192 PURCHASE OF CAMELS FOR MILITARY PURPOSES, 



War Department, 

 Washington, October S, 1856. 



Sir: I have received your letter of the 11th ultimo, stating your 

 views as to the hest mode of expending the balance of the ^[)propri- 

 ation for camels ; and, in reply thereto, I have to inform you that your 

 views are approved, and that no change is desired in the proposed 

 mode of execution. 



Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



JEFF'N DAVIS, 

 Secretary of War. 

 Lieut. David D. Porter, tl. S. N., 



Commanding storeship Supply. 



United States Ship Supply, 



Smyrna y November 14, 1856. 



Sir : I have the honor to inform you of our arrival at this place, 

 and that we shall sail to-morrow for the United States. Our voyage 

 here was a very long one, having met with unprecedented bad weather. 

 Directly ahead for twenty-one days, we were struggling against gales 

 of wind ; and in all that time only made thirty-five miles. For- 

 tunately, I had sent Mr. Heap on ahead, and when I anchored in 

 Smyrna he had all the camels purchased and fully equipped with 

 new saddles, covers, &c., and there was nothing left to do but ship 

 them. Mr. Heap has purchased a beautiful lot of animals, all young, 

 (between three and four years old,) and few of them have ever been 

 under the saddle. He selected the best of about three hundred good 

 ones that were sent in. There are two Bactrians, maley, three male 

 Arabian, one Tulu or cross between the Bactrian and Arabian, one 

 female of the same kind. All the rest are young females of the 

 Arabian breed ; some of them will produce young in four or five 

 months. S 



Six of the camels have been presented by the sultan, through our 

 minister at Constantinople, or Mr. Brown ; one of them is a Bactrian, 

 the others of the Arabian breed. We shall sail with forty-four camels 

 in all, which is eleven more than we started with last year. I have 

 had to make some little alterations in the vessel to accommodate them, 

 and have arranged the decks better than I had them on the last voyage, 

 so the animals will be much more comfortable. 



Camels are much dearer than they were last year, owing to a ces- 

 sation of the war, and the great demand for transportation of mer- 

 chandise into the interior of Asia Minor ; but notwithstanding the 

 additional number of camels, the expenses will not amount to more 

 than they did last voyage, and we have a much finer lot of animals. 



I think our present home voyage will be about the same as the last, 

 and if the steamer will be ready on the 20th of January, I hope by 

 that time to get to the mouth of the Mississippi, and turn the camels 



