June 19th 1886, Fort Whitley, Kansa Territory Today we wished farewell to our very first Gatling camel patrol which moved out on a scouting mission into the unorganised territory! I readily confess that I entertain the highest hopes for this new form of reconnaissance-in-force. I think I can say without exaggeration that the boys, who have never ridden anything but horses in their entire life, would now, after but one month of intense drill, put any Bedouin and all the sons of Arabia to shame in mastering these long-limbed desert-creatures! The boys are more eager than ever, to teach those savages a lesson. Far too long have those lizard-riding stone age people been defying our well-earned claim to the territories. The operational record since the beginning of spring has been particularly unedifying. Time and again, our horse patrols have been driven back to our bases by the warriors of the Cheyenne-alliance on their so-called whistlers. Two horse patrols have even disappeared without a trace and the worst has to assumed. Adding insult to injury, terrified patrols have reported Indian patrols riding no longer whistlers, whose mere travel gait already resembles the fast gallop of our horses, but even tamed raptors who are reportedly not carrying Indian bucks but "woman warriors". It is a truism that we cannot hope to beat the savages on the field of mere speed, agility or the ability to blend in with the surrounding landscape. Although it is but a question of time when the progress of our science and industry will avail us with ever new and decisive means to subdue the savagery of the Indian, I sincerely share the growing impatience of those who find that the impasse of the past 80 years has been far too long and ask for immediate action. Our new Gatling camel scouting units are but a first step into that direction and we are all anxiously awaiting the outcome of this first mission. For the first time in decades our brave men no longer hope to avoid enemy patrols but even pray that providence may cross their path with that of the savage lizard-riders. Their only fear is that the enemy might avoid a direct engagement, for it remains a fact that no civilized force can catch or outrun the whistlers. What we can do now is outgun them, and very thoroughly so. The camels are our mounts of choice not for their speed or endurance, since there is no serious lack of water on the prairies, but because their elevated backs provide for a platform for our gatling guns that enables the rider to shoot over the head of the mount. While the stupefying speed of the whistlers has made accurate aiming and firing all but impossible in past engagements, this will no longer be necessary with the new gatling guns. They will literally mow down anything that is caught in their arc of fire. We all expect the return our brave boys in a few weeks in good health and spirits and with a tidy number of Cheyenne scalps! Colonel McCormack, post commander _____________________ Inspired by the Fallen Cloud Saga by Kurt. R.A. Giambastiani. And, yes, Camel droppings look like this, I picture-googled them... ;) ______________________ THE COMIC STARTS HERE!!!