Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-21
RI TIE Associated Press.


-hc skeleton of a camel, which
stands in a case at the National Mu-
scum here. constitutes the sole relic
of two shiploads of camels brought
from the far east in I'll, "ffties" while
Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War
In an effort to solve the problem of
transporting military supplies be-
tween the Mississippi river and the
posts scattered across the western
deserts.
Hostility of native mule drivers to
the ships of the des rt' and begin
ming of the civil war are assigned by
government authorities as the reasons
for the failure of the effort to utilize
camels as burden carriers over the
western plains.
DR.. Charles c. Carol of the De-
partment of Agriculture. has written
an official history of the importation
of camels. He says I'll idea of trans
planting the beasts to America orig
mated with the Spanish after T. con-
quest of South America. and toward
the end of the sixteenth century they
were introduced into Peru. The camels
were not looked upon with favor by
the ruling officials. however, and they
dwindled away. Some camels also
were transported to Virginia from
Guinea in 1901. but there is no au
thentic record of the enterprise eX-
cept that it failed.
Endorsed by Davis.
Transportation "bles during the
stubborn indian wars in Florida
caused Maj. George II. Crosman to-
advocate the use of the desert beasts
for military purposes, but nothing
came of the plan.
Some years later Maj. Henry c.
WaVne SnPOeStpn the War Denart-
ment and to members of Congress Il
p1an for government importation. Els
ideas were Endorsed by jefferson
Davis, then chairman of the Senate
military committee. and after Mr..
Davis became Secretary of War under
President Pierce he pressed the prof.
ect. Finally, in December. 1854. Con-
gress approved an amendment by
Senator Shields of Illinois to the an
nual Army appropriation bill provid-
ing 100000 Ito be expended under
the direction of the War Department
i'll the purchase and importation of
.eamels and dromedaries to be en-
'ployed for military purposes.
Secretary Davis at once sent Maj.
Wayne to the Levant to round up the
camels, the Secretary of the Navy
placing at the disposal of Mr.. Davis
the storeship Supply. with her crew.
under the command of Lieut.. David
H. Porter (afterward Admiral Por-
teri. 1t was ordered that the ship
land at a Texas port. as it was sup
posed the climate there would more
resemble that of the far east.
Maj. Wayne and Lieut.. Porter
bought their first animal in TuniS in
August. and upon applying for a per-
nit 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
SuItan's Camels Declined.
The ship then went to CONSTANT
nople, where the officers declined an
offer of the Sultan of Turkey to pre-
sent 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
dor them. The Supply went from
Constantinople to Alexandria. Egypt.
where it was proposed to purchase
ten dromedaries and thirty camels
but red tape SO Disguised the Amer
leans that they loaded three drome-
DIARIES and made ready to sail, Be
fore leaving, however, they secured
six fairly good beasts. The ship sail
eli -witff inrfe drOurrddfieS ana ttTci
camel presented by the Bey of Tunis,
the two others obtained in Tunis hav-
ing been sold to Turkish butcher
for S44 after they were found to have
signs of itch.
a
Smyrna. and when the Supply arrived
at that point the remaining camels
were found assembled. Mr.. Heap had
purchased them at prices ranging
from 500 to $500.
The voyage home was begun on
February Is. 1856. with thirty three
animals. nine dromedaries. or runners
twenty-three camels of burden and
one calf. Six Arabs were engaged to
go along with the animals, as it was
thought they would prove useful in
their management, A Turk was en-
ployed as a camel NJ D." but his
medical services were dispensed with
after il was found that his cure for
cold was a piece of cheese. for
sweled legs. tea mixed with gunpow-
der, and for trif1ng complaints. tick
ling the animals nose with a chame-
Icons tail.
Taken to San Antonio.
. The cargo was landed at IndianoIa,
Tex. May IA. 1856, and the beasts
were taken by easy stages to San
Antonio. 120 miles away, where Maj
Wayne planned to establish a camel