Hi Jolly and the U.S. Camel Corps

 

In 1855 the U.S. government approved an experimental plan to use camels imported from the Middle East for transporting supplies and equipment across the deserts of the American Southwest.  The U.S. Camel Corps, headquartered in Texas, was born.

Two years into the experiment an expedition under the command of Edward F. Beale was ordered to open a wagon road across Arizona to California.  The expedition left San Antonio on June 25, 1857, and 25 pack camels accompanied a train of mule-drawn wagons. Each camel carried a load of 600 pounds. Beale wrote that he would rather have one camel than four mules.

The expedition included a camel drover named Hadji Ali, who was soon dubbed “Hi Jolly” by his American counterparts. Ali was born as Philip Tedro around 1828, to a Greek mother and a Syrian father. As a young man, he converted to Islam and took the name Hadji Ali.

As the camels moved west under Hi Jolly’s guidance, they proved themselves superior to horses in terms of endurance.  There was a major problem however, the sight of the large animals frightened horses and mules, creating general chaos among the animals. 

The U.S. Camel Corps experiment came to an end by 1866.  The camels were auctioned off, and some were set loose in the desert forming small herds.  Rumors of wild camels in Arizona were still prevalent in Arizona during the 1930s and 1940s.

Hi Jolly stayed in Arizona and became a scout for the Army, assisting General Crook with the Geronimo Campaign.  He died in December 1902 at the age of 64 in Quartzsite, Arizona.  Hi Jolly's work in the US Camel Corps earned him a reputation as a living legend until his death.

In 1935, the Governor of Arizona dedicated a monument to Hadji Ali and the Camel Corps in the Quartzsite Cemetery. The monument, located at his gravesite, is a pyramid built from local stones and topped with a copper camel, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

                                                              

                                                          Legends of the Superstition Mountains

Wars and Invasions (Four alternative history stories)