HI JOLLY, THE CAMEL DRIVER
(Randy Sparks)

The New Christy Minstrels - 1962
The Travelers 3 - 1962
Canadiana Folksingers - 1964
The Merrymen - 1993
River City Ramblers - 2001



Hi Jolly was a camel driver, long time ago
He followed Mr. Beale way out west
Didn't mind the burning sand in that God-forsaken land
But he didn't mind the pretty gals the best

Hi Jolly, hey Jolly, twenty miles a day, by golly
Twenty more before the morning light
Hi Jolly, hey, I gotta get on my way
I told my gal I'd be home Sunday night

There's pretty girls in Albuquerque, 'least that's what I've heard
There's pretty gals in Tumcumcari too
Now honey, I ain't blind, but I don't pay them any mind
'Cause I'm savin' all my lovin' just for you

Hi Jolly, hey Jolly, twenty miles a day, by golly
Twenty more before the morning light
Hi Jolly, hey, I gotta get on my way
I told my gal I'd be home Sunday night

Old timers down in Arizona tell you that it's true
That you can see Hi Jolly's ghost a-ridin' still
When the desert moon is bright, he comes ridin' into sight
Drivin' four and twenty camels over the hill

Hi Jolly, hey Jolly, twenty miles a day, by golly
Twenty more before the mornin' light
Hi Jolly, hey, I gotta get on my way
I told my gal I'd be home Sunday night



THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THIS SONG:

Hi Jolly was a real person. Born in Greece around 1828, of Greek and
Syrian parentage, his original name was Philip Tedro. Upon converting
to Islam, he took the name Hadji Ali. He reverted back to Philip
Tedro in later life.

After the war with Mexico (1846-1848) ended in victory for the United
States, all the land that now includes Arizona, California, Nevada,
Utah and the western regions of Colorado and New Mexico were
acquired, an area of some 529,000 square miles. With the 1849
discovery of gold in California thousands of Americans from the East
began to surge West. Surveying, defending, and supplying the newly
acquired lands fell to the federal government.

In 1855, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis was presented with a plan
to import camels to help build and supply a federal wagon route from
Texas to California. Davis approved the plan for a "Camel Military
Corps" to experiment with camels for freighting and communication in
the arid South-West. "For military purposes, and for reconnaissance,
it is believed the dromedary would supply a want now seriously felt
in our service," he explained. The United States Congress agreed and
appropriated $30,000.

Hadji Ali arrived as a camel driver in Port Indianola, Texas in
February 1856, with 100 of "Uncle Sam's Camels". He became known
as "Hi Jolly" because the locals were somehow unable to correctly
pronounce "Hadji Ali". For the next three years, Hadji, with the
camels and men of Beale's Camel Corps, helped to explore and open up
new freight routes from Texas to California.

The Army's experiment with camels was short-lived, but Hadji remained
in the South-West and for the next 40 years would divide his time
between delivery of the United States mail, hauling freight (over
roads he had helped to explore and establish), prospecting, and
serving the United States cavalry as a scout and mule packer. He
married in 1880, settling in Tucson for a while. He died in December
1902.

Following the Camel Corps experiment, some of the camels were sold at
public auctions, finishing up in zoos and circuses, and some escaped
into the wild. The last wild camel in Arizona was captured in 1946.
The last reported sighting of a wild camel in North America was in
Baja California in 1956.