Larry Martin Crosses Over & Camels Crossing The Colorado River

 January 14, 2026

   We just got word that our friend and the author of our cover story in the next issue of True West magazine, Larry Martin, has passed away from cancer. Our sincere condolences go out to his wife Kat and his family. He was a great guy and no one knew more about Ned Beale than Larry.

   We will dedicate the issue to him which goes to press later this month. I was wrapping up some of the loose ends of the story (see below) and it was frustrating because Larry could have answered every question in mere seconds. It is really true that when a historian dies, a library goes with them.

   Here is a sidebar we want to run at the end of his Ned Beale feature story.

The Rest of The Journey

  On October 17th, 1857 Ned Beale and his camel crew arrived at the Colorado River and encountered a military steamboat, The General Jesup (also styled as Jessup).

Beale's Camel Corp arriving at the Colorado River and encountering the General Jesup side-wheeler

(painting by my friend Bill Arhendt)

   In some accounts I've read, the Jesup successfully carried the camels, mules and horses across the wide river. In other versions, one of the American herders, the legendary Hi Jolly, sang to encourage his camels to swim the swift currant of the river and they successfully crossed with no losses. Two horses and ten mules were lost on the crossing. From there, the camel caravan made it to Los Angeles on November 10, 1857, walking the streets as crowds gathered to see the weird humped animals. Beale and his caravan then reached their final destination Fort Tejon, California later in November still carrying their loads of 600 to 800 pounds. Their historic mission was accomplished.

   The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 ended any hope for the building of a railroad along the 35th Parallel in the near future. The government had no more use for its camels and they were either sold as military surplus or turned loose to roam the western deserts of Arizona and California.

Fort Yuma and the Jesup on the Colorado River

by Heinrich Balduin Mollhausen 

   The above image shows the steamboat General Jesup, a small sidewheel steamboat used on the Colorado River to supply Fort Yuma. The General Jesup was used to ferry Beale’s party, including the camels, across the river on the expeditions eastward return home on January 23rd, 1858.

   So, it appears that the Jesup carried the camels across the Colorado on the return trip and not on the October 1857 crossing. We'd like to clarify this in the issue, so if you know this history, or someone who does, please let me know. Thanks.

"I would have written a shorter letter but I didn't have the time."

—Mark Twain