THE STRANGE SIGHT of camel caravan moving along "lower road" between San Antonio and El Paso both frightened and angered the Indians and ranchers of West Texas in the mid-1800's. This U.S. Army experiment to replace mules with camels was a temporary success because the camels could carry heavier loads, go without water for extended periods of time
and survive by eating desert shrubs. The Civil War ended the experiment
and many of the camels were allowed to wander off into the hills of
the Vig Bend Country or were auctioned the the public by the federal
government from Camp Verde, near Kerrville, Texas.