In the mid-1800s, the United States needed a better way to protect the great flood of immigrants, pioneers, and settlers headed west along the southern route from Indian attacks, thieves, and murderers. Sending more cavalry wasn't the answer. The land known as the great American Desert was inhospitable to horses and mules. Only one animal "stood the test" in the southwest, and it wasn't a horse. The Great Camel Experiment of the Old West chronicles the journey of that noble beast from the Middle East to the deserts of the American Southwest.
“A fascinating story, telling aspects of the American West that most of us know little about.”—True West Magazine In the mid-nineteenth century, the U.S. Army was on the verge of employing a weapon that had never before been seen on its native soil: a cavalry mount that would fare better than both mules and horses in the American Southwest... Against the Mojave in the Arizona Territory, against the Mormons in Utah Territory, during the early stages of the Civil War, the camel would become part of military history and a nearly forgotten chapter of Americana. This is the true story of that experiment and the extraordinary group of people who it brought together. The Last Camel Charge gives them their due as a vital piece of American history. INCLUDES PHOTOS
Ali is a young camel in Egypt when he is captured by humans. Determined to "work, but never surrender," he earns a reputation as a disobedient animal and is sold to an American colonel. The year is 1856 and Ali soon finds himself in Texas as part of the U.S. Camel Corps. Crossing the landscape of 19th century America, Ali learns to balance his pride with the needs of his new companions, and slowly matures into a noble creature. Compellingly written from the camel's point of view, this unusual book offers a fresh and unusual perspective on a little-known slice of American history.
In the lawless, drought-ridden lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893, two extraordinary lives collide. Nora is an unflinching frontierswoman, alone in a house abandoned by the men in her life. Lurie is a man haunted by ghosts--he sees lost souls who want something from him. The way in which Nora and Lurie's stories intertwine is the surprise and suspense of this brilliant novel.ovel.
*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts *Includes a bibliography for further reading In the 1850s, Americans widely believed that the area from the 97th Meridian to the Rocky Mountains was vast, sterile, and useless, fit only for wandering natives and something to be endured rather than enjoyed by the people traveling through. Putting the eastern border near the point where the Great Plains begin, a common name for the huge region was "The Great American Desert," and the acquisition of the Southwest from Mexico added to the already huge area, commonly considered desert wasteland. Suddenly, the United States had a million square miles of Great American Desert to administrate, an area where the resident native warriors considerably outnumbered the small U.S. Army. In fact, the use of the word "desert" probably contributed to the idea behind using camels in the region, thanks to their reputation as "ships of the desert." With that in mind, the United States Camel Corps was a military experiment in the 1850s that brought camels from Egypt and Turkey to Texas and California. The cast of characters in this story is larger than life and includes U.S. Army and Navy officers, explorers, writers, politicians, and diplomats. The most famous person involved was Jefferson Davis, a U.S. Senator from Mississippi who went on to become Secretary of War and the Confederacy's only president. The project also utilized Haji Ali (also known as "Hi Jolly"), the U.S. Army's first Muslim employee, and it even had a small effect on the Civil War. One of the camels, Doug, was used by the Confederates at Vicksburg, and locals despised the Red Ghost, a feral camel that terrorized rural Arizona. The most important result of this historical footnote probably has no resonance in American history, and in fact, the name "United States Camel Corps" was never formalized, but it seems to be what historians call a retronym, a name given after a phenomenon has receded into the past. How long the name of "Camel Corps" has been in existence is unknown, but it has been used in literature for close to a century. What the troopers themselves called the unit remains unknown. However, the unit was extraordinarily important to Mexico, thanks to a man named Elias, one of the Syrian-Arab cameleers. Hired and brought over to teach American soldiers how to handle camels, Elias eventually moved to Sonora, Mexico, married a Yaqui Mexican woman, and had a son who went on to become a formidable and energetic president of Mexico. The United States Camel Corps: The History of the U.S. Army's Use of Camels in the Southwest during the 19th Century looks at the unique unit, from its origins to its record. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the United States Camel Corps like never before.
The U.S. Army's oddest recruits: Camels! In this strange but true historical tale, 34 camels were imported to Texas to work as pack animals for the army in 1856. Many people had never seen such strange animals; they didn't believe that these smelly beasts could possibly be useful. Despite many Texans' initial doubts, the camels thrived in the state's desert and transported important military messages and supplies.
All that Elizabeth McDermott knows about camels is the story of the three wise men. But in one dramatic year, camels change her life. In 1856, when the US Army imports camels to Texas, the young Galveston debutante and her family are uprooted to accompany the camels to San Antonio. On the trek, she makes three improbable friends: Alex, affable nephew of the Yankee commander; Hassan, handsome Egyptian camel handler; and Nate, restless grandson of the Matagorda lighthouse keeper. The camels' antics amuse and astonish, but tensions rise between those who envision a Camel Corps defending the West and others who find the beasts too foreign. Elizabeth worries as her new friends become embroiled in the conflict. Far removed from her sheltered upbringing, she suffers tragic loss, confronts the horrors of slavery, and finds love. One thing is certain: her fate is firmly linked to the camels. A fictional account of actual events, this cross-cultural adventure gives voice to an ensemble of feisty women, Muslim camel men, African-Americans, immigrant Germans, and colorful Texans, all brought together by the great American camel experiment.
Fermentation is an ancient way of preserving food as an aid to digestion, but the centralization of modern foods has made it less popular. Katz introduces a new generation to the flavors and health benefits of fermented foods. Since the first publication of the title in 2003 he has offered a fresh perspective through a continued exploration of world food traditions, and this revised edition benefits from his enthusiasm and travels.
These are the stories of what happened in the West as the trickle then flood of Easterners and immigrants first began to flow into the plains, deserts, and mountains between the Pacific Ocean and the Mississippi River and, finally, far north into The Last Frontier. While some events would have happened regardless who was there—earthquakes, storms, droughts, and other natural disasters—it was because of this influx of humanity that those events were recorded and have become part of America’s history. Amid tales of loss and horror are accounts of survival and success. And among the countless adventurers who found the lure of wide open spaces and untapped resources to be as strong as the Sirens’ song to Odysseus, many found the determination to thrive in the West. And thrive they did—even better, for what they lacked in resources they made up in resourcefulness, becoming inventors, entrepreneurs, scientists, activists, explorers and more.
