Howard Clemmons tells his grandchildren about his adventures as a young U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant in 1854. Clemmons had no seniority, power or talent for the army and was therefore chosen to lead an experimental project using camels as cavalry mounts in the southwest U.S. Clemmons remembers arriving at Fort Val Verde, Texas, where Sgt. Uriah Tibbs is expecting Arabian horses. When Tibbs explains that he and his men competed for the privilege of being in the project, Clemmons declines to tell him the “Arabians” are actually camels. Clemmons then reports to the fort's commander, Col. Seymour Hawkins, who is more interested in his cannon practice than Clemmons's camel project. Later, Clemmons inspects the troops, including Nathaniel R. Higgins, who informs Clemmons that he re-enlisted so he could ride an Arabian horse. Although Clemmons wants to tell the men the truth, he is interrupted when a cook throws dishwater out the door and soaks him. When Clemmons and Tibbs later discuss the project at the saloon, they are accosted by Sgt. Naman Tucker, who is outraged his troopers did not receive the Arabian horses. A drunken Clemmons slides under the table as the two sergeants fight.
The next day, the camels arrive, but the troops ride their horses back to the fort in disgust, leaving Clemmons to deal with the camels. Hi Jolly, an Arab camel trainer, reports to Clemmons and as they herd camels through town, horses stampede in fright, ladies scream and dogs bark in fear. A wagon overturns, and a barrel splits open covering Col. Hawkins's daughter, Jennifer, in molasses. Hawkins berates Clemmons for the damage and plans to cancel the project, but Clemmons declares that the orders came from Jefferson Davis, the Secretary of War. That night, Jennifer sneaks into Clemmons's room, pours a small crock of molasses over his head, and declares them even before inviting him to afternoon tea. The next day, Hi Jolly gives his first lesson in camel care as Tucker rides up and insults Tibbs's men. Clemmons warns Tucker that if he insults the camel corps again, Clemmons will put him on report and transfer him into the camel project. To the cheers of Tibbs's men, Tucker apologizes and rides away. As Hi Jolly congratulates his comrade on raising the men's morale, Clemmons faints. Over time, the soldiers continue their camel training, but the lessons do not go well. When the men finally learn to mount the camels, the animals run wild, dumping them in the dirt and water troughs. That night, the men bet Tucker he cannot lasso a camel. When Tucker lands the rope around the camel's neck, the beast runs in panic, dragging Tucker behind. The next morning, the camel returns, still dragging Tucker, bleeding and bruised.
As weeks pass, the men become proficient with their camels and Clemmons romances Jennifer. He is ordered to capture a Native American renegade and Clemmons and his men pursue the outlaws, but they are thrown off their camels at a river. Later, Hi Jolly explains that camels are afraid of water; if Clemmons had dismounted and demonstrated the water was shallow, the camels would have crossed. That night, Jennifer takes a stroll with Clemmons, who tells her Col. Hawkins is cancelling the camel project. When Clemmons whines that he is a failure, Jennifer scolds him for being too cowardly to fight for his career.
The next morning, Clemmons proposes a 300-mile race to the town of Dos Rios between his camels and Tucker's horses. When Hawkins declines, Clemmons deceitfully claims that the camel experiment is the President's pet project. Sometime later, Hi Jolly is injured in a barroom brawl and cannot ride. Before the race, Jennifer gives Clemmons a thick book on camels and kisses him. Col. Hawkins fires a cannon and the race is on. Tucker's horses outpace Clemmons's camels, but within a few days, Clemmons's men catch up. However, Clemmons learns from Corporal Leroy that Tucker and his men are captured by an outlaw named Bad Jack Cutter at Dagger's Point. Clemmons insists on rescuing Tucker and his men. Along the way, Clemmons and Tibbs capture two other outlaws, steal their clothes and horses, then ride into town in disguise to meet Bad Jack, agreeing to join his gang. Later, they find Tucker and his men in jail and try to pull out the window bars using a horse. When the horse fails, a camel demolishes the entire jail. Tucker and his men run, leaving Tibbs and Clemmons to face the outlaws alone. A gunfight ensues but Clemmons's men ride in on camelback, rescuing their leaders, and ride off before the outlaws can get to their horses. That night, Clemmons discovers they have lost the camel carrying all but one of their water barrels. Although Clemmons believes they can find water in the mountains, Tibbs insists they follow the map to the next waterhole. After two days of riding, they discover the hole is dry, and they are out of water. Tibbs wants to ride back to a river, but Clemmons convinces Tibbs to let him try to reach the mountains, ordering Tibbs to head to the river if he does not return by sunset. Clemmons finds water, but as he ties the barrel onto his camel, a shot rings out. Black Jack exchanges gunfire with Clemmons as the camel runs away. After sundown, the camel reaches Tibbs and his men. The men drink their fill, then realize Clemmons is missing. The next morning, Black Jack realizes Clemmons is out of ammunition. He climbs down the rocks and shoots Clemmons in the chest but as he celebrates, Tibbs and the men capture him. Much to Tibbs's surprise, Clemmons is saved by the book Jennifer gave him; it was inside his jacket and stopped Bad Jack's bullet.
Later, Clemmons's troop races past Tucker and his men's exhausted horses outside Dos Rios. As Clemmons celebrates his victory, a telegram arrives from Washington, D.C., reporting that Congress has approved construction of the transcontinental railroad and the camel project is therefore unnecessary. Clemmons is ordered to turn the camels loose, but Tibbs and the men protest, concerned that the camels will perish in the American desert. As Clemmons finishes telling the story to his grandchildren, his wife, Jennifer, announces that dinner is ready. Clemmons goes outside to ring the dinner triangle, but Hi Jolly, Higgins and Tibbs report that one of the camels is in labor. As the four old men walk to the barn, Higgins wonders if they could move the camels closer to the house because he is tired that "each day he must walk a mile for a camel".
