Check out the lobbies in Portsmouth for signs highlighting the upcoming trail walks. Very good advertizing!

Stone Wall Trail Walk - Interesting and Entertaining!
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Who built these stone walls? Napolean!

Envisioning the general taking off his hat and laying stones with one hand, I was surprised to find out the real story.

Weaving local and world history, Harry Mutter, our host for the walk and trail steward, described how Napolean's conquests made Marino Sheep available for export. Closely guarded and prohibited for export by their Spanish breeders, this hearty sheep with soft wool became a boon to colonial farmers, once Napolean decided to make a little extra cash. Igniting a sheep craze, stone walls cropped up throughout New England to contain the new sheep. Always the first to test a weak wall, sheep require sturdy fences. The local stone, one of our best crops, proved a good working material. Harry went on to describe the different types of stone walls and the types of effort needed to build them.

It was surprising to find out that many of the old stone walls have foundations over two feet deep! Getting under the frost line provided stability. It was also interesting to discover that many stone walls were the products of slaves, both African and Native American. Native Americans have retained the skill and are among the best stone wall builders today. Harry described how to identify a stone wall builder. He's usually the guy with a finger missing and a limp, Harry demonstrated.

A beautiful afternoon, warm, with blue sky overhead, I could think of no better way to spend lunchtime.

Small point. The royal flock was a monopoly that was maintained on threat of death and was making a fortune for Spain; a fat delicious sheep that also had long, soft luxuriant wool. So lucrative was this monopoly that more wealth was accruing from the sheep then from the New World's silver and gold. The Spanish king sold the royal flocks because he feared that the all-conquering Napoleon would overrun Spain and simply take them. William Jarvis, consul to Lisbon and a Connecticut farmer, benefited from the king's concern and brought a flock back to New England in 1811.

Like all sheep they did test the stone walls and were adept at escaping. To counter this, we bred a sheep with short legs that splayed out to the side called "Otter Sheep". This fat, ackward sheep couldn't climb were very popular in Rhode Island to the end of the sheep craze.