The record-union., 1893-02-01
AMERICAN CAMELS.
A Curious Adventure With Texas
Cowboys.
The Strange Game They Bagged-His-
tory of the Ships of the Desert
Hunting In the Moonlight.

1t was in the summer of 1883 while en-
camped on the Canadian River in the
Panhandle of Texas that very strange
adventure befell our party.
We were far from civilization, in the
very heart of the Llano Estacado or staked
plain, and as luck would have it, that af-
ternoon as we rode up tired and weary,
we found neighbors awaiting us who
proved to be a party of Texas cowboys
out on hunt for stray steers.
That night, around the cheerful blaze,
many stories and impossible yarns were
related by different ones, and at length
it became Bill Yerkes' turn to tell an ex-
perience.
'Ive got no yarn to tell" said Yerkes,
but what I've got to say will perhaps
startle some of you tenderleet."
We'll, what is it, Bill, let's hear you
talk" said another.
Its this said Yerkes. 81 was riding
along dry creek this afternoon, peering
In the timber for cattle, when, blast my
eyes, if strange animal as big as an ele-
phant didn't leap out of the bush and go
rolling off across the prairie at 2:40 gait.
! NO snakes, fellers, but 1t was great big
| his back"
Now, come, Bill" said Merrill,
member of the cavalry party, "what you
saw was buffalo, but he had no trunk
on his back"
"Pll tell you what, boys, where I saw
that strange animal was about four miles
from here, and as it's going to be bright
moonlight night Wen mount and go out
after it. What do you say?''
All the cow-punchers agreed to this,
and any Of our party who wanted to go
were invited to join the expedition. Two
OF us accepted, and six strong, we rode
out of camp just as the grand full moon
was coming up over the ocean of sand.
OUT FOR GAME.
Reaching the designated spot, there.
sure enough, in plain view were several
large hoof prints in the soft mud of the
creek bottom.
well, that beats me,'' said Merrill,
mo steer or buffalo ever made them
tracks"
Whatever it is" said the corporal,
who was with us" ''let's scatter out and
round the thing up. Well all meet here
at midnight and report our various eX-
| periences."
This plan was agreed to- and out over
the prairie we rode, following the trail as
| best we could until at last it was totally
lost in the sand and gravel of the desert.
| Here we separated, the cowboys I'M
singing their long grass lariats, and we
making ready with our rifles and revolt
vers. The country was as bare as
| billiard table. 1t now assumed barren,
desolate appearance, covered with hill
ocks OF sand and occasional powders,
with no signs of verdure, not even
blade of grass as far as the eye could
scan.
The bright moon was sailing in a cloud
! lpGG ok " ahnUn this n San1 nd =
lit up the vast plain magniticently, re-
flecting back the sparkling bits of gravel
and mica like the water of the ocean
sparkling and dancing under its silvery
| beams. There was not even a coyote
bark or wolf howl to break the intense
having made a long detour of several
miles, we rode back to the rendezvous
and found that none of the others had yet
preceded us.
1t seems that the luck of capturing the
strange brute had fallen to Yerkes. 1t
was nearly 2 o'clock before the cowboys
came in, declaring that about two miles
out on the prairie lay dead camel, and
that they had come for us to go and see
for ourselves.
A sharp canter brought us to the spot
and there, sure enough, stretched out on
the ground, lay the huge and unwieldly
body of a genuine camel.
1H0 lOuI COW DONS GyGu Inc
perfect wonder.
Where in thunder do you suppose that
fellow came from?' exclaimed Pepper
81 thought camels belonged in Asia and
and Africa; but who ever expected to find
one in Texas"
1T beats me,' said Yerkes
Fortunately held the solution of the
! mystery and explained it to the aston
| iShed crowd.
This fellow is no doubt an estray from
the old herd That has been roaming over
the deserts of Arizona and California
since 1858 or 1859. They were imported
for the purpose of carrying freight from
lnyo, Cal, to Carson, New, and proving
a failure for this object We're turned loose
to hustle for themselves.
| Just before the civil war the Govern
ment got hold of them and proposed to
make them useful on the frontier in keep
ing up communication between the
widelyseparated military posts, where it
became necessary to travel long distances
| without water.
"They were never, however. of much
service, and upon the breaking out of
hostilities between the North and South,
were seized by the Confederate authori-
| ties and sent to Camp Verde, about sixty
miles northwest of San Antonio. There
they were put in service as mail carriers,
often making trips of fifty-tive to sixty
miles day in dry, barren, hot country,
| where no American horse could have
survived such hardships.
FLoURIsHING IN AMERICA.
"At the close of the war they again fell
into the hands OF the Federal authorities.
and were sold at auction in the city of
San Antonio in 1866. They were finally
taken west to Arizona, and. proving use
less, were soon abandoned to their fate.
Wandering over the wild portions of Ari-
IONA, New Mexico and Texas, they in
creased somewhat in number but it was
supposed that the Indians had long ago
killed them OFF. 1t has since been learned
that the red men, superstitious and silly.
as they usually are In such cases, re-
garded them with great awe as strange
creatures from the clouds, and so fled
| from them in terror"
Yerkes then related his experience as
follows:
II was riding quietly along keeping
sharp lookout when 1 heard faint noise
far ahead which came floating softly back
to me on the still night air. I pulled up
instantly and listened with all my ears.
Louder and louder the noise grew until
| heard the beating of hoofs. and pres
emily, too, the sound OF mems voices
shouting and hallooing. 1t was chase 1
knew, and pretty soon, in the dim light,
a huge black object hove in sight with
three horselnen in pursuit. 1 got nv
rope ready, patted my own horse assur-
ingly, and prepared to cast as soon as the
thing arrived within reach.
ION came the game with a rush. MAX
ing wonderful long strides with its tre-
mendous legs, and not two hundred
yards behind were Merrill, Pepper and
Robinson racing like the wind and YELL
ing like mad.
My Iariat was now circling overhead
and straight at me came the brute. who
/ axr do, f1x-t |, h =, L.,I