When camels ruled

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal Feb 18, 2009


Longtime Kerr residents are familiar with the clumpy story of the U.S. Army's experiment with using camels in the 1860s.

But newcomers are always surprised when they learn about the history of Camp Verde. The area, now home to the Camp Verde General Store and Post Office, is 10 miles south of Kerrville on Highway 173 at a site considered " the most historic crossroads in Kerr County."

Gerald Witt teaches a Club Ed class there called Camp Verde - The Camels and More.

"It really was a government project," Witt said. "They thought camels would be the best beasts of burden for carrying cargo across the southwest. So they went to Asia Minor and came back with 40 camels."

The year was 1861. It was the start of the Civil War, but the "camel experiment" had nothing to do with war. According to Witt, this was all about the Army finding a better way to ship cargo across an unsettled west.

The project was not without challenges. The Army had to bring in camel handlers from Asia. Apparently, American soldiers didn't get along with camels.

"They were more used to working with horse or cattle," he noted.

The upshot is that the camel experiment was a success. The hardy beasts of burden easily navigated the deserts and mountains, hauling goods from Texas to California. But a national distraction ended the program.

"In two words, what killed it was the Civil War," Witt said.

The camels that made the trip to California never came back. The ones left at Camp Verde were auctioned off to circuses and zoos, and a colorful chapter in the area's history closed.

In his class, Witt points out that Camp Verde was about more than camels.

Along with Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Camp Verde was part of a string of forts stretching from Fort Worth in the north to Fort Inge on the Rio Grande. For a very brief period, they served as the line of defense along America's western frontier. A restless nation quickly grew beyond it, and the forts were abandoned or converted to other uses.

Witt tells how the Comanche nation adopted the horse and moved in from Wyoming to spread across Texas. That leads to discussions of the two battles of Bandera Pass; one with the Spaniards, the second with the Rangers.

Again it is a reminder of the area's colorful and often unforgiving past. For those of us who came to Texas from states where settlers plowed sod or poled rivers, it is fascinating to walk hills and riverbanks where only a few generations back ancestors of local families clashed with Indians, led cattle drives, and built ranching empires.

So as you sit inside Camp Verde General Store, sipping your tea and gazing out over Verde Creek, Witt will help you envision a time when camels roamed those hills.

XXX

A few times each session, Gerald Witt teachers Camp Verde - Camels and More. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.