50 PUECHASE OP CAMELS FOR MILITARY PURPOSES. 



promptness and care with wliicli tliey responded to the calls made 

 upon them. From Dr. Dwight's interest in the subject, I anticipate 

 that the department will receive from him still more valuable and 

 useful information. 



In forwarding these papers it has occurred to me that it might not 

 be uninteresting, and that it might perhaps serve a useful purpose, to 

 give briefly a synopsis of the information in relation to the camel ac- 

 quired by reading, and by subsequent observation and inquiry in the 

 east, in executing the special duty to which I was assigned by your 

 order of the 10th of May, 1855 ; and to accompany the information 

 with such suggestions for procuring the animal as may aid any future 

 projects for its importation into the United States, whether public or 

 private. In doing so, I shall endeavor to avoid making any state- 

 ments not verified by my knowledge, or acceded to by my judgment. 



And it may not be amiss here to pay a tribute of acknowledgment 

 to the general accuracy of the information furnished to the depart- 

 ment from various sources^ and acquired by our own researches. 

 Where errors have been found they have generally been traceable to 

 one or the other of two common causes of historic inaccuracies : gen- 

 eralization from local particulars, customs, or habits ; or the adoption 

 of statements as facts without examining into their accuracy or prob- 

 ability. I am happy to say, however, that the errors detected were 

 not many nor serious. 



Your instructions were, to visit Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, Persia if 

 possible, to examine the zembourek or camel artillery in use there; 

 Salonica, that had been mentioned to you as a suitable place for pro- 

 curing and shipping camels, and such other countries in the east as 

 might be deemed advisable for the purposes of the mission. These 

 instructions have been executed as far as time and opportunity per- 

 mitted, and the particulars reported to you in previous communica- 

 tions. Our inability to enter Persia was explained in my letter of the 

 31st October, 1855, from Constantinople. Syria was not visited on 

 account of the cholera and fever prevailing throughout it during the 

 summer, and from the risk of shipping during the winter months in 

 its ports, which are only open roadsteads, affording no protection to 

 vessels at anchor. Its burden camels and dromedaries, however, are 

 80 essentially the same as those of Asia Minor and Arabia, that, in re- 

 gard to the animals themselves, we should have acquired but little, if 

 any, information beyond that obtained in Smyrna and in Egypt. For- 

 tunately, the Rev. W. F. Williams has supplied any omission by his 

 description (see No. 4) of the camels and dromedaries of the adjoining 

 province of El Tezereh (Algezirim) which are those also of Syria. 



You further directed me to visit the Canary islands, on my return, 

 for the purpose of examining the camels used in them, and where they 

 have been in use, according to Humboldt and others, ever since the 

 conquest of those islands by the Spaniard — about four hundred years 

 ago. Unfortunately, this order I was unable to executue, as, after 

 several days of fruitless effort to reach those islands, on account of 

 variable and head winds and a gale, the attempt was abandoned and 

 the ship stood on her course to America. This failure is the more to 

 be regretted, as I had received from Lieutenant Marcy, of our navy, 



