WESTWARD MOVEMENT OF SHEEP 9 



Sheep Raising in North America. Colonial Times. 



Domestic sheep were brought to North America by early colonists. 

 It is thought that the Spaniards who founded old Santa Fe, New 

 Mexico, brought with them the sheep from which the multi-colored 

 flocks of the Navajo Indians have descended. If, as is generally 

 supposed, sheep of this original stock were taken out of Spain, 

 special permission to do so surely must have been granted by the 

 king. The colonists along the Atlantic seaboard introduced the 

 English, and a few other mutton breeds. As a rule the flocks were 

 not large, the main object in keeping sheep being to supply wool 

 for making homespuns, and only incidentally to furnish a part of 

 the family meat supply. 



The Embargo Act. In the year 1807, the people of the United 

 States were forbidden by the Embargo Act to trade with foreign 

 powers. Although this statute was frequently violated, its effect 

 upon foreign trade in general was keenly felt. Among other things 

 it so restricted imports that it caused a shortage of woolens, and 

 American manufacturers found more demand for such goods than 

 their supply of raw wool would satisfy. Moreover, because it turned 

 many people in New England away from commerce into manu- 

 facturing, it still further increased the demand for raw wool. Men 

 active in the affairs of the nation, realizing the need of more wool 

 to supply the woolen mills, devoted both time and means to the task 

 of getting more sheep into the country. Napoleon had ruined 

 Spain's monopoly on Spanish Merinos. But years before this, 

 Saxony in Germany, through a gift of a number of Merinos to her 

 chief ruler from the king of Spain, had demonstrated that at least 

 one other country besides Spain could grow Merino sheep and that 

 she could even surpass Spain in the quality of wool produced. 

 Saxony's success gave confidence to Americans who were interested 

 in getting more fine-wooled sheep into their country. Merinos 

 accordingly were imported, and soon they showed that they could 

 thrive and produce wool of good quality in their new environment. 

 There soon arose a craze for these sheep which continued from 1808 

 until about 1816, during which time quite impossible claims were 

 made for them. Nevertheless they proved to be the type of sheep 

 needed not only then but for many years afterwards, for they were 

 adapted to grazing on undeveloped lands and to the production of 

 that fine wool for which there was so strong a demand. 



'Westward Movement of Sheep. The westward movement of 



