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The Cariboo camels were a number of camels that arrived in British Columbia as pack animals. The Bactrian camels were used on the Douglas Road and the Old Cariboo Road in 1862 and 1863 to haul freight during the Cariboo Gold Rush. Although the experiment was a failure, the Cariboo camels retained an almost legendary status in local popular culture. ==Origin== On March 1, 1862, an advertisement ran in the ''Victoria Colonist'' that offered camels for sale with an address where interested parties could go for further information. The camels were being sold by a San Francisco merchant, Otto Esche, who was probably inspired by the use of dromedary camels by the US Army Camel Corps. These Bactrian camels had worked in Arizona for rail construction and Esche had used them as pack animals during the California Gold Rush.〔(The Cariboo Wagon Road Transportation - Camels )〕 The editor of the ''Colonist'' ran a headline stating "The Camels are Coming!" and with the flamboyant journalism typical of the day added, ''"and after they have been disposed of, a number of trained whales will be placed on the route between Victoria and the Stikine River carrying freight and inside passengers a la Jonah"''.〔 On March 15, the ''Colonist'' continued the story, reporting that Lillooet man, John Calbreath had purchased 23 of these animals for $300 a head and was planning to use them on the Old Cariboo Road to freight goods from Lillooet to Alexandria. Calbreath was a representative of several other businessmen who were involved in this venture, Frank Laumeister, Adam Heffley and Henry Ingram. However, as the story unfolded, it was Laumeister whose name became the most associated with the Cariboo camels. Both Calbreath and Laumeister would later become involved in the Cassiar Gold Rush, owning stores and operating freighting businesses, although no camels would have any part of these ventures. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cariboo camels」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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