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Show UNCLE SAM'S FLEET OF SHIPS OF THE DESERT ONCE upon a time Uncle Sam had a queer navy, composed of 73 "ships of the desert" which, paradoxically paradox-ically speaking, navigated the dry seas of the great Southwest. This was before be-fore the Civil war when transcontinental transconti-nental railroads had not yet been built and the government was seeking a solution so-lution of the- transportation problem over the southern route to-California. In 1855 congress authorized the War department to expend $:!0,000 in purchasing pur-chasing camels to be used for military purposes in the southwest and Jefferson Jeffer-son Davis, secretary of war, sent to Turkey and Egypt to get the animals. On May 14, 1S5G, a herd of 34 camels was landed at Indianola, Tex., and driven overland to Arizona. The next year 41 more were imported. At first the experiment seemed so successful that army officers in charge of operations were loud in their praise of the value of the beasts. But trouble trou-ble soon developed. The sand of the Southwest was different from that of the camel's native land and they became be-came sore-footed. The Ignorance and prejudice of the mule-packers who had charge of them further impaired their usefulness and when the near approach ap-proach of the Civil war diverted attention at-tention from the experiment the whole thing ended in failure. Some of the camels were sold to circuses cir-cuses and others were sent to Drum barracks in Los Angeles where they were purchased by a Frenchman who expected to use them in the mines. But he soon gave up the plan and turned the animals loose In the desert to shift for themselves. The majority major-ity were soon killed off by the Apaches, who developed a fondness for camel meat, but for the next 30 years prospectors told fanciful tales of seeing wild animals in remote regions re-gions of the Southwest. The last of the camels was captured by a Mexican in the Harqua Hala mountains in 1SS5. He took his prize to Phoenix, but before he could find a market for the animal It had literally liter-ally eaten him poor. Finally he allowed al-lowed a creditor to take the beast for a $10 debt. The new owner intended to sell the camel to the next circus that came along and turned it out in j a pasture witli his mules. j The next morning, according to a i witness, "he found his mules hung al" i along the barbed wire fence and hi gu'cd down In the ditches while the more agile or more frightened were scattered ail over the surrounding country." |