Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-20

and, hardly waiting. for breath, poured
Of ~, n b,1 1vs Or az az lsnIussss on behalf
apologies and regrets. They were Informed
that thieving steward OF the household,
seeing as he thought. an opportunity to
oeiiever, had substituted the old specimens
which were dying on the hoof keeping
Tor himself the fine animals that had been
purchased. thinking the Americans would
not know. any better, or that the condition
OF the camels would not be discovered until
ehey were far away over the sea.
The matter was quickly adjusted. and dip
lomatic relations resumed but IL cost the
avaricious steward something which was
probably worth more to him than the six
camels--his head.
In addition to the gift of the viceroy, a
number Of fine dromedaries, the blue
blooced races OF Oman, were purchased
together with camels trained to carry
heavy burdens. and all were placed on
board the Supply which was In readiness
for the return trip.
While at sea six calves were born in the
herd, and every possible care OF them was
taken. Lieut. Porter being untiring in his
EFFORT to safeguard his charges against In
jury. Although severe storms were ex.
perienced during the entire trip. only four
or the young camels died and port was
made at Indianola, Tex and the herd OF
thirty-four desert steeds landed on Ameri-
can soil. being gain Of one. over the mum.
Der they started with and all In excellent
health.
SoAuoAS Not 1opulor.
As soon as a good rest had been given
the animals the herd was marched to San
Antonio, distance of about one hundred
and thirty miles. where It was proposed to
establish camel ranch. Strange to say.
the cavalrymen did not take kindly to the
new mounts. While they thought nothing
OF riding off-hand the wild horse of the
plains, II was another matter when IL came
to navigating these ships of the desert"
whose gait when In motion would discount
the best effort Of rudderless junk In a
chinese simeon, and they would doubt
less nave concurred with kipling's idea
that the camel was "a devil. an ostrich,
ana an orphan child In onev'
In this case. as in almost everything
new, there were many who were frankly
skeptical Of the camel proposition and par
tlcuiarly so We're the citizens OF San An
tonic. wishing to put an end to the an
noyance. Maj Wayne invited the whole
town to be present at a test of what his
cameis could do. and the entire populace
turned out to witness the exhibition
When the hour arrived Mai Wayne
brought out one of-the animals and hay-
ing caused 1t to kneel. had two bales
weighing three hundred and fifteen pounds
each placed upon its back The scoffers
laughed at the idea of the camel being able
to rise. when two more bales were added.
making q total Of go pounds At the
Word OF command the camel arose with
out apparent effort and walked away with
Its load The Texans looked on the camels
with marked respect from that hour
A test of the capacity of the camels to
travel over steep activities was made by
loading number with about four hundred
pounds of army baggage each and march
ing them over rugged mountain by way
of an almost impossible trail The outfit
covered the distance of sixty miles In two
days. subjected to most inclement weather
and arrived without sign Of fatigue
How the Animals Disappeared.
Later camel journey from Fort De-
fiance. N. M. to the California border,
distance of about five hundred miles.
was made to open a new road. through an
unexplored wilderness Of forest. plain and
desert The journey occupied forty-eight
days. and the commanders report gives a
splendid account of the camel's work under
conditions which other animal could
have possibly endured
Then came a change in the administra-
ton which was not very favorable to the
camel corps Idea. New officers who knew
scarcely anything Of animals were sent
to take charge of the herds. Shortly after
ward came the civil war and the camels
were forgotten. Some OF the animals ss-
capped into the desert, where they Increased
TO q certain extent and ran wild In small
herds, striking terror to the hearts of the
Indians. who were very much afraid OF
them. Many strange tales are told Of their
presence In different parts Of the south
A number fell into the hands of the
south during the war, and because the
soldiers lacked knowledge Of the proper
care and handling Of eamels many Of the
herd became diseased and died.
AS late 1873 camels were used In
Nevada and ARIZONA, but they afterward
disappeared. Many believe that had the
project been carried out II was started
the camel corps of the United States army
would today be the equal of any in the