PURCHASE OF CAMELS FOR MILITARY PURPOSES. 125 



We had a young one on board, only a month old, and having been 

 born under the flag, he was christened "Uncle Sam." One of the 

 Turks amused himself on the voyage making a " Pehlevan" of him, 

 and when six weeks old ]^e was more than a match for his teacher, 

 using his legs, neck and mouth with such dexterity, and exhibiting 

 such wonderful strength in so young a thing, that he became a very 

 rough playmate^ and frequently hurt the men on the deck by throw- 

 ing himself on them suddenly and knocking them down. This feature 

 seems to be natural to the camel, for when two strange ones meet 

 together where they are any females, they immediately have a wrest- 

 ling match for the supremacy, and the conquered one ever afterwards 

 acknowledges his inferiority by not so much as daring to look at a 

 female. Unlike the amusenaent of "bull-baiting," this wrestling is 

 a harmless pastime, though the animals do sometimes get their legs 

 broken, or are stiff for some time after with their bruises ; well trained 

 animals seldom injure each other, being taught to throw their antag- 

 onist by getting his neck under their fore leg (the right) and then 

 throwing the whole weight of their body on him, and bringing him 

 to the ground. Perhaps the love of amusement (as our countrymen 

 are fond of novelties,) may render the importation of camels in Texas 

 popular, if their utility does not recommend them. I have no fear 

 but that they will soon find out their value in other respects. A Turk 

 who was told that we had no camels in America expressed much sur- 

 prise, and said that we must be many years behind the age. 



In considering the future transportation of camels, my idea is that 

 it would be much easier to carry over young ones, from one to two 

 years of age. Among the number of those I brought over was one a 

 year old, purchased witli its mother. It was the heartiest of the 

 whole lot, and required very little looking after. A ship fitted like 

 the "Supply" could carry at least ninety of this size, or forty with 

 their mothers only. Thirty-four of the full-grown camel is as many 

 as she could possibly accommodate. The one or two-year old camel 

 is about the size of a year-old heifer, and would pack close, without 

 fear of injury from their weight. These, when landed in Texas, could 

 be trained either as burden or riding camels, and serve to form a 

 corps of mounted dromedaries that would soon drive everything in 

 the shape of an hostile Indian out of the country, for the Indian could 

 not escape on the swiftest horse the steady enduring pace of the drome- 

 dary, which will carry him a hundred miles a day. 



Any young camel can be trained as a dromedary, though they would 

 not be so swift as the " Nomanieh" or " Becharieh" of the desert, yet. 

 they would exhibit an endurance of days and weeks unknown to any 

 kind of horse, and when the latter would likely be " blown" after a 

 journey of a hundred miles, which he would require three days to 

 perform, the dromedary (the common stock even) would be travelling 

 its sixty miles a day with ease, going through all kinds of weather, 

 and over all kinds of roads^ and wading through mud where a horse 

 would be stalled. They require no shoeing nor any repairs to harness, 

 which is of the most simple kind. They will carry, withal, two or 

 three hundred pounds of baggage, besides their rider. If they come 



