LT. Ned Beale was in 1857 commissioned by congress to survey and identify a wagon road from Fort Defiance in New Mexico to the Colorado River, his route would become known as the Beale Wagon Road across Arizona, perhaps what makes Beale’s expedition so noteworthy in western annals is that he used camels instead of horses! Lieutenant "Ned" Beale was in charge of a most unusual experiment, camels were well suited to the arid southwest and the camel experiment was a resounding success, camels very possibly could have become a fixture in the old west, and may have replaced the horse in importance, but two reasons are given as to why not, first, the Civil War broke out and the camel experiment was dropped, or they scared horses and mules, so the Army declined to continue the experiment, you and historians can decided which the true reason was!
the Beale Survey trail would become the Beale Wagon Road, a route that would be followed almost 70 years later by Route 66, the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (now Santa Fe RR) laid its tracks along Beale's Camel Road in the 1880's, these are the same tracks that ran parallel to Route 66 throughout the Southwest, and still run parallel to Interstate 40 today, even crossing Canyon Diablo, so named because it was a major obstacle to the early travelers,
2 comments:
Try to keep up to date Stan.
The Santa Fe is now part of the BNSF.
Dear Anonymous, my mistake, not keeping up with the times! but it is nice to know that the blog is being read and I am being kept on my toes! best regards, Stan and Diana.
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