188 THE CAMEL. 



to have been in the case of the dromedary regi- 

 ment in Egypt. 



The prejudices of the officers and men against 

 the use of this awkward and ungraceful animal 

 in the regular service, have proved very difficult 

 to overcome. The peculiar organization of the 

 French commissariat has interposed serious 

 pecuniary obstacles, and the government has 

 always seemed disinclined to consider the ques- 

 tion in a spirit of liberality and candor. It is, 

 however, proved that the use of the dromedary 

 contributes in a most important degree to the 

 economy, the celerity, and the efficiency of mili- 

 tary movements in desert regions ; and I cannot 

 doubt that it would prove a powerful auxiliary 

 in all measures tending to keep in check the 

 hostile Indians on the frontier, as well as in 

 maintaining the military and postal communica- 

 tion between our Pacific territory and the east. 



There are few more imposing spectacles than 

 a body of armed men, advancing under the 

 quick pace of the trained dromedary ; and this 

 sight, with the ability of the animal to climb 

 ascents impracticable to horses, and thus to 

 transport mountain howitzers, light artillery, 

 stores, and other military material into the heart 

 of the mountains, would strike with a salutary 

 terror the Comanches, Lipans, and other savage 

 tribes upon our borders. 



