reached New York last Thursday and
arrived in Camden late on Saturday night. They
cost Mr.. Naniderstine $1O, 900, exclusive of the
doctor bills of their victims and druggist Mar
tindales window account
Around the neck of each camel is a circle of
wire, holding a tin tag bearing the name of the
animal to which it is attached. Before they
were unloaded, Yesterday their owner said that
Mr.. Hagenteck had assured him by letter that
they were thoroughly domesticated." A few
hours later Mr.. Vaniderstine was wondering how
an untamed camel would behave upon being re-
leased from a railroad car. At daybreak Charles
Mellon, Joel Y. Prentiss, Arnold McDevitt and
two or three other men made preparations to
take the camels out of the stock car. The first
camel came out without much trouble, and Slid
SPRAYING down the gang-plank to the ground.
Juliet, the second, was stubborn, and refused to
bulge. While Mellon thumped her ribs with a
hoop-pole, his assistants poked her ribs and legs.
Finally she squared around at Mellon, and
when she prayed he jumped out of the car.
Prentiss took advantage of the change in 'Ju-
pOSlLlOn anu puSHeu leT SlOublN lTOm OO
hind. In an instant one of ''Juliet's' hind legs
stretched out horizontally until it looked like a
telegraph pole.
Mr.. Vaniderstine yelled: Hi! Look out
there"
The warning, however, came too late. 'Ju-
lets foot struck Prentiss in the breast and he
was sent flying against the side of the car.
Prentiss was so close to outlet" that he was not
seriously hurt and he managed to get out while
she was kicking wildly at her mates. None of
the men conld be induced to enter the car after
Premises adventure. Then the men hid. leav-
ing the door open. Juliet scrambled down the
run to the ground and the others followed her.
Tho forces of Mr.. Vaniderstine came from their
places Of concealment and endeavored to corral
the ships of the desert in a corner. One
careened against McDevitt, knocking him down,
and half a dozen others romped over his body.
One tramped on his left shoulder and bruised it
severely.
In an hour all of the camels except Juliet
had been captured and tied to a fierce. Juliet
ran Up and down the yard, kicking viciously at
space. While Mr.. Vaniderstine's men were eau
tiously pursuing her, her captive companions
that were moored to the fence stampeded, pull
ing a section Of it down. BY this time a crowd
of spectators gathered, and from a distance en-
ioyed the hunt" ulietwa caught at last, and
was, with the others, tied to a rope, when they
were wheeled into single file and the procession
started for the livery stable of Joseph Franklin,
on Second street, below Market. After learning
of the dangerously -frisky behavior of the brutes
hAN iiANL " ~ - lDO NttAT wi l. atAhAh OAA
cluded that it would not be safe to keep them
over night. Mr.. VaniIerstine decided to take
them to his own stable, on West Cooper street,
near Cooper's creek.
Tied as they were to the long rope the camels
strung out like a circus parade. Mellon led the
first beast, and the others followed meekly
enough for the first square or two. Mellon, how
ever, was nervous. and kept one eye over his
shoulder, fearing, no doubt, that the camels
would suddenly charge on him.
At the corner of Eighth street Juliet LET out
again, and, as no human beings were in her way,
her heels struck the nose of the next camel in
the procession. a few minutes later the camels
were scared by d passing wagon.
A big camel, marked Hannibal, broke his hal
ter strap, and rushed at Martindale's drug store.
When his head went through the ~show-wlndow,
a big bottle filed with red water was smashed to
bits. The clerk scuttled down cellar, and a man
who was drinking hotsoda at the fountain yelled
"shoor and threw a tumbler at the giraffe" as
he called Hannibal. The camel, after Gripping
Mellon by stepping on his foot, was again tied in
the line, and the drove reached the stable with
out further trouble. They were driven into the
barn and fed.
The owner of the herd that arrived in Camden
believes that the camel, rot the horse, should be
mans chief beast of burden. and he predicts that
within a few years they will be in general use
all over this country. Mr.. Vaniderstine declares
that the camel is a harder brute than people
generally suppose, and when his attention was
called to the way they shivered yesterday when
Lne emily VIM DIeW OH Ju1tS OF Jnelr ragged
coats, he said; 'Oh, they'll get used to that, and
when once acclimated they will stand more Sc
we're weather as a mustang or an Arabian horse"
This morning the camels will be removed to Mr..
Vaniderstine's farm in Ocean county, part of
which the owner admits is las sandy and desc
late as any spot in the desert of Sahara" Five
men, under command of Jack Douglas, an
animal keeper belonging at John OBriens cir
Gus winter quarters, have been engaged to take
the camels to Ocean county.
The cameis will be broken to harness. but will
not be expected to do much work, as their owner
has imported them specially for breeding pur-
poses. Two genuine dromedary saddles came
witt the beasts, and Mr.. Vaniderstine declares
that he will be seated in one on the back of a
g~alloping camel before the week is out. Mr..
Vaniderstine is the New Jersey gentleman who,
a few years ago, talked of raising ostriches for
their feathers. He imported two birds as an ex-
pertinent. but they died within a week after he
got them. He still has faith in ostrich raising,
however, and says he was swindled in the birds
he imported, they having been raised in an arti-
fcially-heated apartment of a European zoolog-
ical garden. Had they been accustomed to
cold" he says. Il would have 'em now; but
camels are stouter, and I'll raise enough of EN-
to stock Jersey-if | have good luck"