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livery stableman

Livery stableman in Clayville,[1] New Mexico Territory in 1878. (December 13, 1813 – April 10, 1893).[2]

In July of 1878[2] in Clayville, Bret Maverick was duped into buying a "pure-bred Arabian mount" that turned out to be a female camel named Fatima. He intended to sell her the next day to a local farmer or rancher, but wanted to get her cleaned up beforehand to increase her saleability. He took Fatima to the town's livery, but the stableman wanted nothing to do with such a strange creature as Fatima. Bret easily convinced him to take Fatima in for the night and to give her a bath, cologne and some good bran, by waving a handful of poker winnings in his face. The stableman suddenly became eager to care for Fatima, but no amount of grooming improved Bret's ability to sell the camel.[1]

See: Relic of Fort Tejon