Cariboo Camels - 1863

1863

In May 1863, the camels were back at Lillooet, but after creating more headlines and occasioning more threats of legal action from outraged and exasperated stage drivers, Frank Laumeister retired the camel train for good. What became of the remaining camels has always been a subject of much debate and apocryphal stories. Several were taken in at ranches, either as exotic pets or as working stock, while another was mistaken for a grizzly bear and shot by miner, John Morris, who would forever be known as "Grizzly" Morris. The camel didn’t go to waste but ended up on the menu at a hotel near Beaver Lake as a dinner special called "Grizzly's Bear". Unconfirmed camel sightings were reported all over the Cariboo and Central British Columbia for decades.

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