264: SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. II. 



jjiirpose tlian catching iusects for food. It is charged against them, tliat they 

 sustain bed-bugs as parasites. 



295. ("ameSs— Their latroductiou iulo l!ic luitcd States.— It is a great jump 

 from tiie back of a toad to that of a camel, but not so great as politicians 

 sometimes make. As vrc have to make the leap somewhere, it may as well 

 be done here as anywhere, and after a very sliort ride wo will jump down 

 again upon the back of a goat. "We have introduced camels, because we 

 want all, particularly the farmers' boys who read this book, to learn the 

 fact that camels have already been introduced into the United States, and 

 put to service as beasts of burden. The fii-st imported were in 1857, wc 

 believe, under the auspices of the general government, since which time 

 they have been in active government service, principally in Texas, and have 

 made one or more trips to the Pacific with army ofiiccrs. 



The Galveston JVeics gives the following account of the strength of one 

 of the camels. It says : 



"There were near a dozen on the wharf, of all ages. The camel loaded 

 was one of the largest. Pn the word of command being given, the camel 

 lav down, ready to receive his load, Avhicli consisted of five bales of hay, 

 weighing in the aggregate over 1,400 pounds, which was firmly bound to the 

 pannier placed upon the animal's hump. Upon the utterance of command 

 by the native keeper, the huge animal arose, witheut any apparent eftbrt, to 

 his feet, and walked off in a stately manncr'along the wharf and through 

 the city. "We were informed that the same camel had 1,600 pounds placed 

 njion him, with which enormous weight he arose. The animals are all ex- 

 ceedingly tractable, and seem to possess much affection for any one who 

 treats them kindly, as an example of which Mrs. ^V. informs us that one of 

 them, a pretty white one, which she had petted, would always kiss her when 

 she was within kissing distance, which fact, we really thought, certainly 

 proved the animal to possess an excellent taste as well as an affectionate dis- 

 2^osition. In thein native country the average load for a full-grown camel is 

 some 800 pounds, with which they perform their long journeys over deserts, 

 with but little food or water." 



It is to be hoped that camels will become one of the ordinary beasts of 

 burden in this country, where there are such vast arid plains, as in northern 

 Texas, Xew Mexico, western Kansas, and Utah, that no other animals can 

 traverse them. 



It is stated that the Emperor of Brazil is about to introduce dromedaries 

 into that country. This animal can go long journeys without water, and 

 therefore will be found valuable upon some of the deserts and ])lains of that 

 country. A common load of an ordinary dromedary is 500 pounds. One 

 of the camels in Texas has carried two bales of cotton, of 500 pounds each. 

 One of the best kinds of dromedaries for ridinsr can travel 400 miles with- 

 out stopping to cat, drink, or rest. 



At the North, where horses, mules, and oxen are in such common use, we 

 do not think that camels will ever supersede them. 



