THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF THE PERCHE 29 



ing hands each. week. At the fair held at Laigle, 

 July 11, 300 head of horses were disposed of, and 

 at the fair held on the first Friday in September 

 220 head were sold. At a third fair at the same 

 place on the 12th of November no less than 550 horses 

 were sold. 



In an old brochure by P. Bruyant entitled, "No- 

 gent-le-Rotrou et ses environs," it is stated that the 

 chief local industry, the manufacture of bolting 

 cloth, began to decline in 1774, due primarily to the 

 shipwreck of the "Nogent-le-Eotrou" with a cargo 

 of cloth, the son of the owner of the vessel and of 

 the industry, Bene Gullier, being drowned and his 

 father ruined. "But," says the author, " fortunately 

 the development of the breeding of Percheron horses 

 commenced to compensate for the decline of this 

 local industry." 



Long Famous for Its Horses. — Old letters written 

 by residents of The Perche and still conserved in 

 the government archives at Paris show that from 

 very early periods the province has been courted as 

 a producer of good horses. In fact, its fame in this 

 regard led to frequent spoliation, numerous raids be- 

 ing made by marauders who evidently knew in ad- 

 vance where good mounts were to be had. During 

 the civil war known as the Fronde, under the minor- 

 ity of Louis XIV (1648-1653), both the party of 

 Mazarin and that of the nobles made frequent incur- 

 sions into this region, primarily for the purpose of 

 carrying off horses. History tells us that Beaufort, 

 the warlike grandson of Henry IV of France, entered 



