As the Civil War broke out, exploration of the frontier was curtailed and Confederates captured Camp Verde. Despite the animals’ more objectionable qualities-they spat, regurgitated and defied orders-the experiment was generally deemed a success. Reasoning that the arid southwest was a lot like the deserts of Egypt, the Army imported 66 camels from the Middle East. Camel Corps was established in 1856 at Camp Verde, Texas. One of the wackier ideas in American history, the U.S. Feral camels once roamed the plains of Texas. He was buried at the famous Boot Hill cemetery in Dodge City, Kansas, 66 years after his death. Subsequent testing by the Los Angeles coroner’s office revealed the prop was actually McCurdy. During filming there in 1976 for the television show “The Six Million Dollar Man,” the prop’s finger (or arm, depending on the account) broke off, revealing human tissue. His corpse finally wound up in a Long Beach, California, amusement park funhouse. For about 60 years, McCurdy’s body was bought and sold by various haunted houses and wax museums for use as a prop or attraction. McCurdy’s unclaimed corpse was then embalmed with an arsenic preparation, sold by the undertaker to a traveling carnival and exhibited as a sideshow curiosity. The disappointed outlaw made off with just $46 and was shot by lawmen shortly thereafter. In 1911, Elmer McCurdy mistakenly robbed a passenger train he thought contained thousands of dollars. Failed bandit Elmer McCurdy’s corpse had a more interesting life than the man did.
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