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Show CIKEU THE SHEEP. What the Water or a Salt Lake Did for a Flock. Leadville Herald-Drmorrat. A few evenings ago a number of geu-tlemen geu-tlemen were sitting in the reading room of the Hotel Kitchen, and among the number was Mr. S. X. Pond, a sheep grower living at Amargo, X.M. The question naturally drifted on the subject ef sheep, aud whether the woolly animal ani-mal would thrive in the more mountainous moun-tainous regions of Colorado. It was contended by one gentleman that the sheep industry would lie a failure, excepting ex-cepting in a comparatively warm climate cli-mate aud low altitude, such as are to be found in Utah and Xew Xexico. There are sheep, he said, iu Dakota aud Montana, but. I should say the flocks would be a while elephant on an v one's hands. "There's where I do not agree with you," remarked Mr. Pond. " I have traveled as far north as Washington, and in that state I saw some droves of the finest animals that I ever came across, aud I confess the sight surprised sur-prised me. I had uo idea sheep of such quality could be raised iu what I regarded re-garded before as a barren and desolate country. And, by the way, the history of the introduction of sheep iuto Washington Wash-ington is somewhat curious, being closely allied to the discovery of ono of the most famous health resorts in the state. It seems that about 'twenty-1 five years ago-a Frenchman crossed the continent with a large flock of sheep, lie lost great numbers while crossing the arid region and when he arrived iu Washington the sheep that still lived were covered with skin diseases. One evening, as he was prepariug for an encampment, he got a glimpse through the woods of a beautiful beauti-ful lake and he hastened forward to its shores. The sheep rushed forward into the water and began to drink copiously. He was slill more astonished when ho tasted the water and found it very disagreeable, dis-agreeable, having a strong, bittor 'taste, dissimilar lo anything he had ever tasted before, tearing the animals would be poisoned, he .drove them cut of the water, but in spite of his efforts they returned again. "The sheep were iu such a condition from disease that he had little hope of their recovery, so he allowed t hem to drink what he believed to be the poisonous pois-onous waters as plentifully as they desired. de-sired. Xest day ho could not drive the sheep away from the lake, and, in a few days more, he was utterly astonished aston-ished to find that they were restored to a wonderfully healthy condition. Thereupon the Frenchman concluded con-cluded that he had roamed far enough, so built himself a little cabin ou the shores of the lake, killed a sheep occasionally for meat and cleared a patch of ground for himself, on . which ho raised vegetables. Gradually the country about became settled up. The Gaul sold off a number of his sheep; they, in turn produced and multiplied, until today that section of country, not far from Spokane Falls, is one of the greatest sheep countries in the world, n the Frenchman's ranch the little town of Meddiebouglf has been built. "And this lake is truly a medical wonder. It covers, probably, about a thousand acres, and is very deep. When I was iu Spokane I took a trip to Mid-dlebaugh, Mid-dlebaugh, about fifteen miles distant, and found that the omnipresent syndicate syndi-cate had already captured the lake and were about to make it a mammoth health resort. Evaporating and drying establishments have been erected for the extraction of the salts contained in the waters. There is a tine hotel in course of erection, and the town is enjoying en-joying quite a boom. Spokane peoplo are interested in the town largely, and claim that they have, at their very doors, the greatest sanitarium in the northwest. "But it seems rather odd, doesn't it, that sheep raising aud the discovery of a health resort should have been so closely linked together? It is, uo doubt, but an exemplification of the good old sayiug that the Lord move's iu a mysterious mys-terious way his wonders to perform. And I might add," concluded Mr. Poid, "that the old Frenchman still lives on the shores of the lake which he discovered dis-covered twenty-live years ago, and nover tires of telling his story to the many visitors who visit him." |
