![]() ![]() Along with these real sightings, a number of legends and tales began regarding these ugly beasts of burden. Still, they continued to be used until the Civil War broke out, at which time they were sold at auction or turned loose into the desert.įor years afterward, wild camels continued to be spied roaming in the desert, especially in Arizona. ![]() However, though the camels proved to be well-suited to travel through the region, their unpleasant disposition, a habit of frightening horses, and tendency to wander off during the nights made them very unpopular among the soldiers. Some 72 camels arrived in the country in the early part of 1857 and were put to work carrying supplies in the southwest. Initially, the Senators voted the idea down, but after California newspapers began to promote the idea, they finally agreed in 1854, passing a bill to appropriate $30,000 for the camel experiment. It was also suggested that the camels might carry the mail and that fast camel passenger trains might be developed to run from Missouri River points to the Pacific Coast. Army.ĭuring this time period, the southwest territory of the United States was greatly expanding, and it was thought that camels could be used to carry at least twice the amount of weight as horses or mules, and might also be used in tracking and pursuing Indians, as they could travel without water or rest for much longer than horses. Two years later, Secretary of War and Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis, tried to persuade the Senate to look into the use of camels for the U.S. In 1848, the importation of camels for military purposes in the southwest was suggested to the War Department by Henry Wayne, a Quartermaster Major.
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