Camels Always Do

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

An obscure and most unusual episode in Canadian history is the framework
around which Lynn Manuel has woven her fictional story. At the peak of
British Columbia’s gold rush, Frank Laumeister, a Victoria merchant
and freight outfitter, came up with the idea of using camels to
transport supplies to the goldfields, thinking that they could carry
heavier loads than mules and were able to go a longer time without food
or water.

As the story opens, Cameron and his father are among the thousands
panning for Cariboo gold. To relieve his boredom Cameron likes to read,
most often about camels, about which he has become something of an
expert. Imagine his surprise and delight when on a trip to town he
encounters 21 Bactrian camels, including a baby and a big one named
Barnum.

Cameron and his dad accept Laumeister’s offer of a job leading the
camel train to the goldfields. They (and Laumeister) quickly discover
that the disadvantages of camels far outweigh their perceived
advantages. They are stubborn and smelly; they kick, bite and spit; and
they’ll eat almost anything, given the opportunity, including a pair
of pants or a bar of soap. Horses and mules bolt at the sight of a
camel, much to the displeasure of other packers. And camels’ feet are
made for walking on sand, not on the rough, rocky Cariboo Trail.

Before long (in actuality the government outlawed camels from the
Cariboo Trail within four months of their introduction) Laumeister has
had enough, and gives all of his camels to Cameron and his dad.
(Following a surprise ending, the story comes to a satisfying
conclusion.)

Young readers will be amused and delighted at the antics of the
cantankerous camels and will soon be chiming in with Cameron’s
oft-repeated refrain “Camels always do!” Kasia Charko’s
illustrations of the mining camps, rugged Cariboo landscape, and 21
shaggy, toothy, double-humped camels, each with its own distinctive
appearance, done in watercolours and coloured pencils, add to the
enjoyment. Highly recommended.