Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-06-12

ShlSiiy III HIGH dCEUS6y lnB
stretches of the great western desert.
rests mostly with the ignorance OF
the drivers, the experiment was given
over as failure about tho time of
the opening of the civil war, and the
camels, which had been expected to
reyolutionize the mail system and
even the agricultural Industries of,
the southwest, were turned loose to
pick their own living In the deserti
Sharlot M. Hall, writing in Out West.
gives an account of the last survivor
of this herd.
The last camel taken alive was
captured in 1884 or 1885 by. n Mexi-
can who was prospecting around the
Harqua Hala mountains. 1t was a
dromedary, II pitiful old beast. NANCY
and rawboned with age and hard
ships soured and suspicious by years
|of loneliness and adversely.
1t was with no little difficulty that
The Mexican lassoed the poor old der.
elicit of .long-forgotten experiment
and led him into Phoenix, hoping to
sell him for few dollars to some.
one bent on Il new sort of srecula.
ton. But the camel market was par.
ticularly dull and the ancient drome.
larry proved TO be an expensive and
uncompanionable piece of property.
whose appetite threatened to- bank
rupt rather than boom the fortunes Of
his finder.
So In despair the Mexican hunted
,ip one of his creditors-a man to
whom no had long owed $40, With
good prospects of passing the debt or
to mis- heirs. After considerable per.
sunsive pleading, the dromedary
changed hands and the Mexican load
ed up his burro and hurried back TO
tho hills, rejoicing ut his easy escape
and determined to stick to prospect
ing in the future.
The purchaser had gotten an ad
vance hint of great travelling CIR
Gus and managerie" due to show in
Phoenix the following month, and It
seemed probable that reasonable
interest might be realized on tho $40
"a genuine Arizona camel should
prove marketable if only as n feature
of the bill boards.
Pasture was engaged for the an.
Client beast, and that very evening he
was taken out OF town and turned
into an alfalfa field along with a herd
OF Young mules. The next morning
1t~''SiO WIN iliuitS UP ull siiOUp,
1.-THE barbed wire fence and begged
Ehown in tho bitches. and more agile
TOR moro frightened mules scatlerea
all over the adjoining country The
camel was proyidently getting outside
OF MS much alfalfa as possible when
his speculative owner received an
| urgent call to "take his COMPOUNDED
1 circus out of that pasture mighty
quick"
SO lie was brought back to Phoenix
and domiciled In his owners back
Hyard, which unluckily was near enough
the public road to disturb the equani-
Imity of passing teams! Long before
| flle, circus appeared the SPECTATORS
| learest neigliLor lodged a complaint
lhgainst him with thcScity officials for
tjnsnintaining a public nuisance--every
tihe she attempted to so out driy-
fling, her horse saw the camel ana
tlried to climb into the buggy.
rs a last resort, the spcculator be-
thought him OF friend, gambler
whd owned a saloon in which there
was spacious back room. Here sure
ly his unlucky purchase might be
! stalled in peace till tho circus came
l around, and might serve as draw
ing card for the saloon between
tlmesa After an eloquent discussion
the arrangement was made and all
might syet have been we'll had not
the caplers hump stuck in the door
I way. He refused stubbornly to
"scrooch down. to fit the clrcumstan-
Ges, and the top Of the door frame
and sbme of the roof beams had to
be knocked out before, with the aid
of clubs and stones and vigorous Ian,
guage. the ship Of the desert Was
again ifti harLor
But his feelings and hump had both
been mpre or less bruised in the pro-
ceeding and he was mad--too mad
to eat when half dozen bales OF
hay wcrls stored in his shed, too mad
to drin 81 ind mad enough to be any
thing but 3 safe and pleasant attrac.i
ton for It first-class saloon. Then all
at once, after n week of sulking, he
ate UP thu whole lot of hay. tags and
all, and, Kicking down the door, de-
parted swiftly and silently for the
desert
His relieved owner and temporary
host embraced each other with con-
gratulatioIis when they discovered his
absence. put away out on the Five
Points road trouble was brewing for
them.
The canlei had taken his leave some
time before daylight; about the same
time a rdncher started for Phoenix
with a big hay wagon loaded with,
baled alfalfa and drawn Try four skit-l
fish young mules. Just rs he reach
ed point. where the road and canal
ran about level and parallel, and the
latter banktfull, the mules gave a.
snort and he caught fleeing
glimpse of something big and dun
swinging doRn the middle of tho road