Hi Jolly became linked to an unusual episode in Arizona history through the camel experiment approved by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis to test camels for freighting and communication in the arid Southwest. Major Henry C. Wayne of the U.S. Army and Lieutenant D.D. Porter visited the Levant with the storeship "Supply" and obtained 33 camels, landed at Indianola, Texas, on February 10, 1856, with 41 more added on a second voyage. Among the first arrivals was the caretaker Haiji Ali, whose Arabic name soldiers quickly changed to "Hi Jolly," the name by which he became widely known; his Greek (?) name was Philip Tedro. In 1857, on the Beale Expedition to open a wagon road across Arizona from Fort Defiance to California, the camels under Hi Jolly's charge proved their worth. Even so, the War Department abandoned the experiment, and the camels were left on the Arizona Desert to survive on their own, roaming chiefly in this section for many years and creating interest and excitement. Officially the camel experiment was judged a failure, but Lieutenant Beale and Major Wayne strongly praised the animals and believed a fair trial might have brought complete success.