[Illustration: SYLVAIN DORNON, THE STILT WALKER OF LANDES.]
Sylvain Dornon, the stilt walker of Landes, started from Paris on the
12th of last March for Moscow, and reached the end of his journey at the
end of a fifty-eight days' walk. This long journey upon stilts
constitutes a genuine curiosity, not only to the Russians, to whom this
sort of locomotion is unknown, but also to many Frenchmen.
Walking on stilts, in fact, which was common twenty years ago in certain
parts of France, is gradually tending to become a thing of the past. In
the wastes of Gascony it was formerly a means of locomotion adapted to
the nature of the country. The waste lands were then great level plains
covered with stunted bushes and dry heath. Moreover, on account of the
permeability of the subsoil, all the declivities were transformed into
marshes after the slightest fall of rain.
There were no roads of any kind, and the population, relying upon sheep
raising for a living, was much scattered. It was evidently in order to
be able to move around under these very peculiar conditions that the
shepherds devised and adopted stilts. The stilts of Landes are called,
in the language of the country, _tchangues_, which signifies "big legs,"
and those who use them are called _tchanguès_. The stilts are pieces of
wood about five feet in length, provided with a shoulder and strap to
support the foot. The upper part of the wood is flattened and rests
against the leg, where it is held by a strong strap. The lower part,
that which rests upon the earth, is enlarged and is sometimes
strengthened with a sheep's bone. The Landese shepherd is provided with
a staff which he uses for numerous purposes, such as a point of support
for getting on to the stilts and as a crook for directing his flocks.
Again, being provided with a board, the staff constitutes a comfortable
seat adapted to the height of the stilts. Resting in this manner, the
shepherd seems to be upon a gigantic tripod. When he stops he knits or
he spins with the distaff thrust in his girdle. His usual costume
consists of a sort of jacket without sleeves, made of sheep skin, of
canvas gaiters, and of a drugget cloak. His head gear consists of a
beret or a large hat. This accouterment was formerly completed by a gun
to defend the flock against wolves, and a stove for preparing meals.
The aspect of the Landeses is doubtless most picturesque, but their
poverty is extreme. They are generally spare and sickly, they are poorly
fed and are preyed upon by fever. Mounted on their stilts, the shepherds
of Landes drive their flocks across the wastes, going through bushes,
brush and pools of water, and traversing marshes with safety, without
having to seek roads or beaten footpaths. Moreover, this elevation
permits them to easily watch their sheep, which are often scattered over
a wide surface. In the morning the shepherd, in order to get on his
stilts, mounts by a ladder or seats himself upon the sill of a window,
or else climbs upon the mantel of a large chimney. Even in a flat
country, being seated upon the ground, and having fixed his stilts, he
easily rises with the aid of his staff. To persons accustomed to walking
on foot, it is evident that locomotion upon stilts would be somewhat
appalling.
One may judge by what results from the fall of a pedestrian what danger
may result from a fall from a pair of stilts. But the shepherds of
Landes, accustomed from their childhood to this sort of exercise,
acquire an extraordinary freedom and skill therein. The _tchanguè_ knows
very well how to preserve his equilibrium; he walks with great strides,
stands upright, runs with agility, or executes a few feats of true
acrobatism, such as picking up a pebble from the ground, plucking a
flower, simulating a fall and quickly rising, running on one foot, etc.
The speed that the stilt walkers attain is easily explained. Although
the angle of the legs at every step is less than that of ordinary
walking with the feet on the ground, the sides prolonged by the stilts
are five or six feet apart at the base. It will be seen that with steps
of such a length, distances must be rapidly covered.
When, in 1808, the Empress Josephine went to Bayonne to rejoin Napoleon
I, who resided there by reason of the affairs of Spain, the municipality
sent an escort of young Landese stilt walkers to meet her. On the
return, these followed the carriages with the greatest facility,
although the horses went at a full trot.
During the stay of the empress, the shepherds, mounted upon their
stilts, much amused the ladies of the court, who took delight in making
them race, or in throwing money upon the ground and seeing several of
them go for it at once, the result being a scramble and a skillful and
cunning onset, often accompanied with falls.
Up to recent years scarcely any merry-makings occurred in the villages
of Gascony that were not accompanied with stilt races. The prizes
usually consisted of a gun, a sheep, a cock, etc. The young people vied
with each other in speed and agility, and plucky young girls often took
part in the contests.
Some of the municipalities of the environs of Bayonne and Biarritz still
organize stilt races, at the period of the influx of travelers; but the
latter claim that the stiltsmen thus presented are not genuine Landese
shepherds, but simple supernumeraries recruited at hazard, and in most
cases from among strolling acrobats. The stilt walkers of Landes not
only attain a great speed, but are capable of traveling long distances
without appreciable fatigue.
Formerly, on the market days at Bayonne and Bordeaux, long files of
peasants were seen coming in on stilts, and, although they were loaded
with bags and baskets, they came from the villages situated at 10, 15,
or 20 leagues distance. To-day the sight of a stilt walker is a
curiosity almost as great at Bordeaux as at Paris. The peasant of Landes
now comes to the city in a wagon or even by railway.--_La Nature_.
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