In Arizona, many will tell you that camels are not held in high esteem.
These animals can survive in almost any environment, and the US Army attempted to use them in the 1850s as draft animals to transport supplies across Arizona. The civil war did not allow this experiment to be completed. The camels were later sold at auction. Several managed to escape. Thus began the legend of the Red Ghost.
In 1883, on a remote ranch in southeastern Arizona, the Apache wars were the main threat. In addition, armed gangs raged around, forcing farmers and cowboys to be on their guard.
One early morning, two men went to check on their flock, leaving their wives at the ranch with their children. One of the women went to get some water, and suddenly her dog started barking.
Those who remained in the house heard a terrifying cry. Looking out the window, they saw a huge, reddish-red monster with a devil-looking rider on its back. The women barricaded themselves in the house and anxiously awaited the return of the men. The one who had gone to fetch water was found dead, trampled to death. Footprints much larger than those of a horse were found, with scraps of reddish hair.
A few days later, the group of travelers was awakened by loud thumping and terrifying screams. Their tent collapsed, and when the men got out of it, they saw a giant creature retreating in the light of the moon. The next day, they also found large footprints and red hair on the bushes.
These stories began to circulate between local residents. One of them claimed to have seen the monster kill and eat the grizzly. Another said that the Red Ghost stalked him for a long time before disappearing without a trace. Cyrus Hamblin, a rancher on the Salt River, met this Red Ghost while herding his cows and identified him as a camel with something tied to its back and resembling a human skeleton.
Despite the fact that Hamblin had a reputation for being honest and not inclined to poison stories, people still refused to believe him. A few weeks later, the camel was seen again on the Verde River, this time by a group of prospectors. They also noticed something on the animal's back and tried to shoot it. But the animal ran away, and a strange object fell from its back, which turned out to be a human skull when examined.
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Soon the Red Ghost struck again. His victims were several friends who camped near the road. They told that they were
awakened by a loud scream. A creature, which they believed to be several meters high, jumped over the carts and caused chaos in the camp. The men fled and hid in the bushes. When they returned, they saw strange footprints and red hair. About a year later, a cowboy came across the Red Ghost eating grass. Cowboys usually deal with large herbivores with a lasso.
So it was that time. The cowboy managed to throw a lasso around the animal's neck, but it rushed away and dropped both the rider and his horse to the ground. The camel disappeared, but the cowboy caught sight of a human skeleton tied to its back. Over the years, stories of the Red Ghost have multiplied.
The creature last appeared nine years later in eastern Arizona. One of the farmers saw him at his ranch. Carefully taking out his rifle, he killed the animal with one shot. Examination of the body revealed that it was indeed the Red Ghost. The back of the animal was scarred from the coarse ropes and belts with which the human body was tied to it. Some of the straps cut deep into the camel's body. But who and why tied the human remains to his back is unknown.
GUSAKOVA IRINA YURIEVNA