Just imagine a huge red beast lumbering across the Arizona Frontier with a human skeleton as its rider and terrorizing local ranches. To some extent, this actually happened back in 1883, but the details, like most folklore, are muddled with both inaccurate reports and grand exaggerations. The story of the Red Ghost of the West is a chilling one, without a doubt, but what was the real story? Why was a camel even in the Old West, and who was its mysterious skeletonized rider that incited intense fear in anyone who crossed its path? This is where fact and fiction meet to determine the truth behind this paranormal-infused legend.
The Red Beast and its Ghostly Rider
Setting the Stage
The idea that a camel was in the Old West is not difficult to explain. In the dry, isolated areas of Arizona and surrounding lands, the military needed some way to transport materials westward. Then Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, in 1855, proposed to use camels for that task, and with a budget of $30,000 (equivalent to $1,100,000 today), he created the Camel Corps. The military procured seventy camels from the Mediterranean area, and the Camel Corps was successfully underway. However, a snag hit this project when the Civil War began. Davis joined the Confederacy, and the camel Corps became largely ignored and finally abandoned. Some camels were sold; others were just released to fend for themselves throughout the countryside.
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Sightings and Interactions
It was nearly thirty years later when the first sighting occurred at a cattle ranch. Two men were out checking on their cattle when one of the rancher’s wives heard her dogs barking and went to investigate. She described what she saw as a huge, red-colored beast with a rider who looked like the Devil himself. When her husband and his friend returned to the house, they found one of the men’s wives trampled to death with hooves described as twice the size of a horse’s. Soon after, reports from prospectors about a creature terrorizing and destroying their camp came to light, as well as more sightings of the beast knocking over wagons and causing destruction throughout the nearby lands.
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The Mysterious Rider
With all the sightings, the descriptions of the rider were all very similar. The observers said a human skeleton rode the Camel. Now, to men and women viewing this nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, this sight would be startling to say the least. Saying it was the Devil, or a paranormal ghostly figure, would be most people’s go-to determination. However, there are more logical answers to this mysterious skeleton rider. Some speculation says it is the remains of a prospector who was dying of thirst and attached himself to the Camel in hopes of it finding a water source. Others say it might have been a soldier who tried to ride it and somehow perished while still secured to the beast.
Tall Tales and Exaggerations
While there’s obviously a logical reason behind the Red Ghost camel and skeletonized rider, the legend grew and grew with observers’ vast exaggerations, embellishment of the true facts, and personal speculation they spoke as truth. Descriptions that the Camel was nearly thirty feet tall or that it killed and ate a full-grown Grizzly bear only added fuel to the fire as the story was passed from person to person over the years. Observers also stated that the red-furred creature was powerful enough to destroy structures and large wagons.
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The Red Ghost Put to Rest
The Red Ghost legend continued until 1893, when it suddenly came to an abrupt end. Mizoo Hastings was a farmer and noticed the beast eating in this field. He quickly took his rifle and killed the Camel with only one shot. The Camel still had the skeleton strapped to its back (though the skull was missing, as it was shot off months earlier). Straps on the Camel’s body were attached for over three decades and permanently scarred the animal.
The Red Ghost of The West -A Solid Folklore Entry
The legend of the Red Ghost of the West, on the surface, exhibited a true paranormal possibility. However, it was just a culmination of a variety of circumstances that created this amazing story. Camels do live up to fifty years, so it’s probable that some did live for decades after the dismantling of the Camel Corps. It’s also very possible that a person secured themselves to the animal to find water or just as a means of traveling the surrounding lands. They somehow perished and their body decomposed under the blistering sun over the years. No matter that this story has a logical explanation, it does provide a thought-provoking tale of the ever-intriguing Old West.
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