| OCR Text |
Show battle. A promising industry in the town of Rambouillet was neglected and the station was finally abandoned. The Spain-imported sheep were left to shift for themselves and picked a scanty living from a war-torn land-a shepherless flock roaming at will over the countryside. Such vicissitudes, however, demonstrated their sturdy qualities under range conditions. After the dethroning and beheading of King Louis, two enterprising Frenchmen (Gilbert and Tessler) realized the great potential in the sheep industry for rebuilding their war-ravaged country. They began to repair the station at Rambouillet and to rebuild the herd of sheep, with special care. They continued throughout the reign of Napoleon I and were successful in producing a fairly good grade of sheep-good compared to the early Spanish Merino. When the two Frenchmen died, the French government took over and directed the program, and flocks were begun elsewhere. Around 1860, several shipments of the Rambouillet breed of sheep were exported from France and Germany to the United States, to points in Michigan and Ohio, mainly. And that 1 was the beginning of the Rambouillets in this country- It was a small but important venture, but when the financial crisis of 1893 rested heavily upon the United States it all but swept away the enterprise. Wool and mutton prices were so low as to be almost non-existent. John K was having experience at that time in struggles to pay herd bills in his share-herding venture in Sanpete County, Utah. 121 |
