Virginia City

Near Viriginia City, a rich silver vein was found called the Comstock Lode. To be able to extract the silver, tons of salt are needed. An entrepreneur, called Otto Esche smelled a great opportunity. He figured out that salt had to be transported from where it was available to where it was needed (here). The question was "how". He went to Mongolia and bought 32 Bactrian camels. These type of camels have been carrying salt along the Mongolian deserts since the time of Marco Polo. 15 survived the trip to the US, and Esche thought he was in business. But he didn't take into account the miners. They hated the camels because they spit, bite and kick. And on top of that, the mules and horses got very nervous about the camels. That's why they made a law in Virginia City to outlaw camels on the street during the day. Otto Esche gave up his idea and let the camels loose in the desert, where they died.

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