Description

Old men sometimes sadly spend
their twilight years with unrealized
dreams, or in despair over recognition
that was never bestowed. Robert Oulton
had good reason to be bitter in
1913, as he lived out his retirement in
New Brunswick. More than anyone else
he had pioneered the development of
fox-farming, the unique marriage between
the North American fur trade and
domesticated livestock farming which
had made his adopted homeland,
Prince Edward Island, the centre of a
lucrative international industry. Oulton,
however, was an unassuming man of
"quiet disposition," and the silver fox
era was characterized by showmanship,
speculation, and dubious claims. For
these reasons Island history has almost
forgotten him.