Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1899-02-04
AMERICAS LAST CAMEL.
he Went TO Feed the Inaians After q
Long and Honorable Career.

Long and Honorable Career.
The>last wild camel In America was
killed and eaten by the Indians in Yu-
ma few days ago. The venerable beast
was one of the herd Of csmels brought
from Asia Minor many years ago to
carry ore from, the Comstock mines.eSo
ends the greatest attempt at .acclimat-1
Ing foreign animals ever, made in the;
United States IT seems. sad that the.
noble beast, the last of his tribe. should
have such an inglorious. end. And yet
some sympathy must be given the poor
Indians, for they must have been awful
hungry to be able to masticate the
tough, 75-year-old camel =. Besides, the
poor camel would most likely have died b
of slow starvation in a short time, fer;
when last seen alive, by white men Il
was very feeble
Just who the man was who thought
Of bringing camels to this country
seems 10 be a matter of some doubt
Several men are credited with having
done so, but even the old timers them
selves seem to be a little tangled up on
this bit of western history. P. T. Bar
ton of Prescott, A. T., who was in the
Comstock at the time, said he was posi-
tive that the late Adolph. Sutro WA
largely instrumental in bringing the
carnels here. This, however, has been,
strenuousIy denied. Dozens Of similar
stories are told about other prominent,
Californians, but little credence can be,
given to any of them.
But the fact remains that the camels
were brought here. On ell the points
connected with this part Of the story
the old timers agree.
It was in the old days, when tho
Comstock was in its glory, the days. be-.
fore the railroad, when Virginia City
was almost as important. q town. as San
Francisco. It SO happened that ceT-:
tain group of mines about rs or, 30
miles out of Virginia City was banning
out piles Of rich ore. It was impossible
to put up mill close to the mines on
account OF lack of water.
Mules were put to the work, and
during the winter months did fairly
well, although to feed and care for them
was terrorizing expense. It must be
understood that as dry, rocky and bar
rem desert as there is on the face of
the earth lay between Virginia City
and the mines. To use a vehicle 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 1t was apparent that
the mule plan was not success. In the
summer it took about two mules to
carly water for the one that carried ore.
And all the while: the. animals kept dy-
ing. The, intense heat and dry. sandy
air were too much for them, and they
fell by the wayside go fast that . new
band was required almost weekly. But
the ore had to be carried to the mill,
for there was millions in it,"
At this juncture some genius suggest
ed that the miners buy camels for the
work So the camels were bought at
great expense. Some of them wero OBJ
tanned from the veteran Snowman, p.
F T. Barnum. and about 90 came direct
from Asia Minor under the care Of an
agent dispatched from Virginia City.
From the first the camels did al, that,
was expected Of them. Each morning
they would eat 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 400 and
800 pounds were strapped to the back
over the hump Of each camel.
When. the train was ready, all start
ed off at once, striking good swinging
gait that was kept up until the mill
was reached. The drivers had nothing
to do but follow the train; no stopping
for water, no urging, no beatings. The
faithful beasts did their work willingly.
Denver Republican.