The United States Camel Corps was a mid-19th-century experiment by the United States Army in using camels as pack animals in the Southwestern United States. Although the camels proved to be hardy and well suited to travel through the region, the Army declined to adopt them for military use. The Civil War interfered with the experiment, which was eventually abandoned; the animals were sold at auction.
Hi Jolly or Hadji Ali, also known as Philip Tedro, was an Ottoman subject of Syrian and Greek parentage, and in 1856 became one of the first camel drivers ever hired by the US Army to lead the camel driver experiment in the Southwest.
The Battle of Lone Jack took place during the American Civil War on August 15–16, 1862 in Jackson County, Missouri. The battle was part of the Confederate guerrilla and recruiting campaign in Missouri in 1862.
Xu Ning is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Gold Lancer", he ranks 18th among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.
Huyan Zhuo is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Double Clubs", he ranked eighth among the 36 Heavenly Spirits (天罡), the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny.
Wei Dingguo is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "General of Holy Fire", he ranks 45th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and ninth among the 72 Earthly Fiends.
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The Battle of Beecher Island, also known as the Battle of Arikaree Fork, was an armed conflict between several of the Plains Native American tribes and Forsyth's Scouts, a company of selected civilian frontiersmen, recruited and commanded by Brevet-Colonel George Alexander Forsyth. The battle occurred in late September 1868 with Forsyth and the scouts making a stand at Beecher Island, on the Arikaree River, then known as part of the North Fork of the Republican River, near present-day Wray, Colorado, named afterwards for Lieutenant Fredrick H. Beecher, Forsyth's executive officer killed during the battle.
Camel cavalry, or camelry, is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, bows, or firearms.
The Rashidun army was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, granting them successive victories in their various campaigns.
The Fursan unit, or the early Muslim cavalry unit, was the cavalry forces of Rashidun army during the Muslim conquest of Syria. The division which formed the early cavalry corps of the caliphate were commonly nicknamed the Mobile Guard or also nicknamed the Marching Army. These units were famously commanded by Khalid ibn al-Walid, the most successful early caliphate cavalry commander who organized the unit into military staff – a simple beginning of what later in military history would emerge as the general staff. Khalid had collected from all the regions in which he had fought – Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Palestine.
The Last Outlaw is a 1993 American Western television film starring Mickey Rourke, Dermot Mulroney, Ted Levine, Daniel Quinn, Gavan O'Herlihy, Keith David, John C. McGinley, and Steve Buscemi, along with a variety of other known actors, which has since become a cult classic among Western genre fans. It was directed by Geoff Murphy and written by Eric Red. It was initially broadcast on HBO on October 30, 1993.
The Mysterious Rider is a 1938 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Douglass Dumbrille, Sidney Toler, and Russell Hayden. Written by Maurice Geraghty based on the 1921 novel The Mysterious Rider by Zane Gray, the film is about a notorious outlaw who returns to the ranch he once owned and takes a job disguised as a ranch hand. Unrecognized by the ranch's current owner, he waits patiently for an opportunity to expose the men who murdered his partner twenty years ago, framed him for the crime, and then stole his ranch. The film was later released for television in the United States as Mark of the Avenger.
Renegade Girl is a 1946 American western film directed by William Berke and starring Ann Savage, Alan Curtis and Edward Brophy. It was one of a few movies made by the short-lived Affiliated Productions, and was released through Robert L. Lippert's Screen Guild Productions.
The Nevadan is a 1950 American Cinecolor Western film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Forrest Tucker, Frank Faylen, and George Macready. Written by George W. George and George F. Slavin, the film is about a mysterious stranger who crosses paths with an outlaw bank robber and a greedy rancher. The Nevadan was filmed in Lone Pine, California.
John Wallace Crawford (1847–1917), known as "The Poet Scout", was an American adventurer, educator, and author. "Captain Jack" was a master storyteller about the Wild West and is known in American history as one of the most popular performers in the late nineteenth century. His daring ride of 350 miles in six days to carry dispatches to Fort Laramie for the New York Herald, to tell the news of the great victory by Gen. George Crook against the village of Chief American Horse at the Battle of Slim Buttes during the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877, made him a national celebrity.
The Skeleton Canyon shootout was a gunfight on August 12, 1896, between members of the High Five Gang and a posse of American lawmen. Following a failed robbery on August 1 of the bank in Nogales, Arizona, the High Fives headed east and split up. The gang's leader, Black Jack Christian, and George Musgrave got away.
The Mason Henry Gang were bandits operating in Central and Southern California between 1864 and 1865. As the American Civil War was in progress, they were able to pose as Confederate Partisan Rangers, and their original mission was to rid the area of (anti-slavery) Republicans. But when it became clear that the Confederate cause was lost, they turned to outlawry, plundering and killing without mercy.
In Arizona folklore, the Red Ghost is a figure alleged to have roamed the Arizonan frontier in the late 19th century. It was said to have been a large, red camel, with a bleached human skeleton upon its back. Legends of it were widespread across Arizona, up until its supposed death before the dawn of the 20th century. In 1893 a farmer shot the camel and found that there was an actual human skeleton strapped to its back.
References
↑ Regional Filmmakers: Mavericks of the Movies By KIRK HONEYCUTT. New York Times 9 Nov 1980: D19.
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