PURCHASE OF CAMELS FOR MILITARY PURPOSES. 155 



The fleece from which these socks were knit consisted of the loo-e 

 dead hair of the past year that I had clipped off on the 9th of June, 

 to relieve the animal from its weight and heat. The fact of its bein:;- 

 dead (not living) hair may have, perhaps, some influence U[)on the soft- 

 ness of the fabric woven from it. The socks, at any rate, demonstrat*-; 

 the practical utility of the camel's pile, and convey an idea of its 

 probable value should the animal live and thrive among us. 



Verv respectfully, your obedient servant, 



HENRY C. WAYNE, 



Major U. 8. Army. 

 Hon. Jeffekson Davis, 



Secretary of War, Washington. 



San Antonio, August 12, 1856. 



Sir : I returned yesterday irom the examination of the camp at 

 Green Valley, which I advised you on the 28th ultimo I intended 

 making. The position is in every respect favorable for our animals, 

 and for demonstrating their usefulness for burden, for expresses, and 

 for scouting. An abundance of fine grass and good water, of lime to 

 be had for the burning, of sand, stone, and timber, and of lumber 

 and shingles, to be procured within a distance of five miles, gives me 

 every facility for keeping and sheltering the animals at a compara- 

 tively moderate rate. With such aid as the commander of the troops 

 in the camp says he can give me I shall be able to put up the shelters 

 I require in a short time, and to make all arrangements for setting 

 the animals to work whenever it may be deemed advisable to do so. 



Situated three miles outside of the " Bandera Pass" and the settle- 

 ments, at a distance of sixty miles from San Antonio, and in direct 

 communication with all of the frontier posts, I can conceive of no 

 more suitable point for demonstrating everything we desire to know 

 in regard to the camel's adaptation to our climate, to the military ser- 

 vice, and to commerce, and where its breeding can at the same time 

 be overseen and carefully conducted. The burden animals can be us. d 

 in transporting supplies from San Antonio to the camp and to other 

 points. The dromedaries may be sent express anywhere along the 

 irontier or within the settlements, as necessity may require, and may 

 be used as pack animals to scouting parties instead of mules. In 

 time men may be mounted upon them to accompany in scouting, and 

 one or more may be mounted with a small gun throwing shrapnell, 

 &c. These experiments may be so conducted as not only to show the 

 absolute value of the animal for burden and for the saddle, but also 

 its relative usefulness in comparison with the horse, the mule, and 

 waggoning. 



From the intelligence of Captain Palmer and of his officers, and from 

 the interest they all manifested in the purposes of the experiment, I 



