Corpus Christi History by Murphy Givens

Wednesday, February 9, 2000

Uncle Sam's camel corps

On a spring morning in 1856, a cargo of camels was unloaded at the port of Indianola. There were Arabic handlers in flowing robes and 33 two-hump Bactrians, one-hump Arabians, and the Bactrian-Arabian mule camels called "booghdee.''
   Most of Indianola turned out to see these exotic creatures. It was as good as a show. When the camels' hooves touched dry land, they went wild, bumping and biting each other, crying out, breaking halters, in their joy to be back on firm ground. They had been stabled between-decks for three months while crossing the Atlantic.
   After unloading, the U.S. Army officer in charge gave a demonstration for the people of Indianola. A one-hump Arabian was made to kneel and two bales of hay were strapped to his back. The people watching were amused. Those huge bales weighed 600 pounds; they expected the camel would keel over from the heavy burden. But then the officer directed that two more bales be added, giving the camel a load of 1,200 pounds. The crowd was amazed when the camel rose to his feet and trotted away. The camel looked ungainly and stupid, but he could carry a big load.
   That was why the Army wanted the camels. The idea, which dated back years, was picked up by Jefferson Davis, who was secretary of war at the time. He persuaded Congress in 1855 to appropriate $30,000 to study the practicality of using camels to haul Army supplies between Texas and California, and to buy the camels to conduct the experiment in Texas. The venture was commanded by Maj. Henry Wayne, who was to purchase the camels, and Navy Lt. David Porter, who was in charge of the store-ship Supply, which was to transport the animals to Texas.
   Wayne and Dixon spent months in Europe and the Middle East. They went to Balaklava, while the Crimean War was in progress, to see British Army camels in action. The British had a camel unit that consisted of 1,000 men mounted on 500 dromedaries, two men to each animal, sitting back to back. At a battle, the camels would kneel down and the men would form a square behind the kneeling camels.
   Wayne and Dixon made their way around the Middle East buying camels. They purchased 33 camels and hired five handlers to make the trip.
   After the animals were loaded, Lt. Porter wrote that the camels were "all standing, cleaned up, side by side, their backs just clearing our deck.'' The camel deck was scrubbed daily "and the whitewash brush kept going.'' The camels nibbled at the whitewash and, at the end of the trip, were said to be in better health than at the beginning. After they were unloaded at Indianola, Lt. Porter was sent back to the Middle East for a second shipment.
   The first herd of camels left Indianola on June 4, 1856, and the caravan frightened horses and mules along the way. A rider was sent ahead to warn people that "the camels are coming.'' The caravan went to Victoria, San Antonio, and finally reached a place called Val Verde, near what is now Kerrville, 60 miles from San Antonio. A second contingent of 40 camels arrived soon after.
   From Camp Verde, the Army conducted experiments with the camels, sending them with various loads over rough terrain. Maj. Wayne, enthusiastic over the results, wrote: "The camels thrive in this climate. Two full mule teams played out on the San Antonio test-haul; but the camels sauntered ahead on schedule. Troopers are now accepting the camels (with less profanity).''
   In June of 1857, a mission to survey routes to the West was ordered. The trip by camel covered 1,200 miles and lasted four months. These camels were kept in California and Arizona.
   The U.S. Army experiment came to an end when Texas took over Camp Verde at the beginning of the Civil War. The Confederates used some of the camels to haul salt, but Col. Rip Ford, who acquired command of the camels, didn't have much use for them. In one report, Ford wrote, "The camels have been sent to Guadalupe for corn. Two are reported to have died on the way. They can live best on grass; it is not certain they will live on corn.''
   Some think that Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, continued to push for the use of camels in Texas, but he probably didn't devote much time to it, considering that he had his hands full with other duties.
   After the war, the camels were sold. Some of the Arab handlers had stayed and assimilated. Some of the camels went to the Ringling Brothers Circus and others were purchased by a man who planned to set up a camel freight line from Laredo to Mexico City. One private herd of camels, imported by a rancher, was turned loose near Indianola. Many of them died of neglect in the sand dunes, although wild camels were sighted and hunted in various locales of South Texas for years afterwards.
   (Sources include: Caller-Times archives; Rip Ford's Texas, edited by Stephen B. Oates; article by R.C. Crane, Southwestern Historical Quarterly; "The Great Plains'' by Walter Prescott Webb; and a master's thesis on the camel experiment by Lewis B. Leslie.
  

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