Camels thrived in South Texas

When Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War in the 1850s, before he became president of the Confederacy, he had a novel idea to use camels to carry supplies to frontier forts in the Southwest, between Texas and California. Davis convinced Congress in 1855 to spend $30,000 to study using Arabian camels. Maj. Henry Wayne was sent to the Middle East to buy the camels. They would be brought to Texas on the ship “Supply” commanded by Navy Lt. David Dixon Porter. Wayne and Dixon made their way around the Middle East buying camels. They bought 34 one-humped and two-humped camels and hired five handlers to make the trip. After the animals were loaded, Lt. Porter wrote Washington that the camel deck was scrubbed daily and the whitewash brush kept going. The camels liked the salty taste of the whitewash. They arrived at Indianola on Matagorda Bay on May 14, 1856. There were Arabic handlers in flowing robes and 34 two-hump Bactrians, one-hump Arabians, and the crossbred mule camels called “booghdee.” Maj. Wayne demonstrated the camel’s strength. A camel was made to kneel and two bales of hay were placed on his back. They weighed 600 pounds. People expected the camel to fall over, but then two more bales were strapped on the camel’s back for a load of 1,200 pounds. To the crowd’s amazement, the camel rose and trotted off. “Lord almighty,” said a man. “That would take two mules and a wagon, easy.” “Hell, four,” said another...read more