River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-06-17
OUR ARMY CAMELS
The Festive 0rientaIS Uncle Sam
Once Tried to Adopt.
A BRIEF AND UNRULY CAREER.
Their Deadly Hatred Toward Mules,
Their Craving For a Taste of Soldier
and Few Other Eccentricities
Proved Their Inglorious Undoing.

and Few Other Eccentricfties
Proved Their IngIorious Undoing.
The United States governments first
and only venture into the use of cam
els as army transports on the south
western frontier was sanctioned by
congress through the efforts of Jeffer-
son Davis, then Il member of the mill
tary commission and later secretary Of
war. Davis had commanded troops in
the southwest in the Mexican war and
knew what it was to march for days
over a dry, barren country in ScOrch-
ing heat, with nothing to drink but
hot, dry air and nothing to greet the
eve except cactus and rattlesnakes.
The rapid development of California
after the gold strike of 1913 made nee
essary provision for the transportation
of troops and supplies to the new coun-
| try over a desert trail, which was
! task that set patriotism at premium.
/ Jefferson Davis asked for camels, and
/ congress finally authorized an expedi-
| ton to the orient to buy them.
| The expedition brought back nearly
| 100 animals, which were added to from
! time to time till the number grew to
1913. They were stationed at FL Paso,
Yuma, Ariz; San Antonio and other
points on the frontier
The return trip across the ocean
with the camels is recorded in anus
| ing detail by Lieutenant d. D. Porter,
| who was in charge Each animal was
provided with a competent chauffeur,
who was caretaker, interpreter and bag
gage master in one. Most of the animals
got seasick, and so did the drivers, and
both complained bitterly of the ar
rangements. The camels wished they
hadn't come and showed it by kicking
and biting pieces from various officers.
who were not to blame.
After landing in Texas the camels
did not improve perceptibly in their ma
lures. Their particular aversion was
the army mules. Even. the younger,
inexperienced camels learned quickly
to kill q mule with one blow Of the
hind foot and INDUCED in that pas
time frequently. Their taste for army
officers remained undiminished, and the
chauffeurs got the blame every time
captain lost some of his anatomy.
The soldiers took to the camel with
reciprocal affection. In the first place,
they didn't like his looks, cOntending
that the soft, PARKWAY look in the cam
els eye indicated that his mind was
not on his business. Then the soldiers
couldn't get used to the OdOr radiated
by the oriental beaSt-circuSeS not be-
ing in vogue-and many of them said
that Kipling was perfectly correct in
his opinion that a camel smelled most
awful vile Kipling hadn't said it yet,
but soldiers are farseeing and knew he
was going to say it.
Besides, the camel was no good TO
ride, the soldiers agreed. His ambl1ng,
rapid stride made them seasick, and
they wanted no animal which it took
ten minutes to awaken when the In
dams attacked them in the night. No
American had lived up to that period
who could tie a cargo on one Of the
beasts so it would stay on. The cam
ell is not constructed fat on top, it is
remembered, and only a clever Arab
chauffeur could load one to travel any
distance without losing the supplies.
The high record in dead mules was
made, it is said, by a camel in San An
tonic whose name was Major. Major
kicked seven valuable mules into eter-
nifty, and one day some soldiers, friends
Of the late mules, took Major off up on
high cliff and came back and said he
had fallen Off accidentally" No ex-
hauStive probe was made Of Majors
disappearance.
A caravan loaded with supplies went
into the city Of Sutherland Springs on
one occasion, and the camelS were wa
tered at the town we'll. It was the
boast of the city that the well had
never gone dry. About half the cam
els took drink and the well was dry.
The disturbance caused by the remain
ing thirsty camels set the population
into panic.
But the endless feud between the
camels and the soldiers soon convinced
the government that railroads would
do just as we'll The rush to Califor-
MIA was we'll over and frontier trou-
bles were well under control by the
time the war broke out. The govern
ment withdrew the foreign camel
agents and closed the foreign offices.
BY the time the war was over the cam
els died and some were stolen. Others
escaped to the desert, and even today
a hoary wild camel, white with age,
occasionally terrifies Sunday newspa-
nor foatY1ro vY.iforS info writing SOmo-
thing about it. Very likely the ones
which didn't go to the desert swan
back to Egypt. Both reports are au-
thenticated in the same degree.-Kan-
sas City Star.