Excerpt from Report of the Secretary of War: Communicating in Compliance With the Resolution of the Senate of February 2, 1857, Information Respecting the Purchase of Camels for the Purpose of Military Transportation Sir: Assigned to special duty in connexion with the appropriation for importing camels for army transportation and for other military purposes, you will proceed without delay to the Levant, and there make such investigations as, with the knowledge you already possess of the animal, and of the views' and intentions of the government in relation to its introduction, will enable you to execute the law of Congress. A storeship, which (after the delivery of stores for the Mediterranean squadron at Spezzia) has been placed at my disposal by the Secretary of the Navy, will leave New York on or about the 20th instant, under the command of Lieutenant D. D. Porter, United States navy, who has been associated with you in the commission. In the prosecution of your duties it. May be requisite for one or both of you to go into the interior of Asia; and should you, in such expedi tions, visit the government Of any state or country with which the United States has no established relations, diplomatic, consular, Or commercial, you will present yourselves in your official capacities, as charged by your government with a special commission, and request, in the name of your government, such friendly Offices as international courtesy warrants. On your way to the Levant, you may find, especially in England and France, persons whom it would be desirable to consult on points connected with this special service, such as General Marey Monge, Colonel Carbuccia, and other Officers of the French army who 'were connected with the experiments in Africa, on the use of the camel in the military service of France. You had also better examine for your information the stock, training, and breeding of the Barbary camel, imported into Tuscany some two hundred years ago, and which, by careful breeding, is reported to have been greatly improved, both in size and strength. Leave your address at Spezzia for Lieut. Porter, and indicate the point at which he is to meet you with the vessel. Report to me as often as you can, giving me full information of your operations, that I may be advised of your course, and, if necessary, furnish you with further and more precise instructions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.