Jim Kjelgaard always tells a good story outstandingly well. He has an unusual subject in Hi Jolly—the little-known Camel Corps that did so much to open up our great Southwest. In particular, it is the thrilling tale of Dadji Ali (Americanized into Hi Jolly), the fugitive young Syrian camel driver who sought refuge in America with his loyal companion, Ben Akbar, the magnificent riding camel, to help survey a wagon road across the desert land between Fort Defiance and the California border, bridging the final gap in a transcontinental highway.
Jim Kjelgaard did on-the-spot research for his fascinating book, discovering the grave of the real Hi Jolly in luartzite and "visiting every place in the Southwest where there'd ever been a camel or even a rumor of a camel."
Kendall Rossi's fine drawings bring out the excitement, humor and touching quality of this fine book to perfection.
