142 purchase of camels for military purposes. 



United States Ship " Supply/' 



Alexandria, January 13, 1856. 



Sir : Agreeably to a notification received from you this morning, 

 "tliat the camels presented by his highness the viceroy of Egypt 

 were ready to be delivered to me, and were waiting my pleasure in 

 the palace yard," I sent an officer and some other persons to receive 

 th-em. 



The persons returned on board immediately, and reported to me 

 that the dromedaries were so worthless and diseased that they would 

 not take the responsibility of receiving them without further orders 

 from me. 



On the receipt of this intelligence, I went to the palace myself, and 

 found the animals in really worse condition than they were represented 

 to be ; and two of them were those that had been bought by Major 

 Wayne in Cairo, and rejected and sold again in Alexandria, because 

 we did not consider them fit animals to take to the United States, 

 (being diseased.) 



I knew the two that formerly belonged to us at once, by private 

 marks, although their identity was very certain without any very 

 close examination. They were far superior to any of the dromedaries 

 in company with them; therefore you can judge whether it would be 

 proper in us to receive them on board. 



Perhaps, for your own satisfaction, you would like to see them your- 

 self, and I have directed them to be kept in their present location until 

 other orders are received about them. 



I regret to say that I cannot conscientiously receive on board the 

 " five " dromedaries that were shown me as a present from his high- 

 ness. At the same time, I do not wish his highness to suppose that 

 I do not appreciate the compliment it was his intention to pay to the 

 government of the United States ; but I could not, nor would Major 

 "Wayne, consent to jeopardize an experiment so full of interest to our 

 people by any false feelings of delicacy. 



The dromedaries in question are not such as we would have ac- 

 cepted on any terms from any one, and I do not think that we are 

 bound by any forms of etiquette to have anything to do with those 

 now offered by the subordinates of the pacha. 



I do not think for a moment his highness would pay us so poor a 

 compliment as to suppose we were selected for th s duty without some 

 knowledge of the matter in hand ; and I do not think he would send 

 a present to our government inferior to that he might reasonably give 

 to his camel driver. 



If he were to do so, it would no longer be an interchange of cour- 

 tesy, but a direct insult ; and if his highness is cognizant of the 

 manner in which his promise to you has been carried out, it looks 

 very much like turning the mission into ridicule; consequently it is a 

 great want of courtesy on the part of the Egyptian authorities, both 

 to you and to our government. 



When this vessel came to this port it was for the purpose of pur- 

 chasing the best dromedaries the country afforded ; and, although 

 it might be expected that a mission of this kind would very naturally 



