Camels Over the Sierra Nevada

By: Durlynn Anema

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In the early 1860’s Otto Esche, a San Francisco businessman, went to Northern Asia (called The Orient in those days) to buy several herds of Bactrian camels, then sent them to San Francisco. Julius Bandmann, another San Francisco businessman, purchased ten of these camels in 1860 with the goal of using them as pack animals. From 1861-64 he sent a caravan of nine camels each year over the Big Tree-Carson Valley Road to Nevada. The camels were used to transport salt, wood, and other merchandise to the silver mines in the Comstock Lode.

Why camels? Esche and Bandmann were familiar with the U. S. Army’s camel experiment in the late 1850‘s. They envisioned camels as a resource to increase the freight loads while economizing on maintenance of the animals. Camels could carry twice the loads of other pack animals plus walk several miles further, could forage on desert plants no other animal would eat, could go long periods without water. With these attributes, why did this idea fail?

Durlynn Anema, author of over twenty books, is a native Californian who has been involved with California history and geography her entire life. She and her family spent many summers camping, hiking, backpacking, and driving the areas described in this book.