The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-24
By Associated Press

Washington, October g. The skele- ten of camel which stands in case at the National Museum here consti- tutes the sole relic of two shiploads of camels brought from the far east ,iE the "fifties," while Jefferson Davis was secretary of war, in an effort ID solve the problem of transporting mil itary supplies between the Mississippi river and the posts scattered across tho western deserts.
 Hostility of native mule drivers to the ships of the desert and the be- ginning of the Civil war are assigned s by government authorities as the req. sons for the failure of the effort to utilize camels as burden carriers ovei the western plains
 pr. Charles C. Carroll of the depart ment of agriculture has written an oiIlciai history of the importation If ! carnels. He says the idea of trans Planting the Beasts to America origi- natei with the Spanish after the con Guest of South Amsrica and toward the end of the sixteenth century they were introduced into Peru. The cameis were not looked upon with favor by the ruling officials, however. and they, - transported to Virginia from Guinea in 1701. but there is no authentic rec ord of the enterprise except that it failed
 Transportation troubles during the stubborn Indian war in Florida caused Maj. George H. Crossman to advocate the use of the desert beasts for mili- Itsry purposes, but nothing came of the plan.
 Some years later, Maj. Henry c. Wayne suggested to the war depart ment and to members of Congress plan for government importation. His ideas were indorsed by Jefferson Davis. then chairman of the Senate military committee, and after MT. Davis became secretary of war under President Pierce he pressed the project Final F in December, 1854, Congress ap- proved amendment by Senator Shiels of Illinois to the annual army appropriation bill providing s3o,o0o ito be expended under the direction of the war departmen ain the purchase ami importation of camels and dromedaries to be employed for military purposes"
 WENT TO LEVANT
 Secretary Davis at once sent Major Wayne to the Levant- to round up the camels the secretary of the navy placing at the disposal of MT. Davis the storeship Supply with her crew under the command of Lieut.. David H. Porter (afterward Admiral Porter), II was ordered that the ship land at Texas port, as it was supposed the cl- mate there would more resemble that of the far east
 Major Wayne and Lieutenant Porter bought the first animal in Tunis in August and upon applying for permit to bring the camel away, the bey of Tunis presented to the United States two other animals, one of which finally became the veteran of the American herd. ..
 The ship then went to Constantinople. where the officers declined an offer of 2 the Sultan of Turkey to present four camels to the United States because it was found the animals would have to be brought from Asia, and the officers did not want to wait for them The supply went from Constantinople to Alexandria, Egypt, where it was pro- posed to purchase 10 dromedaries and 90 camels. but ''red tape so dsgusted the Americans that they loaded three drome- daries and made ready to sail. Before leaving, however. they secEred six fairly good beasts. The ship sailed with nine dromedaries and the camel presented hy the Rev Of Tunis. the two others in Tu- his having been sold to Turkish butcher for si4 after they were found to have ss~n of itch.
 cwHn H Hean, was sent on ahead ta S-Tv~'a and when tre Supply arrived