The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-12-28
UNCLE SANS CAMEL HERD.
An Improbable Antebelium Experiment In
Plains Transportation.


Plains Transportation.
Much picturesque and unfounded nonsense
has been written about alleged wild camels re-
ported to wander in herds along the valley of
the Gila River, in Arizona "Teamsters along
the valley" wrote one imaginative paragrapher,
"have much trouble from these beasts, whose
uuqainly figures frghten the mules and horses
so that great difficulty is often found in keep
ing them to the trail" But there is true
and interesting story back of these tales for
tenderfeet. These exotic and mythical beasts
that roam in the romancer's fancy are assumed
to be descendants from the historic herd OF
eamels brought from tho Orient by the Gov
ernment some years before the civil war. with
the idea that they could be made serviceable
in transporting army supplies and other freight
upon that arid region then known TO geograph-
ers as "The Great American Desert" They
were purchased principally at points along tho
Bombay coast, and were fine animals Of their
kind.
Naturally these numbering Asiatic burden
bearers proved worthless for any purpose nm
der the conditions prevailing in the South
west. The American language. even with its
Texas reinforcements, afforded vocabulary
alike inadequate and unsuited to the direct
ing Of these "ships of the DESERT" and the
Western m1le-whacker swore horribly, threw
down his whip, and reached for his gun when
the suggestion was made that he turn camel
tance critically and disapprovingly, passed
facetious and disparaging remarks, and would
none of them Only the fezzed and turbaned
Arab drivers brought with the camels to the
United States could handle them, and, lacking
assistants they could do little in the way OF
utilizing the animals for freight carrying. so
the camels and their foreign swarthy attend
ants were still a useless National charge in
Texas when the war broke out, and the strange,
hump backed, lop-lipped beasts, with other
Federal property. We're seized by the Confed-
crates who In this case found that they had the
equivalent of several elephants on their hands.
They couldn't use them. they didn't want to
kill them, and so throughout the war the
cameis remained eorralled and fed at Com
federate Government post, which at the close
of the struggle fell again into the hands of the
Federal Government, with Its troublesome
charge augmented in numbers by natural in
crease. This foisting of the camel herd again
upon the Federal Government is said to have
been regarded by the Texans as a redeeming
feature in the collapse of the Confederacy. The
camels' unamiabilty and intractability had not
improved, but quite the reverse, through their
long period of inactivity. The difficulties OF
attending to them threw the perils of mule
whacking far into the shade, and were regard
ed as partaking of the hazard Of battle.
When political commotion had somewhat
quieted down, in the reconstruction period, so
that matters of detail could be attended to, the
camels, by order of the Secretary of War, were
sold to the highest bidders, and 80 were gradn-
ally disposed of to the keepers of menageries
throughout the country. There was one ex-
ception An ex-army officer relates that while
be was stationed at Fort Union, n. M., 25 years
ago. the last survivor of the herd wandered
about on the reservation. the unfailing wonder
of the Mexicans. as, standing upon the ground,
he browsed on the weeds and grass that grew on
top of their fiat, earth-roofsd, onestoried huts.
Mexicans made up family parties and travelled
long distances to see the beast, but regarded 1t
always with distrust crossing themselves at
It's approach and muttering a prayer against
"el diablo."
OF what became of this lone survivor then
there seems to be no record more than OF the
Arab drivers. These native drivers were lost
to sight in the excitement of the civil war.
They were perhaps sent back at Government
expense or otherwise found their way to their
owa country. Others may have followed the
camels that were sold and have become en-
ployes of menageries 1t s probable that some
of them might now be found among the ORR
entail peddlers who find the Spanish-speaking
Southwestern regions SO attractive field for
their business