In the mid-1800s, the United States needed a better way to protect the great flood of immigrants, pioneers, and settlers headed west along the southern route from Indian attacks, thieves, and murderers. Sending more cavalry wasn't the answer. The land known as the great American Desert was inhospitable to horses and mules. Only one animal "stood the test" in the southwest, and it wasn't a horse. The Great Camel Experiment of the Old West chronicles the journey of that noble beast from the Middle East to the deserts of the American Southwest.