The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-24
KILL LAST NATIVE CAMEL.
Indians Slaughter and Eat the One
Remaining wild Specimen.

ne last WHd camel IN America was KILL
ed and eaten by the Indians in Yuma
few days ago. The venerable beast was
one Of the herd of camels brought from
Asia Minor many years ago 70 carry ore
from the Comstock mines. So ends the
greatest attempt at acclimatiug foreign
animals ever made in the United States.
II seems sad that the noble beast. the last
Of his tribe, should have such an inglori-
Gus end. And yet some sympathy must
be given the poor Indians, for they must
have been awful hungry 10 be able TO mas
ticaie the tough, 75-year-old camel. Be
SIDES, the poor camel would most likely
nave died of slow starvation in a short
time, for when last seen alive by white
men it was very feeble
Just who the man was that thought of
bringing camels to this country seems to
De matter of some doubt. Several men
are credited with having done so, but even
the old-timers themselves seem to be a lit
tie tangled up on this bit of Western his
tory. P. T. Barton of Prescott. Ariz. who
was in the COmstock at the time, said ne
was positive that the late Adolph Sutro
was largely instrumental in bringing the
eameis here This however, has been
strenuously denied. Dozens of similar sto-
RES are told about other prominent Cali
fornians, but little credence can be given
to any of them. But the fact remains that
the camels We're brought here On all the
points connected with this part of The
story the old-timers agree. Il was in the
days when the Comstock was in its glory.
The days before the railroad when Vir-
ginia City was almost as important a town
as San Francisco 1t so happened that a
certain group of mines about twenty-five
or thirty miles out of Virginia City was
pannlng out piles of rich ore. 1t was inn
possible to put up mill close to the mines
on account of the lack of water Mules
were put to the work, and during the win
ter months did fairly well, although to
feed and care for them was a ierrorizing
expense. 1t must be understood that a
dry, rocky and barren desert as there
is on the face of the earth lay between
Virginia City and the mines. To use a We
hlcle Of any kind was out of the question,
and so the ore was carried in bags slung
over the backs of the animals. From the
first IL was apparent that the mule plan
was not a success. In the summer it took
about two mules to carry water for the
one that carried ore. And all the while
the animals kept dying. The intense heat
and dry sandy air was too much for them
and they fell by the wayside so fast that
new band was required almost weekly.
for There was millions in it,"
CameIs Do Good Work.
At this juncture some genius suggested
that the miners buy camels for the work.
So the camels were bought at great ex-
pense. Some of them were obtained from
the veteran Snowman, p. T. Barnum. and
about twenty came direct from Asia Mi
nor under the care Of an agent dispatched
from Virginia City. From the first the
camels did all that was expected of them
Each morning he would eat a meager
breakfast of any old weed that happened
in their way, drink few gallons of water
and were ready for business. Two bags of
ore, each containing between 200 and 800
pounds, were strapped to the back over
the hump of each camel
When the train was ready all started
off at once, striking a good swinging gait
that was kept up until the mill was
reached. The drivers had nothing 10 d.
but follow the train. No stopping for u,a
ter, no urging, no beatings. The faitb
tul beasts did their work willingly. When
the ore was dumped the camels took an
other big drink and were turned loose. he
ing permitted to make their way bacl, To
the mine at their own pleasure Very rare
ly did one of them fail to be on hand the
next morning, ready to take another load
to the mill. The camel train was a strange
sight while en- route across the desert.
From distance the general effect was
that of a scene in Persia. There was
nothing lacking, the intense blue sky, the
binding white sand and the distant noun
tains showing dimly through a faint, pur-
pie haze. Many a traveller, seeing the
sight for the first time, has stopped and
rubbed his eyes, wondering if he were
not suffering with some temporary men
tai alteration.
But all this changed when the railroad
came. Then the camels work was over.
The iron horse displaced them, and once
more the owners began to puzzle over a
serious question, What was to be done
with the camels? For months the patient
beasts waited around their corral ready
and willing to do any work that might be
given them. But there was none for them
to do, and finally the owners turned them
loose 10 get their living as best they
could. 1t was several months before they
Ventured far from their home, but in time
they managed to wander all over the des-
| erts of Arizona and even into Mexico and
New Mexico. At first some of the bold
cowboys thought to have fun with the
meek, sad-looking camels that crossed
their tracks. But they never tried it a
second time. 1t was always somewhat diff
| ficut to make COW pony get near enough
to a camel to throw rope over its neck
But the trick was often done. and the
cowboy settled back in his saddle 10 have
a good laugh at the antics of the beast.
Joke Turns on the Cowboy.
! But about a moment later the cowboy
generally thought the country had been
I struck by a cyclone. His horse jerlSed
! from under him and usually dragged him
to death unless the lariat fortunately
broke. The cowboy bumped the ground
pretty hard and in come cases came to
! in time to witness the end OF his horse, Of
possibly see the bruised animal lying on
the sand and the saddle following camel
~~@~~~~~~